I was lucky to get an interview with Ben Stava, the author of A Hunter Among Wolves, one of this year’s #SPFBO8 entries.

Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
I was born, raised, and spent most of my life in sunny Southern California. It was only in the last year that my fiancée and I (and our three dogs and cat) moved to Utah and experienced our first “real” winter together, with snow and everything! My other hobbies include playing Magic the Gathering and woodworking. I’ve made a couple of large pieces, but mostly small things like boxes and odds and ends. My other hobbies include building computers and playing video games.

Why did you decide to take part in the SPFBO?
I thought it would be a fun experience! This is my first time ever entering it, with my debut fantasy story. I went into it with tempered expectations, knowing full well there is a ton of amazing and talented writers out there, but I figured “why not?” and tossed my book into the ring. As famously said by Wayne Gretzky (and Michael Scott) “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. Or in another sense, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t play!

Why should we buy your SPFBO8 book?
It’s a fast and fun read with magic, sword fights, twists, and adventure. Equal parts A Fistful of Dollars and The Mummy, with a likeable, but flawed bounty hunter heroine named Sylene at the lead that one reader said was “the most interesting [character] I've encountered in a while.”

A quick synopsis: when an offer too good to pass up takes Sylene to a desert town far from civilization, outside the rule of law, she realizes things are not quite what they appear, and the situation is far worse than what she was told. If she wants to not only survive, but also complete the job, Sylene has to rely on both old and new friends and navigate a town where just about everyone has a bounty on their head.

I think mine maybe the shortest of all 300 entries, coming in just over the 40k word mark, making it a great choice to follow up a 250k word beefy epic or taking a breather in between series. As another reader called it “a nice bit of fantasy candy”.

What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
I’ve always had stories that I wanted to tell. I’ll be inspired by something I’ve read, watched or listened to and thought “wouldn’t it be cool if this happened?” or “what if like that, but fantasy?” I’ve been writing off/on since college, where I started with shorts and fan fiction before starting to come up with my own original content. I’ve even dabbled with screenplays, hoping someday to see something of mine on the big screen.

Why did you choose to write fantasy? And why pick this particular fantasy subgenre?
Fantasy is a great genre because it provides no limits. Whatever your heart desires; magic, monsters, faraway places. It’s a realm to escape to when everyday life feels monotonous or boring. I chose to write this particular subgenre because I’ve always enjoyed action/adventure films and westerns. As I mentioned before, two particular films that inspired me were The Mummy and A Fistful of Dollars. I feel that the western genre as a whole is an untapped setting, swapping out guns for swords and magic and providing a nice change of scenery from the ever-popular medieval fantasy.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Bringing to life and sharing with others the worlds, stories and characters that exist within the infinite realms of your imagination.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
Putting words on the page. It’s easy enough to come up with ideas, premises and more, but staring at that blank manuscript can be daunting. I say this in the afterword of my story, but as any creative individual knows, there’s times where you just stare at the page, the canvas, or whatever medium you use and just… don’t feel it. The words aren’t coming, the inspiration is gone. Progress slows to a halt. But the important thing to know is to never give up. Never stop writing. Even if it is only a few words a day, progress is progress and then before you know it, you’ve reached the end.

The other most difficult thing about being a writer is the fear of rejection and failure. These stories and characters, the worlds that contain them, are all deeply personal to the author. So much so that often times the fear of rejection hinders or altogether stops them from writing and sharing what they’ve devoted so many hours, days, or years creating. Getting over that fear is one of the most difficult things for an aspiring writer, but once conquered, paves the way for them to grow and improve.

Do you have a tip, app, tool, or resource you recommend to authors?
Scrivener! I do most of my writing in Microsoft Word, but Scrivener is what I use when it comes time to “publishing” and creating the ebook files for Amazon and the like. It’s a very easy and powerful tool and one that every writer should have in their toolbox.

What new projects are you working on?
With the positive responses I’ve received for A Hunter Among Wolves, I started outlining two more stories, the first being a prequel, and the second following the events of A Hunter Among Wolves. When I wrote the story, I wasn’t sure what the response would be, if readers would want to know more about Sylene and her world, so I left it sort of open-ended, allowing for me to return to it and create more should there be demand for it.

But my current focus is on a new, original fantasy story. My goal is to create a “dark comedy” fantasy, in similar tone to favorite films of mine In Bruges and Snatch, with the premise being something along the lines of Hateful 8 meets Gilligan’s Island.

Anything else you would like to say before we close?
I just want to thank Mark for running SPFBO and giving someone like me an opportunity to share my story. I’d like to thank the blogs and judges for devoting their time to reading the 300 entries, and whether or not my book survives round one or goes all the way, I have zero regrets and I look forward to entering again next year!

Always a pleasure to meet a fellow Magic the Gathering player, and I totally agree with what you said about the hardest things! Best of luck in the competition, Ben, and with sales.
Thanks for doing the interview.