Jukebox Time got a chance to interview Eric Coley in regard to his book series Last Destiny. We got insights into his book and much more!

Q. Welcome to Jukebox Time! How are you doing?

Hey there, Jukebox Time, I am doing quite well today.

Q. Your book series “Last Destiny” is now available on Amazon. Please tell us about your wonderful books!

Yes it is and thank you for allowing me the chance to introduce people to it. Last Destiny is a Sci-fi fantasy in which each book deals with a different world. The worlds have various civilizations and the main characters have various struggles. The stories do not always revolve around saving the world but it is a focal point. The first volume introduces Kahira and friends as he comes to grip with insurmountable loss. While at the same time the Four Sorcerers of the Wind, who are the cause of so much calamity, pose a threat to all existence. The story becomes a race between the two parties as the Sorcerers aim to awaken an ancient evil while Kahira and friends try to prevent them. This story sets the tone and elements of all the proceeding arcs. Though the worlds and stories are for the most part self-contained they are connected.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

Last Destiny, first came to me in a ‘daydream’ decades ago while up watching a television show as a child. It was one of the strangest occurrences of my life. I saw a strange character running along an unusual environment. It blew my mind at the time. Suddenly, I had a story and I eventually had more daydreams with unusual settings and characters. I drew and wrote as much of it as I could, and stored it away. I literally just came back to it last year with new energy, and the impulse to finish it.

Q. Any tips or advice for aspiring writers?

The only advice and tips I can give is don’t give up on a story which comes to you. Don’t think that you have no outlet for what is shaping in your mind. Now in days especially there are so many outlets for any creation anyone can think of and no reason whatsoever to not try to get it out. Utilize this because no one can be sure when these doors will close.

Q. What is art for you?

Art for me is the various mediums which men use to express what is teeming in their mind at any giving time in an artistic way. Painting, drawing, putting patterns together etc all of these forms of expression take center stage. As an artist I understand there can be so many road blocks for an artist and they just have to go with it. They have to press forward regardless of set backs and believe in themselves.

Q. Who are your favorite artists? And why?

At this moment in particular my favorite artists are Alex Toth and John Paul Leon. Two of the hardest working and dedicated artists in recent memory. I have favorites in all forms of art as well but those two are my top. And Alex Toth influenced JPL. Alex Toth’s dedication to doing comic art the right way and stripping it down in the process to its essentials is (to me) mind blowing. JPL following in his footsteps and being unique at the same time producing in comic form true master classes of sequential art is enough in and of itself. They influence me and inspire me.

Q. Any daily ritual that you follow in order to stay creative?

Yes, I have a very early workout process which sets the day rolling for me. I get up workout listening to music before sun rise. Afterward, I shower and eat my first meal. From here I am ready for whatever the day has to offer.

Q. What’s next? Which book or projects are you working on now?

Right now, I am developing the third volume of Last Destiny and promoting the first two volumes. Last Destiny as a whole is ten volumes all of it I originally produced when I was teenager. Right now I am individually reworking each story correcting problems in my youth I wasn’t aware of. The third volume is unique in that it is direct continuation of the second (the only one in all of the volumes). It answers a few questions readers of the first volume may have been curious about. It is a very interesting volume which allows one character much needed “closure”.

Q. Finally, as we ask all our guests on Jukebox Time, do you have any closing thoughts that you would like to share with the world and our readers?

I am very fortunate to have been given the chance to do this. There are a lot of people with amazing talent and gifts out in the world. These people have the gifts to create anything but don’t have the avenues or know how to get it up and going. I, myself, have been there and I am grateful to be pushing forward in the direction I find myself in presently.

About the author: Eric Coley, late thirties military vet. Writing and art have been a passion as far back as I can remember. In a life of pursuing tangible things I’ve learned honing in on one’s own skills is the best thing one can do. Exploring who one is, loving that and expanding on those things despite everything around them. These are things which get us farther in life in the most healthiest of ways as an individual. Without this as key in portions of my life I could not see my true potential. With it though, I glimpsed the direction which allowed me to be able to finish stories and produce art which laid unfinished in storage for twenty years. But here and now, this is only the beginning of my story which you are being introduced to.