Books and Brews Podcast Episode #10: Douglas VanDyke

Douglas was born Nov 28th, 1971. He got the chance to live in many different places while growing up, courtesy of the assignments the US Army offered his father. Quiet and shy, he dreamed of other worlds and places…and desired to write about them. He got into fantasy role-playing games in his mid-teens. To this day he regularly meets friends in tabletop role-playing games and online adventures. Many of his characters evolved in games, and developed their own personality. Having to rely on self-publishing for his novels, Douglas was surprised at the amount of good reviews and publicity they received. The Earthrin Stones trilogy sold more copies than expected. The Widow Brigade started its reception earning eleven straight 5-star reviews, including a recent widow who said it helped with her healing process. Douglas lives with his wife and two sons in Minnesota. He works in health care, serving people's needs in medical imaging. Most people see him wearing scrubs. dhealoral.com   Facebook: @Dhea-Loral Twitter: @ThaminDheaLoral Upcoming events: Douglas will be at Con of the North, Feb 14-16, Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West, 3131 Campus Dr, Plymouth, Mn - A popular gaming convention featuring just about every type of gaming you can imagine. He will be at Marscon, Feb 28-Mar 2, Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd E, Bloomington, Mn - A Sci-fi based convention near Mall of America, which also includes some fantasy and steampunk. Douglas's Readings: The Widow Brigade – 12:56 Sword and Path – 30:16 Boxer Earns his Wings – 44:13 Michael's Beer Pairings: Stjørdal, Hammerheart Brewing (paired to The Widow Brigade) – 9:28 Saison Dupont, Brasserie Dupont sprl (paired to Sword and Path) – 27:02 Budweiser Copper Lager, ABInBev (paired to Boxer Earns his Wings) – 41:46 Interview Highlights: Expanding the emotional world of dwarves – 19:57 Douglas's background as a writer – 22:34 What sparked Dhea Loral and the dwarf widow Duli? – 23:18 Male writer creating female characters – 25:54 World-building – 39:40 The steampunk world of 'Boxer' – 50:47 How does growing up in the military affect us as writers? – 53:53 COMING NEXT MONTH: Poet Tim Young Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.