The Vindico: Interview

Today, I'd like to welcome over Wesley King, author of The Vindico, over for an interview!

What audiences, do you think, read your book(s)?

Technically my audience is supposed to be 9–15 year olds, but the same might be said about Harry Potter, and that never stopped me from waving twigs around and shouting Wingardium Leviosa at the age of 20 (okay, maybe I still do it). In general, I say kids in reality or kids at heart can enjoy my books.

What is something you’d tell yourself when you were first started on your writing journey, not to worry about?

Everything I’ve already written. When I wrote my first book, I didn’t read a single sentence until I was done so I could avoid rewriting the same sections over and over. Of course, half of it didn’t make sense when I finished, but I completed it nonetheless.

What would be something that you’d tell yourself to worry about when you first started on your writing journey?

Nothing in particular. I think I enjoy writing too much to even worry about entirely logical and probably recommended things like an ending.

Your favourite part of your writing journey?

Definitely the day my agent called and informed me that Penguin wanted to buy the books. I just sat down on the kitchen floor while she told me and then danced like a buffoon after she hung up.

Your least favourite part of your writing journey?

The many, many rejection letters, I suppose. It can be a bit humbling, especially after you’ve written a novel (which seems like the important part of the adventure). But I just kept submitting and eventually found it a home.

A typical writing day for you?

Very regimented. My computer desk is in my bedroom, and I like a quiet environment. I also usually write the same hours every day, whether I feel like it or not. I figure if you want to write for a living, you’d better treat it like a job. Of course, I work with supervillains, so it’s rarely dull.

One book you read that you wished you’d written?

Any number of them. But I think Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone would be my pick. Not because of the incredible success (though that would be lovely), but because it afforded Rowling the opportunity to grow up with her wonderful cast of characters and share that growth with the world. I think that’s a very cool concept and one I would love to have the opportunity to do.

Seat-of-your-pantser, or a plotter?

Definite seat-of-my-pantser, probably to the great dismay of my editor.

What do you think is your strongest area in your books? (characters, plot, dialogue, ext?

I’ve always placed a strong emphasis on characters and realistic dialogue, and I’ve been told that comes across in my books. I love writing dialogue—we actually cut many, many pages of it during the first edit. It’s ironic, because I’m hardly a chatty person. But I am listening, and perhaps this is where I get out all my thoughts.

What do you think is your weakest?

Plotting, I suppose. The mortal flaw of the seat-of-the-pantser.

What helps you get through a novel when it’s dragging while writing?

Because I have such a regimented schedule when I write, there’s never really any dragging. You just keep writing. I wrote my last novel in 11 days.

Tradition or self published, which one is best for you and why?

Traditional is the route I’ve ultimately found myself on, and I couldn’t be happier. That said, I had once planned on self-publishing after the first few rejection letters came in, and I even incorporated my own publishing company with a friend: Flock Publishing. As it turns out, you need money to run a publishing company. Who knew

Do you participate in wrimos?

I never have, no. I love to write whenever I possibly can, so I guess I’ve never needed any motivation.

Best part about writing?

For me, it’s like reading a book where the characters keep magically doing and saying everything I want them to.

If you could design a perfect room for writing, what would it look like?

For some reason the first thing I thought of was a classic study with tall, dusty bookshelves, a fireplace, and a large mahogany desk, perhaps in an old castle in the Bavarian countryside. But then I have to have a name like Baron von King and smoke a pipe. Maybe I like my bedroom. Though my cat tends to sit on my shoulders, and she’s no longer a kitten.

A rough estimate of how many books do you think you’ll publish/have published?

Provided people will read them, I have a lot of ideas. I’ve already written five, and I have outlines for another four. Like I said, I wrote my last book in 11 days. I just hope people connect with The Vindico so I have a chance to publish them all.

What influenced you to be a writer?

I think it was the fact that all my other career aspirations were for imaginary positions. Writer was the next closest.

How many books and ebooks do you think you have?

Hopefully many! Let’s take a wild, very hopeful guess and say 25.

Writers who influenced your work aka some favourite authors?

They range from Tolstoy to Rowling to Card. I think A Tale of Two Cities has one of the most poignant endings I’ve ever read, and I also greatly enjoyed The Hunger Games and the Inheritance Cycle. As for a favourite author, it would have to be James Clavell. I love historical fiction, particularly Japanese, and Shogun is one of my all-time favourites.

What sparks a novel for you?

That’s a great question. I also have no clue. Every novel idea I’ve ever had has just appeared (sometimes highly disorganized and in no discernible order), and then I sit down and write it like I’m reading a book I just found.

Well, thank you, Wesley King, I enjoyed that :) And I really enjoyed The Vindico, so look out for my review tomorrow, it's a quite interesting book! So to give you a bit more, here's The Vindico!

From Goodreads:
X-Men meets The Breakfast Club in this darkly humorous adventure


The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they're not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire--after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?


Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . .


With fast-paced action, punchy dialogue, and sarcastic humor, this high-stakes adventure from a talented new YA voice pulls you in from the first page.

The Vindico comes out on June 14th, so go put it on your To Be Bought Piles! Happy reading!