Hunter Davis - Enthralling and Mysterious Adventure

Hunter Davis grew up in Kansas and since has traveled across the US working at different places. He has now settled in back in his home state, and is there writing among many other things. Hunter has an awesome family of four and the actual time he finds to write is limited, but he wouldn't trade his family for anything. Hunter loves the outdoors and adventuring and loves any and all sports. He grew up hunting, trapping, fishing, and playing competitive sports. Now however, there is nothing that he love more than to hang out with his family.Stories can take you from a city to a land far away. They can transport you to a new country or land. Stories are where the imagination runs free. Hunter Davis loves stories. He loves listening, or reading, or written them. He has created the world of Asteria in order to give hours of enjoyment to his readers. Through the books and stories he writes in this far away land, people can be places they have never been and do things they have never done. All it takes is a little imagination.Hunter Davis is also a strong Christian who has believed in Jesus for eternal life and now strives to serve Him. As he does this he writes workbooks to help others be more disciplined, like the Impact series, and inspirational books like "Earning Money for Heaven."  As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, The Wanderer.Please give us a short introduction to what The Wanderer is about.The wanderer is a book about a dwarf. This dwarf is strong and courageous and enjoys wandering the land. However, all of that changes when he is captured by an evil king and meets an elf princess who changes his perspective on life. Together, the dwarf Bar, and the elf princess along with some friends end up, seeking to find a safe place that they can call home, yet the king cannot let this happen, and they are soon being chased by bounty hunter.What inspired you to create the world of Asteria and the story of The Wanderer?My inspiration for creating the world of Astira is a funny story. Growing up I did not enjoy reading, although I enjoyed stories. Even to this day, I prefer to listen to books above reading them. However, when I was in college, I was taking a writing class and the teacher gave us an assignment to create a paper that was full of creative writing. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien and the Lord of the rings series along with other books by CS Lewis and GA Henty inspired me to write a story that was both an epic fantasy and at a strong heroic male character and was clean enough for children to read and safe for all. When I was finished, my teacher loved my work and I decided to continue writing the story. The story kept going until I had my first fantasy fiction novel, “The Dragred’s Deception.” This work, however, did not get published until the COVID-19 pandemic when I have time and resources to be able to self publish. Once this novel was complete, I decided to try and write a series in the same world with some of the same goals in mind. This is how “The Wanderer” was born and also how booked two “The Norther Woods”came about.How did you come up with the character of Bar the dwarf? Did any real-life experiences influence his journey?The character Bar was born out of imagination from my life experiences and people I have met. I do not think bar represents one person in my life, however, many people have influenced what I see as a strong, heroic male. When creating bar I wanted people to be able to see someone that they can look up to who is not afraid, Who is willing to sacrifice, and who is willing to lay it all on the line for the ones he loves. There are many people in my life that would attribute to these characteristics that I instill in Bar.The book is described as a “clean YA epic fantasy.” Why was it important to you to write a story that falls into this category?It was very important to me for my books to be clean. Growing up, my parents were strict on what I could and could not read or watch. I think it is important for children to have safe things to read. I also think that it is hard to find clean fantasy novels at times. So whether my audience was older epic fantasy enthusiasts, or young adult readers, I wanted all to be able to enjoy the story. I chose fantasy because of the creativity that you can use when writing this genre, and because of the influences that writers such as Tolkien and Louis had on me.Can you tell us more about the Taggarts and how their legacy shapes the world of Asteria?My goal with the Taggart series was born out of my first novel, “The Dragred’s Deception.” In this novel, we meet some descendants with the name Taggart. This people group is known for being mixed breed, meaning half elf half dwarf. They are great warriors, dragon riders, and end up helping saving the world of Asteria from the orcs. I wanted this series to be shorter books that were easier to read And fast pace exciting adventures. I love Louis L’amour’s the Sackets series because of those reasons and I wanted to create something in the fantasy fiction rule that could be similar to that.The Wanderer is the first book in The Taggarts series. What can readers expect from the sequel, The Northern Woods?Yes. “The Northern Woods” is booked two in the Taggert series. My goal, if I get enough traction, is to write book 3 in the next year. This book, if everything stays the same, will be called something like, “The Son’s of Bar Taggart,” and will continue the story of the family as well as the story of the power bracelets.What role does adventure and exploration play in your writing?Exploration and adventure play a huge role in my writings. I have lived in many states. I have climbed many mountains I have walked many trails. I love seeing new places, especially when those places places involve nature. Seeing new mountains, new valleys, new rivers, new lakes, well you get the point I love traveling to see nature’s finest. This is part of what made Bar who is, and part of how their adventures were created. Without being too focused on the landscape, so that my book would not be too boring, I wanted adventure to play a role in it.There’s an element of found family in this story. How do Bar, Tami, and the others bond throughout their journey?Family is a huge deal to me. I wanted elements of that to be found throughout the Taggerts series. We can see the relationship begin to bond between the travelers in the first book. And without giving too much away, we can see a break in those bonds as well. By the end, we see a family unit begin, one that will carry on through many generations.Did your love for the outdoors and adventure influence the way you wrote the action sequences?Yes, absolutely! As I said before adventure and nature is something that I love. That definitely influenced my writing, the scenes in the book, and the places that they went.You weave faith and values into your storytelling. How does your faith shape the themes of The Wanderer?My book is not allegorical, neither is it meant to be spiritual. However, I am a Christian, and I wanted my characters to show virtuous traits. Traits that I think are important for culture and society to grow in the right direction.Did any character surprise you as you wrote the book, developing in ways you didn’t expect?Yes. Corrin the sand elf. I did not know how I was going to develop this character throughout the two books. By the end of the first book, this character was pretty much on pace with what I generally expected. However, by the time book 2 was completed, I looked back and did not recognize the direction of that character.What are you working on right now?I am currently debating on what to start next. If this series gets traction, I will definitely be writing book 3. However, if it seems to die or fade, I am thinking about writing a historical fiction book either set in the 1800s, or one set around roughly 4000 BC.