That’s right, I interviewed myself. Believe me, it’s not the weirdest idea I’ve ever had, not by a long shot. Now that Cirsova Magazine has completed the serialization of my novel Vran the Chaos-Warped, I thought now would be a good time to sit down with the author for a chat. Let’s see what I have to say about it. 

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background as a writer.
My name is D.M. Ritzlin and I started DMR Books in 2014 with the aim of revitalizing sword-and-sorcery fiction. At the time I wasn’t planning on writing stories myself, only publishing work by others. Then an opportunity came up to collaborate on a story with Mike Browning (of the band Nocturnus) for Swords of Steel III. That was a lot of fun, and I started writing fantasy stories set in a world of my own creation after that. Editing anthologies turned out to be great preparation for writing, as I learned quite a bit about story structure and things like that.

What are the most prominent influences on your writing? How do you incorporate those influences without being derivative?
As far as literary influences go, the biggest ones are Clark Ashton Smith, Jack Vance (especially his Dying Earth series), and Fritz Leiber. But just as important are all the things I liked as a kid: MAD Magazine, He-Man, Calvin and Hobbes, Garbage Pail Kids, Looney Tunes… Additionally, all those Dungeons & Dragons sessions in high school and a lifetime of listening to heavy metal bands like Manowar and Gwar had a huge impact on me. All that stuff got mixed into my head, and it comes out in my stories.

Just about anything can be an influence as long as you know how to apply and adapt it to whatever medium you’re working in. For example, my story “More Blood” in the anthology Blood on the Blade (Flint Books, 2021) began as a satire of modern professional wrestling and its fans, but I don’t think many people would guess that from reading it. One reader described it as “Philip K. Dick doing S&S,” which is a pretty far cry from the original idea!

I don’t worry about being derivative. If I can’t do something without putting my own spin on it, I feel like it’s not worth doing. I doubt I’d be able to be a copy of Vance or Leiber or anyone else, even if I tried, so why go that route?

With self-publishing easier than ever, there are tons of books being released every day. What makes your work stand out from the crowd? What can readers get out of your work that they can’t from anyone else?
I like to describe my stories as being a mix of action, horror, wonder, and gallows humor in varying degrees. The humor really sets my stuff apart from most S&S, I think. Most other S&S writers don’t really use it these days, and many of the ones who do use it to create parodies or farces. I think I have a pretty good grasp of how to incorporate humor without undermining the serious parts of the story.

Many authors say marketing is one of their biggest challenges. What tactics have you found to be most effective for getting your name out there?
Having a blog certainly helps, although I’m better known for publishing than I am for writing at this point. I’ve started going to more conventions, and that’s a good way to meet people who otherwise would never have heard of you. One thing that doesn’t seem to help at all is advertising. Whether it’s on Facebook, Amazon, or in print, ads haven’t proved to be worthwhile.

How much do your audience’s expectations factor in to what you write? Does this ever cause you to hold back from experimenting?
Not at all. I rarely get feedback from readers, and when I do it’s usually just “I liked it.” I figure if they liked the weird ideas I’ve had before, they’ll probably like my new ones. I don’t even care much if my stories fall outside the boundaries of sword-and-sorcery. Some of the stories in Necromancy in Nilztiria should probably be classified as “dark fantasy” or something other than S&S, but I think they’re close enough.

Have you had any new stories published recently? Are you currently working on any?
The Winter issue of Cirsova Magazine just came out, which has the final installment of my novel Vran the Chaos-Warped. Vran is a cursed swordsman who has sworn to destroy an evil, degenerate wizard named Foad Misjak. Over the course of the novel Vran hunts Misjak through multiple worlds: a primitive land of ice, an enormous castle the size of a mountain, and finally a dimension where mankind is subservient to intelligent plants. Also, I have a new short story in the latest issue of Tales from the Magician’s Skull entitled “The Necromancer and the Forgotten Hero.”

Something else I’m involved in was recently released: No Artpunk II, a compendium of winning entries for an old-school RPG adventure design contest. My module, “The Lair of the Brain Eaters,” is based on an earlier short story of mine of the same name. No Artpunk II includes 11 adventures for older editions of Dungeons & Dragons and compatible games. You can name you own price, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the National Fibromyalgia Association.

I’ve just finished second drafts of two new stories, one of which features my recurring character Xaarxool the Necromancer. Both of them are longer than any of the stories in my first collection, Necromancy in Nilztiria. Once I put the finishing touches on these two, I’ll have enough material to fill half of another collection.

Name one newer and one older book you have read and enjoyed recently. (“Newer” meaning from the past year or so, and “older” meaning written before 1980.)
I haven’t read any newer books lately that I haven’t published myself, but I have read a few periodicals: the latest issue of Cirsova and the second issue of Old Moon Quarterly. I’ve also been trying to catch up on back issues of Whetstone. For older ones, I reread Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure series, which I’d wanted to do for a while. Science fiction adventure doesn’t get any better than that.

Any final words?
I’d like to thank all the sword-and-sorcery fans who support DMR Books. Interest in S&S has surged dramatically since I started DMR in 2014, but it’s still nothing like what it was in its heyday. The genre needs more readers, and I know there are tons of people out there that would like S&S, but they just don’t know about it. That’s why it’s so important when you read a great book to tell your friends about it, leave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, etc. That’s the only way things will get bigger and better.