R. Scot Johns is represented by the interviewer's Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion.
R. Scot Johns is a life-long student of ancient and medieval literature, with an enduring fascination for Norse mythology and epic fantasy. He first came to Beowulf through his love of J. R. R. Tolkien, a leading scholar on the subject. As an Honors Medieval Literature major he has given lectures on such topics as the historical King Arthur and the construction of Stonehenge. He owns and operates Fantasy Castle Books, his own publishing imprint, and writes the blog Adventures of an Independent Author, where you can follow his progress as he writes The Jester’s Quest, his second novel.
We interviewed Scot to find out more about his latest release, The Saga of Beowulf, and his life as a published author.
Thank you for this interview, Scot. Can you tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?
Thank you for having me. I’ve been writing for nearly 20 years now -- half of it on The Saga of Beowulf -- although for six of those years I was taking writing courses and English Lit classes while working full time to put myself through college, so that there was little time for free writing. Since then I’ve written in whatever spare time I can find. During the day I work as a book sales rep for a division of Readers Digest, but at night I’m an author. This has put a damper on my social life, to say the least. But one must suffer for their art, they say.
Do you write full-time?
It certainly seems like it. But in truth my writing time is quite sporadic, consisting entirely of scattered moments snatched on evenings and weekends. I’ll go months without finding any time to write at all, and then I’ll just let everything else go and immerse myself into my writing, spending every waking moment on a scene or section until I feel it’s right. Then I’ll leave it be awhile and let it simmer until I get caught up on pressing chores or the drive to write consumes my life once more. It’s a very schizophrenic method, but it seems to work. My hope is to one day be able to approach writing like a normal job, if that term can be applied to such an inherently abnormal occupation.
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Article comments
1 - Cheryl Malandrinos
Excellent interview. I remember studying "Beowulf" in school and not enjoying it. Your book sounds like it could make me change my mind.
As for blogging, I think it's like "American Idol"--you either love it or hate, and if you hate it you won't do it just based upon principle. I happen to love it and think it's a great way to make a name for yourself.
Good luck with your book.
Cheryl
2 - R. Scot Johns
Hello Cheryl,
Beowulf is, indeed, the bane of many an English student! It was in great part for this reason that I wanted to make this epic story an enjoyable experience instead. I tried to keep it as accurate to the original as possible, while rendering it into a form that modern readers might enjoy.
As for blogging, it's much like writing: some like it and some do not. Either way, it is an extremely useful tool for an author to communicate with their readers.
Thank you for your comment, and your support.
Scot
3 - Dustin
Great interview Scot! I think anyone seriously interested in writing should check out your blog, not only is it a great place to learn more about your adaptation of Beowulf, it's also an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the book business from a writers and publishers perspective. And though I've yet to read your Beowulf in its entirety, I really found your early screenplay entertaining. I would love to see John Milius direct it for his next feature film! You should send it to him with a copy of the book, I think he'd be natural for it!
Continued good luck with the book tour, fascinating stuff. - Dustin
4 - Tom
Nice interview, Scot!
5 - R. Scot Johns
Hey guys, thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you found the interview interesting, and hopefully useful.
Thanks, Dustin, for your comments. I've tried to share my experiences on my blog in the hopes of making it informative for other prospective authors. As for the film script, I'm glad you found it entertaining, and I, too, would love Milius to direct it, although that would be way beyond my wildest hopes! Beowulf is, after all, the Norse equivalent of Conan. Thanks for the idea. I'll see what I can do to get a copy to him as soon as I give it another run-through. It's definitely worth a shot.