Adam Bolander is the author of The Slayer and The Sphinx. He lives in Northwest Arkansas and attends college while working part time. He has spent his whole life dealing with multiple learning and mental disorders, ranging from ADHD to Asperger’s Syndrome. He wanted to write books from a very young age, but it took until his junior year of high school to realize that dream. Since then, he has published three books, is forever planning more, and is even releasing one periodically online.
MTAR: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Adam: I’m a 21 year old college student living in Northwest Arkansas. Now, I’m not trying to turn this into a sob story, but I have grown up dealing with several learning disorders, such as Asperger’s Syndrome and Tourette’s Syndrome. For the longest time, the only two things I was good at were reading and playing video games. I had always wanted to be an author, but despite numerous attempts at becoming one I remained convinced that I just could not do it. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that I tried yet again, out of sheer boredom. I’m still not sure what it was that was different this time, but something clicked within me, and I’ve been writing ever since, and I hope to keep writing until the day I die.
MTAR: What do you do when you are not writing?
Adam: Most of the time, I am working. As of now, I am employed part time at Wal-Mart while attending classes at the local community college. When I’m not doing that, I enjoy the internet. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter all those websites are great fun for me. Reading, of course, is still one of my favorite hobbies. And though I don’t play nearly as much as I used to, I still enjoy binging out on a good video game now and then.
MTAR: What inspired you to write your first book?
Adam: Well, that depends on what you define as my first book. If you’re referring to the first book I ever attempted to write, I was inspired because my parents did not allow Harry Potter in our house, and the commercials for The Chamber of Secrets looked awesome, so I decided to write my own blatant ripoff… may the computer that piece of filth was spawned on rot in whatever landfill it ended up in. The first book I ever finished was inspired by sheer boredom. I was sitting in agriculture class my junior year of high school, and rather than pay attention to the finer details of the Brangus bull, I decided to pull out my handy dandy Alphasmart (best tool a writer on the go can ever have, in my opinion) and began to write a book. Little did I know that one simple decision was going to change my entire life!
MTAR: What is the hardest thing about writing your first book?
Adam: Back then, I was still completely and utterly addicted to video games. It’s one of the worst parts of having the disabilities I do. Flashy violence, immediate gratification, and no real need to focus on anything sounded much more appealing to my ADHD riddled brain than sitting in a quiet room and typing for hours on end did. Fortunately, I was able to overcome this hurdle and discover the writer I was always meant to be.
MTAR: Can you tell us about your upcoming book, the sequel?
Adam: My next book is called “The Convict and the Captive.” It is the direct sequel to “The Slayer and the Sphinx.” After their adventure in the Historian’s Tower, the trio of adventurers continue on their way to the Dwarf City. But something is happening inside Porter that might derail everything and put his friends in danger. I’m also working on another, unrelated, story named “Trevor Dune: Storywalker,” which I am releasing on a weekly basis on JukePop.com.
MTAR: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Adam: Don’t judge others based on what other people tell you to believe. You can never truly know a person until you meet them, speak with them, and learn to see things there way.
MTAR: What makes you laugh?
Adam: Randomness. I’m a big fan of Monty Python skits. The more unexpected something is, the more likely it is to get a laugh out of me. I also love jokes that reference the nerdy things I love, like comic books and superhero movies.
MTAR: What would your fans be surprised to know about you?
Adam: I’m an alien that came from the future in my little blue box that’s bigger on the outside in order to change the world of literature one reader at a time! Oh wait, only half of that’s true… I’ll let you figure out which!