Author Interview – R.L. Baxter – Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail
On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, author Ricky Baxter talks about the inspiration behind his new book, Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail, and his creative writing process.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
Hi! I am Ricky Lee Baxter, a British writer from London England. I am and have always been into art and creativity. As a child, I would often daydream about fantasy worlds, especially in school when I was supposed to focus on class. As an adult, I would work for many museums and art spaces while writing in my spare time.
When did you first WANT to write a book?
That is a very interesting question because in the beginning, I didn’t want to. However, I was introduced to it due to a school assignment. Back in secondary school, we were all tasked with writing an original short story in English class. It was the very first time that I had been presented with such an assignment and I quickly took a liking to it. The story was called Rei’s Great Adventure, and I was given about a month to do it.
I was typically the kind of student who would often neglect to do homework and assignments, so I knew that something about this task resonated with me. I loved the power it gave me, to create my worlds with characters and rules. For me, it was a great escape from what I considered a difficult time in school. In the end, I was granted an A+ for my work – an achievement that surprised some of the other teachers who later disputed if I was the original writer of the story.
After that, I remember wanting to intentionally write another fully-fledged story, one that had nothing to do with a school task. It was then that I had the desire to truly write a book and I wrote many novels throughout my teen years through to now.
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When did you take a step to start writing?
Although I had written as a hobby, I would say that my proper step to writing seriously (to release it publicly) was back in 2010 when self-publishing started to become known more. I decided to go with the Amazon route, so I read all the resources needed while I kept writing my then story at the time named?Gideon and The Crimson Samurai.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
I would say that Gideon and The Crimson Samurai took about 3 years to complete. I still have fond memories of the process because I was so excited to have been writing a book that would be available to the world. I would like to think that most authors have a special place in their hearts for their early books.
Focusing on your latest release. What made you want to write Blue Lunar & The Apex Grailk?
My latest release is called Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail, and I originally wrote it in my teenage years on notepads before storing it in one of the cupboards of an old family home. I loved the story so much and I promised myself that years later I would rewrite it all over again. Fast forward to adulthood and I decided to do just that. I wanted to write (and rewrite) this book because of its unique and bubbly characters.