Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Wheeler.
Hi Robert, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began my first novel in Alaska around 2010 or so. When it was first published was in 2013. I had done all the work on my own and had not mentor to work with. Shortly after it was published I joined the Panhandle Writer’s Guild in Milton Florida. There were a number of traditionally published authors and others who had never completed or published a book as well. I realized my writing could have been so much better. So, I went through that entire novel with my group and republished it after 2 more years working with them. It was originally called Scions of Azazyel and it received some good reviews. It is a blending of Norse and Hebrew mythology or more specifically Biblical characters and stories interwoven with Norse mythology.
I republished the first novel as Hammer of the Gods: The Nine Realms Book 1. Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir gives rise to the title. Jonah and Angelica are the last part angel children of a fallen archangel named Azazyel. For his sins of marriage to a mortal and teaching humans forbidden secrets before the Great Flood of Noah, he was buried alive and his tomb is lost. Only one of his blood line can find him. The two youth seek out aid in Nome, Alaska from natives who have visited the Gnome Kingdom north of town. It is said they they two have angelic blood, but not from Azazyel. The gnomes have been at war for hundreds of years over an ancient artifact called the Gnome King’s Heart. It is said to create its own light and have the ability to find those who are lost. Additionally, they are instructed by the Archangel Gabriel to find the lost staff of Moses. Combined with the fabled ruby, the Gnome King’s Heart, it will aid them on the journey deep within the Earth to the Nine Realms of Norse mythology. They are seeking the aid of Odin and Thor in Asgard to fight against the Nine Dragons and the powers of darkness.
My second novel is The Witch of Endor: Vampires. It is Greek mythology mixed with Biblical characters and stories. It takes place around 950 BC in Greece. I spent 3 months writing this story, 3 months editing and then 6 months working with a narrator for the audiobook. It received a review in Kirkus who takes only the top 10% of submissions and was written up in several magazines. It too has a good review ranking, particularly on Audible at 4.7/5 stars.
From there I wrote a book on poetry, Mystical Musings: A Collection of Poetry that was #1 on Amazon for new audiobooks for a time, even outranking Mark Twain.
I recently just last month published the sequel, Vampires: The Old Gods and the Walking Dead. The brief on the vampire novels is Lamech was cursed by God for killing Cain who slew his brother Abel. Lamech, Cain’s great-great-great grandson was turned into a vampire from the curse. In my story, vampires are naturally attracted to evil-doer’s blood, so they are unknowingly like God’s vigilantes. The old gods of Greek myth still visited earth in those days, but it was their super hero demigod children who took up arms against the dragons and monsters of those times. Lilith, the witch from Endor is Lamech’s wife, although they became estranged in book 1. He seeks her and their daughter, Medusa, but in the old world that was no simple task.
The children of vampires are also cursed, but they are not like their parents. They are hybrid monsters, the gorgons, centaur, minotaur, mermaids and satyrs. Lilith, after a long separation from Lamech finds love again in Athens with Perseus. But he is no mere mortal, for he is the son of Zeus, the king of the Olympians. All 3 novels are in the same universe, but not currently in the same timeline. There is multiple plot layers, clues and secrets in my writings. Each chapter starts with a poem that gives clues about the chapter and back story. Also, I use anagrams for some characters. Meaning if the reader can rearrange the letters of their name, they can reveal their true identity. I use a great deal of symbolism, riddles, cyphers and puzzles that I think readers enjoy.
I began to write children’s bedtime stories and accompanied coloring books. I currently have 7 published children’s books with coloring books and have just had the illustrations completed on my 8th children’s book, The Fairy Queen. It is a cute story about Queen Mab who has lost her husband. Old grandpa met her when he was young. Now on a camping trip with his wife and 3 grandchildren he retells the story and they too are whisked away into a fairy tale realm. I have 3 books in the Adventures of Bumble the Bee. The cute chubby bee who couldn’t fly, but he learns with help from his granny and alot of work. He goes from teased to hero. I have one book on The Boy Who Thought he was a Horse. This is a try story about one of my sons using a different illustrator. I have 3 other children’s books on Fairies.
My next genre went into adult/children’s coloring books. I think I might have 30-40 of these now, I’ve lost track. My best sellers in this genre are Fantastic Horses and Super Heroes and Sinister Villains.
I have also published a personal journal and this past year a book called So, I’m a Widow Now. This self-help and inspirational novel is an aid to widows to help them find resources such as child care, social security, counseling, financial aid and other topics that are thrust upon them after the death of their spouse. I include at the beginning and ends of chapters uplifting poems and quotes from many religions and parts of the world.
Most of my books are self-published, but my first 2 novels were traditionally published out of Singapore, but the publisher never paid me my royalties or accounted for sales. Fortunately I did not sign and exclusive with them.
My 2nd vampire novel was originally written in 3rd person omniscient, but after a New York Times and International Best Selling author started attending our writing club, he suggested I rewrite it to First Person. All of us loved the story so much more once I did this as it puts you into the minds of the characters.
I am currently working on sending out a query letter and copy of my new children’s book to publishers.
Additionally I am working on a book on an investing commodity that I have followed for years and hope to publish that in the next couple of months. I have a couple of other projects in the works, but will keep the topic to myself for now. I am seeking traditional publishers who work with not only the genres I currently write, but also other genres that have not yet peeked my interests. Persons in my writing group as well as readers have commented that my “voice” or writing style is like J.R.R. Tolkien or Stephen King. I grew up as a huge fan of Tolkien’s writings, but have never read a Stephen King novel, although I have seen some of the movies off of his novels.
I love writing and will continue to do so. I have interests in religious writing, sci-fi, murder-mystery and perhaps even Westerns down the road. I would love to find a publisher to help me propel my works to the next level. I also am looking to start or join a writing club in Utah Valley so as to continue to learn and share what I know. If I could only offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers it would be to join a writing group. 10 people reviewing a chapter is much better than trying to go it alone.
I can be reached at drrobwheeler@gmail.com or my office is 385-442-2225. I will work on a website this year for my books and start a blog to stay in touch with readers, writers, fans and publishers.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not backing up my writing to two or more places has cost me as much as 6 chapters of hard work.
Trying to advertise too many books at once. I am finding that running Amazon ads for 5-6 books, find the ads that are profitable and as I get more reviews the cost per sale drops. Once you hit 50 reviews, I have read Amazon will start listing your book in more than one spot and do some marketing for you. After 100 reviews I have heard sales get much easier. My book with the most reviews currently is Fantastic Horses at 45 reviews with a 4.8/5 stars followed by The Witch of Endor: Vampires, the number of reviews and rankings are varied between Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Audible, but Audible it has a 4.7/5 star rating. 3rd place is Super Heros and Sinister Villains with 29 reviews and an average of 4.3/5 although this continues to improve over time.
Being ripped off by my first traditional publisher was obviously a negative experience. Fortunately I know they are not all like that and so I am open to working with another publisher for any of the different genres I write.
AI has now reduced costs and sped up cover design. I utilize persons on Fiverr for finalizing cover dimensions and the like at a much lower price point than traditional designers.
I would suggest a creative writing class in the college forum for those interested in writing fantasy or sci-fi. I took mine online.
Some of the very frustrating things is you send your query letter and sample read to multiple publishers. Most will never even respond. One even rejected a submission within 5 minutes. Obviously they did not read the 3 chapters I submitted. It is hard to get in with reputable publishers. Several of the authors in my writing group were picked up by traditional publishers after self-publishing. One such was Jerry Merritt. His first time travel book, A Gift of Time was picked up by a publisher just to do the audiobook. It was a big hit for him, although he had been self publishing for many years.
I have found it a challenge when other writers will not share knowledge, marketing tips ect. I feel like it is not right to have talents or gifts that we are unwilling to share with others. It follows the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament the parable of the talents. If we do not use and share our talents then those talents may be taken away.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Spine Craft Utah LLC?
I am a chiropractor by day and a writer by night. I graduated as a chiropractic physician in 1998. I also hold a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. This is my 3rd chiropractic office in Provo, Utah. Prior to that I worked 12 years near my home town of Pensacola, Wheeler Chiropractic Clinics LLC. Prior to that I worked 15 years in Alaska, Alaska Chiropractic Care LLC.
I enjoy exercise, beekeeping, travel, family time (The Non dramatic kind), cruising, scuba diving, exploring, growing things and of course writing.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I listen to youtube or audiobooks daily while driving or working out. Maximize your time. Read, read, read if you want to write novels. I likely read 40-50 books in their entirety or as references for my 3 novels. Want to write a chapter on Fairies or Mermaids? Then read several books on each.
Chat GPT and Discord for cover image design cheap and fast. Fiverr for book covers, editing or formatting until you get a hang of it or in addition to your own editing. KDP for Amazon self-publishing. Once its on KDP you can go to Audible. Recently Audible offers AI voice over for audiobooks. I was able to convert 3 novels into audiobooks in like 20-30 minutes with no additional costs other than the cover. I have paid as much as $800 to have voiceover done for the Witch of Endor: Vampires.
Now if you want multiple characters portrayed in different sexes, voices, then I do not think AI is ready for that. So in that case, you would want to hire a real voice over actor or multiple persons for that.
Grammarly is a valuable source for editing.
Word has a voice speak option. Listen to your chapters in voice whether its word or your wife or you read it aloud. It will catch errors that your brain paints over when reading in print.
Readers and other authors say when I read my story or they read it they can see it in their mind, like a movie. That is how I see my stories, like a movie and then I write down what I see in every detail. The sounds, smells, temperature, scenery, clothing, all of it paints the picture in the reader’s mind. I love writing plot twists to catch people off guard and keep the wondering what is next? Who else might die?
Pricing:
- See on Amazon and Audible
Contact Info:
- Website: https://spinecraftutah.com
