WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://leonardbassed.com/Facebook page for author: https://www.facebook.com/leobassed/
Twitter page for author: https://twitter.com/LeonardBassed
As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always
curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the idea to write
your book?
I
got the idea to write my book, The Witch Port Video Game in June of 2014 after
a trip I made to Los Angeles, California
in the USA. I
wrote the pilot script first when I realized the auditions, I was getting
weren’t reflective of the kinds of roles I’ve always wanted to play. Upon its
completion I was hooked, I had sparked my creativity which led my script into
the shape of a novel, the first in the series.
Fiction Authors: Can you tell us a little about the main
characters of your book?
Certainly,
The Witch Port Video Game follows the lives of three childhood friends who study
at a prestigious performing arts high school. The book is narrated by Martin
Robinson, a well-meaning likeable guy who is often the voice of reason. Then
there’s Mackenzie Hollister beautiful with fiery red hair, a disciplined dancer
with a troubled past and a heart of gold. Francesca Dubois on the other hand is
this blond ethereal creature who from the outside seems to have it all. The
ambitious trio’s life is thrown into chaos after a chance encounter they have
with a girl named Bianca Morris and the mysterious MacQuoid brothers who follow
her to their school ultimately changing the trajectory of their lives, as the
three become entangled in an age old battle for power in the sinister
high-stake world of sorcery.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything,
what would that be?
If I
could tell my younger self anything, I would parrot something my mom has always
told me and that is: “Rome wasn’t
built in a day,” writing a book takes time trust and enjoy the process.
What would you say is one of your interesting writing
quirks?
I
don’t know that it’s interesting, but I have this sunstone crystal and Botswana
Agate I can’t write without I have convinced myself that my mind is more
generous with its ideas if I have at least one of them in my hand or on my
person while writing. This is just one of my many idiosyncrasies, a lot goes
into writing a book [he jokes].
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
So
far, the response has been quite positive. Everyone that has gotten back to me
says they’ve enjoyed it. Which is all I could have asked for especially
considering how personal writing a book is. I liken it to acting you really
have to let the reader in, especially with magical realism or fiction writing
there is an element of truth you must bring to it in order to ground it in
reality.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
The
toughest criticism so far has been my decision to self-publish, book snobs and
the literary industry at large tends to be skeptical of self-published authors.
Although no book is completely perfect normally when one gets traditionally
published by the time your book goes into print you’ve been vetted as a writer,
and people generally trust the caliber of your writing.
What has been your best accomplishment?
Professionally,
I’d have to cite this book and the songs I’ve written, as well as the fact that
I get to actively pursue my life’s calling. In my personal life I think the
relationships I have built and maintained are right up there with my best
accomplishments.
Do you Google yourself?
Yes,
I have to, as a self-published author, I need to be able to interact with my
readers as well as promote my book. I’ve had to adopt a hands-on approach in
all aspects of my brand.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
A
few, its hard to say for sure I’ve just always enjoyed writing. The really bad
ones I’ve thrown away or deleted, but there are some I’ve kept in the hopes of
doing something with them later on, but until ‘The Witch Port Video Game’
series concludes I doubt I’ll write anything else in this genre.
Optional: Fun question – if you were princess or prince,
what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
If I were a prince, I’d probably call prince Harry for some
tips because I have no idea [he jokes].
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say
to your readers?
Firstly,
I’d like to thank you for reading my book to begin with. I tried to put across
well-formed ideas that will hopefully be a source of entertainment and intrigue
for you the reader. I hope you’ll stay with me on this journey, the plot
thickens…
Leonard Bassed had no plan to write a novel titled THE WITCH PORT VIDEO GAME when he set out to create a movie script with a similar name. “I had written the pilot script first and I kept the
THE WITCH PORT VIDEO GAME tells the story through the lives of three ordinary teens who live in the fictional town of Cradle Creek, USA – a small town they hope to one day escape, attracted by the bright lights and promise of the Big City. All three are students at a prestigious performing art school with hopes of one day making names for themselves in the entertainment world.
Mr. Bassed continued about his story, “A chance encounter the three have with a girl named Bianca Morris threatens to derail their plans. Bianca introduces them to an enticing video game, ‘The Witch Port Video Game’. This encounter, coupled with the arrival of the MacQuoid brothers sets in motion a series of bizarre events that spins their lives into chaos and disarray as the three head into a world of sorcery with an ultimate fight for survival.”
As a young boy growing up in South Africa, Leonard dreamed one day of working in the arts. He wanted to write, to act, to sing. While drawn to acting and song writing, he was also a good story teller. “The auditions I would go out for as an actor were never reflective of the kinds of roles I was after to play. It was this realization that led me to writing the pilot script which I planned to pitch to TV and movie producers. But, once I finished the script I’d grown too attached to the characters and the wonders of their world that ultimately led the script into the shape of a full novel,” he went on to say.
PRAISE
“While the book’s final moments leave us with a rather sudden, enigmatic ending, an end note does indicate a sequel Witch Port Igniting the Coven on the horizon. For those who enjoy the entertaining literary chemistry that results from inquisitive teens and their foray into the mysterious world of sorcery, Bassed’s venture should prove an intriguing reveal.”
–Pacific Book Review
“Filled with cheeky references to famous pop-culture stories of sorcery and mixed with some classic teenage angst, this book is a fast-paced, suspenseful story. The novel’s premise that some teenagers gain special powers through a video game is an updated, modern take on magic and suits the story quite well for a 21st-century setting. The author sets up the story mechanisms so that everything that happens through the students’ video game play also happens in real life. The author states that this novel was originally a screenplay, and those elements shine through, from the descriptive settings to the fast pace in which the action occurs on the page. It will be interesting to see how the protagonists grow with their powers in the sequel.”
–The U.S. Review of Books
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