One of the biggest downfalls of being a fiction author — especially one who spins fantasy tales — is without a doubt having an overactive imagination.
It has no boundaries.
Nor does it care about finding you at convenient times.
That said, one thing they almost all share in common is that they start with the same two words:
WHAT IF…
On the surface, they might appear simple, insignificant even. Yet so much of the world we inhabit and the things we use were born from those ‘simple’ words.
For example:
If it wasn’t for the Wright brothers wondering, “What if man could fly?”
We wouldn’t be jetting off to Cancun for vacation.
If it wasn’t for J. Robert Oppenheimer wondering, “What if Nazi Germany beats the Allies to the atomic bomb?”
This email might very well be written in German.
Or, something a little cheerier…
If it wasn’t for Tolkien thinking, “What if the only person to stop a dark lord from capturing the realm was a hobbit?”
We wouldn’t have had The Lord of the Rings, which would have been a grave tragedy indeed, as yours truly would probably be pumping petrol at a local Shell garage.
No, seriously.
If there’s one series that has had the most influence over my own work, it’s this one.
Now here’s a fun fact that will stump some of you:
I still haven’t read the books.
Yes, really.
Not only do they exceed my (admittedly) pathetic page count threshold, but the writing itself made for hard reading; views that would have me burned at the stake by some fantasy purists.
But I’m really not that mad about how uncomfortable this makes some folks feel.
How can I when it gave birth to D.J.J. Watson and the path we travel on — together — today?
If it wasn’t for my love for the movies and my aversion to the books, I’d have never stepped into this genre.
I’d never have asked:
“What if there were more epic fantasy with simpler writing, faster-paced narratives, and leaner page counts?”
And, as a result, I’d never have published The Divided Region, which has gone on to grace thousands of Kindles, earphones, and bookshelves around the world.
Quite humbling indeed.
And if you’re yet to experience this new, bingeable form of fantasy?
Then allow me to point you here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
DJJW