Brandt Legg Interview

Brandt Legg is the author of the Inner Movement Trilogy. We’ve talked to him about this as well as future projects.

For those not familiar with The Inner Movement trilogy, can you tell us a bit about it?

The Inner Movement trilogy: Outview, Outin and Outmove are mystical fantasy thrillers. The series follows Nathan Ryder, between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, as he is pursued by nefarious people for reasons not initially clear. His flight turns into a quest and, along the way, he encounters mystics who reveal an incredible destiny. He and his friends are forced to wrestle with some of life’s deepest philosophical questions.

What goals might you have set for yourself when writing The Inner Movement trilogy and how do you feel about the end result? 

My main objective was to reach as many readers as possible and I’ve been overwhelmed with the positive response. So far the trilogy has received hundreds of 5-star reviews, been added to more than 5000 to-read lists on goodreads, appeared on more than a dozen amazon bestseller lists and enjoyed by tens of thousands of readers in twenty-three countries.

Can you tell us a bit about you main protagonist, Nathan Ryder?

I drew substantially from my own life when writing Nate. He lost his father at a young age, is in way over his head as a teen dealing with corruption and incredible power, and is pursued by authorities. My father died suddenly when I was just eight, plunging my family into poverty. Within a few years I had started a business, and soon made millions. The national media labeled me the Teen Tycoon, but it quickly got out of hand. By age twenty-five, after a long investigation, I served a year in prison for financial improprieties. I’ve spent more than twenty years, since my release, trying to overcome the mistakes of my youth. People have told me that Nate’s character seems very authentic. I believe that’s because Outview, while still a work of fiction, is, to a great extent – metaphorically told – my story.

Why Oregon and California?

Originally these books were going to be set in Taos, New Mexico. However when I moved to southern Oregon, the beauty of the area demanded the primary setting be Ashland, Crater Lake, the Oregon coast, the Redwoods, Mt. Shasta, etc. The storyline required a mystical feel and these locations certainly provide that. Taos did manage to sneak in there too.

How did you start writing? Was there a particular book or moment in your life that spurned you on?

I grew up in the business world and that was my life’s plan. But when one is in the middle of a federal investigation, business is tough to do. I’d been frustrated by my attorney’s “no-comment” policy during the media attention and decided to write a book detailing my side of the story. A funny thing happened, I fell in love with writing. Over the next two decades I wrote regularly, but circumstances didn’t allow me to seriously pursue it until 2011, and in 2012 Mike Sager, a NY Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist for Esquire, signed me to a three book deal for his new indie press.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

For me there is only one truly hard thing about writing and that is sitting down and doing it. Once I’m three quarters of the way through a page it starts to flow, and if I can keep the distractions away, I will happily go for hours and hours. It helps to do it seven days a week.

How do you market your books? The first book in the trilogy is available free on Amazon Kindle, how do you feel this has worked as a marketing strategy?

Around the beginning of March we started a free promotion with the ebook version of Outview across all platforms. I’m not sure how long it will continue but so far it has substantially increased sales of Outin and Outmove around the world. I spent years in the radio business and am a firm believer in advertising. There are millions of books out there; I try to help readers find mine by doing regular promotions.

For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?

For fiction and biographies I now prefer the convenience of a kindle. It means I always have hundreds of books with me, can read anywhere (even in the dark without disturbing anyone). Because of those benefits, I read much more than ever before. Not to mention, the affordability of ebooks means I can also buy more titles than ever. For non-fiction, I still like the ability to flip the pages back and forth.

What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?

I’ve always loved biographies. I’m a huge fan of Cormic McCarthy’s style of writing. Wool by Hugh Howey really impressed me. Thrillers, dystopian sci-fi and conspiracies are getting my attention of late.

What do you do when you’re not writing, any hobbies?

If I’m not writing, it’s likely I have a camera in my hand. Nature photography is a passion and some of my shots can be seen on my website. BrandtLegg.com

What’s next?

I’ve just finished the first book of Cosega, a techno thriller trilogy, which will be released summer 2014. Another trilogy is set for 2015, which follows the characters from the Inner Movement. And I have a dystopian thriller trilogy that will hopefully be ready for 2016.

Thanks for having me; this is a great site!

More about Brandt Legg at www.brandtlegg.com

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Interview by Dag Rambraut – SFFWorld.com © 2014

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