Sahara Foley Books and Book Reviews: Meet Scott L Collins and his current WIP: THE RUBY OF HELIOS

Meet Scott L Collins and his current WIP: THE RUBY OF HELIOS

Today I’d like to introduce you to Scott Collins and his latest novel in his Scepter series. BTW, Book 1 & Book 2 have both earned the coveted READERS FAVORITE awards. WTG on that.

Tell us about your current Work in Progress.

The Ruby of Helios is book three of the Scepter series.

What is the story about?

The Scepter series is a Middle Grade/YA Fantasy about an evil advisor, Argyle, who kills the king and assumes the throne of the Kingdom of Castiglias. He begins taking the citizens as slaves, and when his men show up to take young Daniel, his brother Aidan fights back. The two boys are quickly joined by two sisters as they flee Argyle’s men. It isn’t long before they decide to fight back. The series follows their travels as they seek to reunite the kingdom.

Who is the main character?

There are really four primary protagonists in the series: Daniel, age 14 at the beginning, his younger brother Aidan, Olivia, also 14, and her younger sister Lilly.

What inspired this tale?

I have two boys, Daniel and Aidan, and wanted to write a story I could share with them. My first book was a fiction thriller about cloning, so it’ll be a while before they’re ready for that one.

How did the story come to you?

A lot of it just comes from their imagination. Watching them play, pretend to be monsters, heroes, etc, gave me the inspiration I needed.

Did you have to research for this novel and if so, why?

I had to do a bit of research around translations, mythology, medicines, etc. It’s a fantasy world, but I still wanted to bring in a bit of our world: plants, some legends, and the like. The medicines were the hardest part, as there are so many different plants that can be used. Trying to keep them straight, and growing in an ecosystem where they’d be found in our world where possible, was a bit of a challenge.

If you did research, what do you think surprised you most to learn and why?

I’ve learned I’m not quite as organized as I thought. I’ve already, on several occasions, lost my list of names/places/translations that I use to keep everything straight in the story. As a matter of fact, as I write this, I have no idea where my most current copy is.

Do you relate to your character?

I’d like to think there’s a bit of me in all my characters, and would really like to think those are the positive personality traits.

If yes, then how?

In reality, I relate with some more than others. After all, how much can I relate to a 10 year old girl? Plus, being that two of my characters are written for my two boys, there are certain attributes that my sons share with their counterparts in the books that makes them really special in my heart.

What made you write this character; what made them important to you or made you want to tell their story?

I think this goes back to what inspired the tale. I wanted to share something with my two sons. They love to read. I love to write. I wanted to give them something they could treasure now, and, if I’m lucky, long after I pass on.

Is there anything specific you want readers to know about this piece of work?

I love this series. If you do to, tell a friend or write a review. Heck, do both. If you don’t like it, let me know why. I’d love to make writing my career, and I’m not going to improve if you don’t tell me where I went wrong.

When will the novel be available for purchase?

I’d like to get it out there by the beginning of July. I’ve got a couple items to wrap up before I can release it, but that’s my current target.

Thank you for a wonderful interview. You can connect with Scott at: