Here at The Noble Artist I’ve worked with loads of incredible creatives. It’s about time I had a chin wag with them to find out how they got where they are and why they do what they do. Many moons ago I did some great interviews with folks, including the fantastic fantasy author Mark Lawrence. Without further ado, I’d like to welcome our first guest in around six years.
Brady J. Sadler is a drummer, board game designer, and occasional author. He lives in Indiana with his wife, two children, and usually one too many cats. As a game designer, he has created and published over a dozen tabletop games that have raised over $5.5M in crowdfunding. As an author, he has written two novels and is currently preparing to release the second book in his latest epic fantasy series, The Malice of Light.
What was the moment, or inspiration that led you to pursue a career as an author?
Oddly enough, music. While playing drums in various heavy metal bands in high school, I became a little disillusioned with “angry” metal music—I was a relatively happy kid that loved building Lego castle sets and playing video games. So when I stumbled Hammerfall’s “Legacy of Kings” album, I became obsessed with combining fantasy and metal. That’s when I began wanting to write epic stories for my band’s music, and my band Lorenguard was born, which led to my first novel, “Eve of Corruption.”
Can you share a an interesting or funny story from your writing journey that taught you a valuable lesson?
One of the earliest lessons I learned was to not get too attached to my work, especially early versions. I began writing “Eve of Corruption” while taking a break between high school and college. I was working night shifts as a janitor, desperate for books to consume. Back then I was kind of just getting into fantasy novels, so I was reading a lot of Terry Brooks and R.A. Salvatore. Then I stumbled across George R.R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” (about a decade before HBO made it a household name). I devoured that book over the course of two work shifts and then immediately trashed my first draft of “Eve of Corruption” so I could start from scratch. I felt like that book really broadened my horizons, and I probably never would have picked it up if I wasn’t scrubbing toilets at a college, desperate for anything to read so I could break up the monotony.
Quick Fire Question Round!
What are your top three tips for aspiring authors?
Write the draft without reading until you’re done. Don’t worry about how other people write; find your own routines. Don’t think, just write.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve made as you’ve developed your writing career?
Deciding to start writing entire book series instead of a couple standalones first.
What’s your favourite setting of all time?
Warhammer’s Old World
What are your top tips to write a compelling plot? Are you a planner or a plunger?
Total plunger (write, don’t think). I come up with the best plots by just letting the characters tell the story—follow where they lead.
What’s your secret to creating believable characters?
Weaknesses. The most interesting characters have very compelling weaknesses that the reader wants to see them overcome.
What would you recommend an aspiring or established author to do in terms of self-promotion to help them build awareness of their work?
Be involved in online communities—engage without spamming, and build companionship with those who want to see you succeed.
What are you working on right now, and what can we get our hands on already?
I’m currently wrapping up the rewrites for Book Two of The Malice of Light, coming in 2024. You can pick up Book One, “The Acrid Sky” today on Amazon and you can follow me at www.bradyjsadler.com for some exciting new game announcements that I can’t talk about yet!
Thanks so much for talking to me Brady. Can’t wait to see what else you’ve got lined up!
If you’d like to take part in Industry interviews…
I’m always looking to chat to like minds in the creative industry. I get a buzz out of seeing people pursue and achieve awesome things in books, games and art.
I plan to provide interesting and educational blog posts using:
- Author interviews
- Game designer interviews
- Artist interviews, fantasy authors, science fiction authors, horror authors, historical authors
- Other creative interviews
If you have a colourful career in the creative industries, drop me a line at info@thenobleartist.com
