Red Adept Editing

Meet Burke Fitzpatrick

What made you choose Red Adept Editing?

I shopped around and tried several different services. The edits from Red Adept were the best. They also caught several things during the proofing phase that surprised me. Very detailed work.

 

You’ve worked with Kelly. What did you enjoy most about working with him?

Kelly provided great comments on the text, and I enjoyed discussing different techniques on the phone. My books use a strange internal monologue technique, and we chatted at length once about the various ways of doing that outlined in the Chicago Manuel of Style. We talked about pros and cons of different techniques, along with the requirements of the books, and it really helped finalize the manuscript.

 

What’s your favorite monster story?

Beowulf is a longtime favorite, probably because it is one of the first horror stories in the English language. I love how it starts as a monster haunting a castle and ends with the fire-breathing dragon. I also enjoy the various translations and the glimmer of the dead culture lost to history. Sometimes I read the hero bragging about his accomplishments as a comedy, and at other times, I read the same passage as an epic prologue to a big battle. I find new things each time I read it.

 

Are your books standalones, or do they need to be read in order?

All four of my books belong to the same series, the Shedim Rebellion. (Shedim is an old testament word for “demons.”) There’s at least a couple more coming before I finish off the series.

 

What are you working on right now? Anything you can tell us about?

I’m finalizing the fourth books in my dark fantasy series and planning out the fifth. I’m also working on rebranding the series now that I know more about the sub-genre. The marketing aspects of the indie scene have taken me longer to master than I would have liked, but I’ve finally started building an audience for these big books.

 

What part of self-publishing do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy being able to write about anything I like. My first series caters to more of a cult audience. It’s a mixture of traditional Tolkien style fantasy with Dante’s Inferno and Paradise Lost. Since it isn’t a typical Game of Thrones story, I think it would be hard to place with a large publisher. Publishing it myself means I can maintain creative control over the world and characters. And I like picking the people I work with and talking about content with editors and artwork with illustrators.

 

You have some epic covers. Who does your cover work?

Clint Langley does the illustration work. I was a graphic designer in another life, and I do the branding and type treatment. As a typographer, I try not to distract from the amazing artwork. Clint is an incredibly talented artist who does work for Marvel and Warhammer.

 

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I try to read as much as possible, but I’m often binge watching something on Netflix. I’m a sucker for anything character driven with larger plot arcs like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and The 100. I also enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. I’ve got a bookshelf dedicated to cookbooks. It’s almost as embarrassingly large as my grammar and craft books.

 

What advice would you give to a new author?

Always be learning. I’m constantly reading craft books and genre books, seeking out new sentence structures, new story-telling techniques, and ways to make my process for efficient. The indie scene works best if you can produce multiple books a year, which has been my biggest struggle. So I’m constantly researching ways to increase my word counts and produce clean copy.

 

Where can readers find you?

Website: bladebooks.com

Facebook: facebook.com/bladebooks

Twitter: twitter.com/bladebooks

Amazon profile page: www.amazon.com/Burke-Fitzpatrick

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