Jeff Rush, Star Tribune

December 15, 2004

*Note this article has been modified from it's original text to correct a few typographical errors present in the official version of the article printed on 12/15/04.

Author takes 15-year quest to publish fantasy trilogy

    It's a long way from the Twin Cities' northern suburbs to the lands of Tralodren™. Author Chad Corrie, 27, of Spring Lake Park figures it took him about 15 years to get there and back.

    His fantasy work “The Seer's Quest" arrived recently in national chain bookstores as well as at The Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights. But he traces his inspiration back to Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman" movie. Corrie, then 12 and living in Fridley, along with a friend, soon created their own comic book, "Gator," and he has been pursuing his dream ever since.

    “The Seer's Quest" is published by R&R Endeavors, an Indianapolis company that specializes in fantasy, horror and science fiction. Corrie's "Path of Power" is scheduled to be out next year, and "Gambit's End" in 2006.

    In between his part-time job as a merchandiser trying to sell impulse items in local grocery stores and his more than full-time pursuit of his writing career, Corrie answered a few questions.

How did you get started?

    The short story is I was 12 years old and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't want to have a job in the traditional sense.

What was your first work?

    "Gator," a comic book in 1989. A friend and I designed our own city, we wrote about 27 issues, we got an artist to work for us, and we sent out some stuff to DC and Marvel. Of course it got rejected, but it was a fun process.

Where do you get your ideas?

    A lot of these ideas have been sitting in my head for 10 years or so. Sometimes I'll watch a TV commercial and that'll be an idea. With this current novel, I was trying to do something different in the fantasy area -- not that what we have now is bad. I was trying to do something different than the standard Tolkienesque, which has dominated for 50 years or so.

How did "The Seer's Quest" come to be?

    I wanted to get published but didn't have much success. I decided I really would like to do this for a living and make a life out of it. Initially I found an agent and made some bad mistakes with that. Then I went into self-publishing, which wasn't a wise idea, either. Then I formed my own company, but unfortunately that didn't work out. Through that whole process I got into contact with R&R Endeavors and just began corresponding with them. They actually liked it and wanted to publish it.

How does it feel to have your book out in stores?

    It feels, to be honest, like it's about time. Not to sound cocky or anything, but it's been about a 12-year process for me. The last seven or eight years has really been trying to get it out to a market. Now it's like, “finally”, it's a relief.

Advice for a 12-year-old who is where you were 15 years ago?

    Keep with it. That's one of the reasons I have my website. I want to help people who want to write and have a dream to be a writer. The big thing is persistence. If you really feel that this is something that you need to do, then stick with it because you can always improve and you can always get better.

What else should people know about you?

    I was a very poor speller and English student who hated to read and was shy -- afraid of talking to people or even being noticed by people. Now I'm in a field that I have to talk to people constantly and try and get them to notice me as well as write and read. Getting from there to here was a long, long journey but a very rewarding and worthwhile one.