Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Savage.
Nick, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
As with a lot of people, I got my start writing when I was young and into music. I first picked up a guitar at ten years old and immediately started writing song lyrics. Over the course of my teen years, I made a transition into screenplays. My work on screenplays showed me that I could write a story, build characters, and whip up good dialogue, but the style of writing that screenplays call for was not my forte. I had a hard time limiting what I wanted to describe in the INT. TYPICAL IRISH BAR – NIGHT format.
I wanted to describe the type of wood the counters were made out of and the years of abuse they’ve endured, the bottles of liquor that have sat on the back wall too expensive for the standard barfly, etc. And this struggle had gone on for a number of years. For whatever reason, my brain never thought to try my hand at books until a good friend my mine mentioned it and explained why he thought that. I was like, “Sure, I could give that a try someday.” But my brain was still holding onto the silver screen. In 2016, I wanted to get back into writing screenplays after a move halfway across the country to the Orlando area. I had done some work in another industry and felt like I was abandoning my roots. So, after a night out at Kissimmee’s Old Town, I sat down to do a little writing exercise as a way to stimulate my brain. But instead of it being a writing exercise that got me back into screenplays, it ended up being the first chapter of The Fairlane Incidents. Writing in the novel format felt right. Like I had finally found my home, a place I belong.
I had gone through a number of unsuitable titles and rejection letters from different publishers that I thought would have been a good fit, so I ended up self-publishing. (Not something I recommend, but that’s for another time) After writing and self-publishing six books in two different series, I stumbled upon 4 Horsemen Publications which took me under their wing. I since removed all my self-published versions of my books and am re-editing them before sending them off to my editor, and 4HP is republishing all my works with fr superior interiors, typesetting, and covers. I had my first book, The Fairlane Incidents come out a few months ago (at the time of this interview) and my second, The Fortunate Finn Fairlane, release on Sept. 22, 2022. The third and final book in The Fairlane Series, The Fragile Finn Fairlane comes out sometime in November. I have my other series, The West Haven Undead, that starts releasing in February of 2023. I do have a number of other books in the works as well that will all be released through 4 Horsemen.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. The rejections from publishers damage your soul a little. Self-doubt began to set in and a gave up on trying to understand how to properly write a query letter. It is a struggle for many writers to summarize their baby in a paragraph, leaving out all the fun details that make their book unique. I didn’t know what to expect but it’s impossible to imagine how hard it is to find a traditional publisher in a sea of vanity publishers. After giving up on finding a traditional publisher, I tried to find an editor which is a most costly endeavor.
So, I gave up and did the big faux pax of editing it myself. NEVER DO THAT!!! But, I still managed to find a reader base that overlooked the grammar issues and enjoyed the story for what it is. I think part of the reason I was able to continue self-publishing for a while and work through the self-doubt to eventually land a traditional publisher is that I have the support of an amazing wife.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Outside of writing adult modern romance and new adult contemporary fantasy, I also run a two-person company called Savage Canvas Arts. I design and make double images, glow-in-the-dark t-shirts, and paintings. It’s a hard concept to visualize talking about it because even at conventions, people have to stop and stare for a moment so their minds can comprehend what they are seeing. But, on the black shirt is a black image that will glow in the dark and under UV light, say, a unicorn head. Then over that is a color image of the unicorn running. It could be anything. The symbol of Ra over the glowing symbol of Horus, or whatever.
But people really seem to be enjoying them. And it’s nice to be able to make something that is different from other shirts out there. I do the same idea on canvas as well if you need some cool art. I know my examples above are random, but most of what I do is more fan art, I have done those two upon request before. I don’t feel comfortable saying that this is what I am known for, but I did have two women come up to me at Tampa Bay Comic Con and tell me they spend 45 minutes trying to find my booth so they could buy something. That was shocking to me and made me feel like maybe this is what I am known for.
As far as what sets me apart from others, in the literary world, my romance books have a male protagonist which is very rare in that genre. When I set out to write, I wanted to stand out (hopefully in a good way) and I didn’t want to be one of those male writers who write women poorly. We have all read those passages that make us laugh or gag. I wanted to write something that a reader could relate to, that they felt like they knew the characters in real life. I like to write life as it is, not as it should be. A little Hunter S. Thompson, but it resonated me with and if you write what resonates with you, it will find others it resonates with.
As far as what I am most proud of, I think it’s that I am able to make a living from my art. I get to tell stories that otherwise might not get told. I get to paint cool things and there are enough people who think what I do is cool too, and it helps make life better.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
A long time ago, I don’t remember if I read it somewhere, or if someone told it to me, but I learned the phrase, “The Universe doesn’t care about you.” And it set me free. Most people, when I say that, react with this sad face followed by, “but I care,” or “that’s a sad way to look at life.” But it’s not. The universe is infinitely expansive and we are floating pieces of dust within it.
To me, there is no eternal prize for lying my way through life or pretending to be a good person to win some mortal contest. The phrase, to me, means that what we do in this life matters. That after we are gone, the universe will be no worse off but those we interacted with in some way might be better off for having met me. And I might be better off for having met them. It’s a strange way of saying, “Do good because it’s the right thing to do.”
Contact Info:
- Website: TheAuthorNickSavage.Com or SavageCanvasArts.com
- Instagram: @TheAuthorNickSavage or @SavageCanvasArts
- Facebook: @TheAuthorNickSavage1 or @SavageCanvasArts
- Twitter: @SavageWrites
- TikTok: @TheAuthorNickSavage
