Meet Mikel Melwasul

We were lucky to catch up with Mikel Melwasul recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mikel, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us today. We’re excited to dive into your story and your work, but first let’s start with a broader topic that might be stopping many of our readers from pursuing their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. How have you managed to persist despite haters and nay-sayers that inevitably follow folks who are doing something unique, special or off the beaten path?

Spite is a powerful motivator. But as powerful as it is, it will never grant to gratification because the naysayers and haters cannot be pleased. Even if you prove them wrong, you will never do enough or create something beautiful enough to appease them. Once you realize this the only conclusion to beating them is to create something so beautiful that haters become delusional to everyone around them. But, more importantly, you do not create things for the haters, you do not persist in spite of them, it is better to create for those who support and to do it for them. I recently was a guest at a convention where 6 years ago my haters openly mocked my dreams. Are they eating crow? No, they don’t care. But the people who support me do, and are excited by my success. So I persist by putting the haters out of my mind.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Mikel Melwasul is an author, the name is a pen name meant to represent the multiple minds behind his book Paragon Exordium. Paragon Exordium, is an easy to read genre bending rural fantasy that is unlike anything on the market. It’s a love letter to classic fantasy designed to be accessible and enjoyable for long time fans of the genre of new comers to it.
The goal of Mikel is to share the unique world he has created which he desires to grow into a franchise on par with Star Wars, drawing in more authors, stories and mediums to build in the world of Paragon. Paragon Exordium is the first book in a series about our world’s attempts to survive a magical apocalypse started by the return of the fae. The setting and elements of the story are unique and familiar, but the strength of the story lies in the many minds that worked together to put it to paper. Book 2, Paragon Attrition is currently slated to release in 2025.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Years of reading 100s of fantasy/sci-fi/adventure novels.
2. Incorporating other minds into the writing process, including the first secondary author of the series who was an officer in the army and able to lend that perspective and experience to the story.
3. Having a team with experience in literature along for the journey from start to end.
Number one piece of advice is to find a critique partner who knows what they’re talking about and won’t shy away from being honest with you.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Reading to me. One of my earliest memories is my father reading The Hobbit to me before bedtime. Reading installed a love for fantasy and literature at a young age that has defined my life. My father doesn’t prefer fiction, but he understood the value of it to a developing mind and made sure to read a lot of it to my brothers and I as we grew up.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Book Cover by Serena Maylon
Guy with sword by Whitney Lanier
Elf like creature Yorsy Hernandez
Mik logo, SNW logo designed and owned by Mikel Melwasul.
RPG sheet by YourMajesty’swill

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