Paul C Goosen

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Paul C. Goosen

I am on the cusp of completing final editing of a futuristic fantasy novel, Beasts of Iron, of 190,000 words in length. This is the first in a series of (at least) 10 books, called the Nether Realm Novels.

The first novel deals with one young boy’s view of the world; his secret desire to free himself of the guilt that comes with the complete destruction of his home village, his despair over being abnormally gifted, and his reinforced belief that he doesn’t need or want friends. Reluctantly he flees to the wilderness and finds refuge with a secret tribe of wild people, but trouble follows in his wake, challenging him to mature in his perception of others, and of himself.

This is my first work. As an avid fantasy and fiction reader, I enjoyed writing this novel immensely, and intend to continue the saga.

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Paul C Goosen – Author Bio

One Sentence

Paul Carl Goosen is the author of an epic series of young adult fiction, known as Nether Realm Novels.

Short

Paul Carl Goosen is an Australian author with high ambitions. His new book, Beasts of Iron is the first in an epic series, which has been over 15 years in the making. When Goosen is not reading or writing, he works in a number of fields including security, fitness and outdoor recreation.

Extended

Paul Carl Goosen was born on the 1st of April. In 1983, however, this fell on Easter’s Good Friday, which overrules his status an April Fool. His hometown is Durban, in Kwa-Zulu Natal. After two years there he moved inland to Johannesburg.

In 2000, having spent almost 17 years in South Africa, he moved to Sydney, Australia, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Goosen. In 2002 he completed high school at Cromer High and attended a computer college with hopes of learning just how computers work and how to fix them. Upon discovering a natural talent for further destroying computers that needed repair, he worked as a warehouse troll, lifting and moving heavy things, hunting for parts, and mailing them all over Australia.

Having satisfied his need to confuse a corporation, he turned his focus to spiritual matters and attended Bible College secretly hoping to legitimately disprove the authenticity and therefore authority of the Bible…and became a Christian instead. In 2008 he moved to Perth to escape a monstrous fish and complete his 5th (and final) year of theological studies as a full-time student at Perth Bible College. After working as a janitor, he joined the Army Reserves. He also held positions as a youth pastor and a high school chaplain. In 2012 he gained qualifications in fitness and began a small personal training company, The Physical Ministry (client’s say: “Misery”). He also worked on the mines as a Health and Lifestyle Coordinator. In 2014 he left the Army, and in 2015 resigned from the mines to attend Edith Cowan University to study a double degree in Secondary Education and Exercise Science.

His current employment includes running his small personal training business, instructing archery and bush craft at youth camps, or working as a security guard. When he is not reading or writing, training clients and himself, or propelling sharp sticks at targets living or otherwise, Paul amuses himself by creating small Fight-Club-like training groups for young men, aimlessly strumming a guitar, and hanging out with ninjas.When weather permits, he enjoys swimming in the sea and getting lost in the wilderness. Any time remaining is spent occasioning paintball fields and discouraging war by shooting his friends.

How Paul Goosen approaches writing is best described in the words of June McDougall:  “Inventing fake people in my mind that I pretend are real for short periods of time in order to understand them as if they were real so that I can portray them in the most realistic way possible so that other people will think they are real for a little bit as well and I can achieve my lifelong dream of mass delusion.”

Paul C Goosen – Author Images

Paul C Goosen – Interview Questions

Background

Why did you decide to write?

I always loved reading – it was a great way to escape reality. One day I discovered a series of ideas inside me, and wanted to document them for my friends and family.

When did you begin writing stories?

I wrote a few adventures for school English essays. When I came to Australia I finally had a computer at my disposal, so I began Beasts of Iron in 2000, two years before I finished school.

When did you start thinking about the book?

I first started thinking about the idea when I was 14. I was sitting in an insanely boring chemistry class, after an argument with the ‘computer nerds’ of the time. I began wondering who would triumph should a war spring up between a bunch of bush-warriors and some technology-reliant humans of the future. Then I forgot about it.

On the plane to Australia I started thinking about it again. I do not know why.

When I finally got a computer I only knew how to use Word, so decided to write down these ideas. It seemed that the more I wrote the more space there was for the story to grow… when bored in class the idea of the NRN took over every spare moment, and then some more. I became both its slave and creator.

To this day I still keep notepads beside my bed and in my pockets, to write down ideas as they come.

Finding Inspiration

How was it to write a novel?

Difficult, but fun and fulfilling. Coming up with ideas faster than you can write them down is always exciting. Thinking about how characters would deal their way through various situations was satisfying, and in many cases, hilarious. Finally, seeing the book in its cover and hearing people go, “Oh man! This story is awesome!” after they’ve read it, is a sensation beyond explanation.

What were some of the difficulties?

Because I had never written a novel before I was not entirely sure on how to go about it, so the first couple of chapters were nothing short of embarrassing. It was only much later that I decided to search the internet to see whether there was a rule-book for writing novels or something.

The worst part was the revision. I did around 13 revisions of the Beasts of Iron, and re-wrote it no fewer than 5 times (Even experimented with writing it up in old English and first person at one stage). Each time I found different errors or changes to make. I knew what the story was about – the history of each character and event – and knew exactly what I was attempting to say, so if certain words or explanations were left out I would still understand it all… the problem was, no one else would. Eventually, I realized that there was a limit to how much editing I could do before I lost the ability to see my own errors. So I needed another person to point out the errors that I had overlooked.

When I felt ready to print out a few chapters for critiquing, the challenge was to find people who would be both constructive and honest. It irritated me to no end when people would read the script and simply say, “It’s great! I can’t find anything wrong with it,” when I knew that there were mistakes. There were times that I became so frustrated that I decided to kill the whole cast (the Dwanta Spawning grounds were a result of this). Surprisingly, the most confrontational and helpful critique, came from none other than my own sweet mother!

Who are some of your writing role-models?

There were a few that influenced me in my life. Willard Price through his Adventure series was a first, as was William Golding with Lord of the Flies. John Tolkien and Clive Lewis, Michael Crichton, Terry Pratchett, Terry Goodkind, Robert Ludlum and their respective writings.

I’m thinking about writing a story…

So is every other man, and his mother. My humble advice is to stop thinking, and start writing. Then repeat the process. If you have a story, or an idea for a story, then write it out, and revise it until it is absolutely beautiful. Share the story with someone by writing it out, rather than letting it die with you.

…but I don’t have the time.

People make time for the things they enjoy – MSN or TV or neighbourhood mischief. You have to decide which is more important to you.

Nether Realm Novels

What is the Nether Realm?

In the Nether Realm Novels, the world has been savagely re-joined to form, once more, a super-continent. Because the continent resides in what is universally accepted to be the bottom of the earth, and a rather nasty place to live (in comparison to the luxury we live in nowadays), it is called the Nether Realm.

How many books are in the NRN series?

The story of Brent and his friends was originally going to be told through 5 novels, but after much planning and positive feedback, there are currently no fewer than ten books planned.

What age group is it aimed at?

I intended it to interest mainly teenagers, but I have a couple of adults (even parents) reading the book. I guess some of us just don’t grow up.

Will the NRN be your only books?

Certainly not. I have ideas for future books which have nothing to do with the NRN. I try not to think of these books too often though – I want to finish the NRN before moving onto another project.

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