An Interview with Nolan Cook

Nolan Cook is a debut genre fiction author from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from Franklin College with a BA in Creative Writing, as well as a double minor in English and Spanish. When Nolan is not writing or reading, he enjoys watching anime, TV shows, and movies, as well as playing video games, as he believes there is no single “correct” way to tell a story. With a strong passion for representation in fiction, he hopes to tell stories and create characters that anyone can relate to.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

As a child, I always had a very active imagination, and that never really went away. My father used to tell bedtime stories that featured my brothers and me as the main characters, and that is where my love for stories was born. Once I was old enough to start reading fiction, it was Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians that made me want to be a writer. When I first read those books I wanted to be Percy, and now all I want to do is create a story like that for another kid somewhere out there. It is my life goal to inspire a future writer the way Rick Riordan inspired me.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

My love for history and mythology helped me come up with the premise for this novel, an international treasure hunt that takes the characters through the myths of several different cultures. However, it is the male main character that I am most excited to share with readers. There is something about a broken character who keeps on fighting that people really relate to, and he is a shining example of that. In a world of mystical powers and ancient cults, he is a bit of an underdog, but his resilience carries him through the many trials that are thrown his way. While he is not inspired by a single character or work, he is really a testament to the indomitable human spirit inside all of us.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

It took me quite a while to come up with A Song of Light and Legend, and it was by no means easy. I wanted a title that was both catchy and encompassed the themes and details of the story, and this title does both. Music is very important to the male main character and his relationship with his father, hence the word “song” in the title. “Light” comes from both the importance of the sun and the moon in the story, as well as the metaphorical struggle between light and dark. The story’s use of history and mythology is where the word “legend” comes from, giving me my title.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

As I said before, music plays an important role in the male main character’s life. The book’s soundtrack would feature a lot of 1980s hits, especially from Bruce Springsteen, the character’s favorite artist. Though the story takes place now, the male main character’s pop culture taste is stuck in the 1980s, so my novel’s soundtrack would roll out the classics.

Describe your dream book cover.

My dream book cover would be subtle, including only imagery and symbols found within the story instead of the characters themselves. The idea of day and night clashing on the front cover is appealing to me, as the female main character represents the former and the male main character represents the latter. Duality is an underlying theme throughout the novel – day and night, hot and cold, loss and life – so splitting the cover into two parts would symbolize that theme. The title also has two parts, “light” and “legend,” and in order to keep representing that duality, I would put the word “light” on the half of the cover that features the night, hence adding to the idea that there is more than one kind of “light.”

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am very passionate about working with children. I have volunteered with elementary-age children since I was in high school, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. I have coached a variety of youth sports over the years, and I spent a summer interning in Costa Rica as an English teacher to Spanish-speaking students. I am currently seeking opportunities overseas to continue teaching the English language to students in other countries. I volunteered at a local elementary school during college, where I was lucky enough to meet a young boy who changed my outlook on life. When I decided to become an author, I wanted to write a book that changed the world. After my experience with this child, however, I realized that creating a character or a story that even one kid can look up to is just as powerful.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

While it’s not a novel that I read, I did enroll in an African history course during my senior year of college in order to broaden my knowledge of world history and to research possible topics to include in my book. While the history and mythology found in my novel come from all over the world, some of the things that I learned in this class are incorporated in the story.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

If there is only one thing that readers will take away from my book, I hope it is this: your past does not define you. No matter what has happened, or what you may have done, it is never too late to change your future. It is so easy to get caught up in the past, and it is something we all do, but there’s no time like the present. You can’t change the past, but you can always change the future.

To answer the second part of this question, I imagine my perfect reader to be a history and mythology nerd like myself. Someone who is looking to follow likable and relatable characters on a journey full of magic and adventure is a perfect reader for my novel.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.