Nicholas Daniele came to our school to talk to our book club about his newest book, The Jewel of the Sorcerer, on January 28, 2014. It is the first instillation of the trilogy, The Keeper of Fates, and it is about a 17-year-old boy who finds a beautiful key in his local stream that leads him to mysterious adventures, magical lands and dangerous people.

At the meeting, he talked about his book and answered questions about his current book and other works to come. He told the club that his second one is done and currently being printed, while his third book is still in the works. His writing is influenced by medieval legends and King Author. He is also inspired by other series’ that take the reader to another world like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

He also talked about his techniques to writing. He said that he has to have quiet, which is hard to find since he is from a large Italian family, and while most authors create a story board, he just jots things down as they come to him. He actually started to write this series four different times, spanning from freshman year of high school through college. And although he was passionate about writing, and he mainly kept it to himself, it was just one of those things that he liked to do on his own.

Another thing Daniele likes to do, but keeps to himself, is to draw. He has been passionate about it since he was a little kid. And when asked if he ever thought of combining the two worlds into one with comics, he was a little hesitant, but when asked about a graphic novel, he was a little more excited by the fact that the readers could visualize something while they read.  The idea of a graphic novel brings to life all of the characters that he loves and really brings out the colors and feelings in his writing.

Daniele draws a lot of inspiration from different places in his life. He got the name of the main character, Lucian, from his college roommate’s middle name. He can also get random inspiration on a morning run, or when he is driving home from his day job of being a tutor. In the future, he also hopes to get his teaching license for Connecticut so he can inspire other kids to write.

Some advice he gives to aspiring writers is to “believe in yourself. I know it’s a cliché but it’s true.” He also recommended that you “write every day,” and “be ready for rejection.” He also said that even though his genre is not very high in demand right now, he will always stick to it because he loves it so much. Buying your own rights also helps because it makes it more flexible to advertise your book and you have more freedom in what you do with it. Another piece of advice is to stay connected to social media because it is one of the best ways to get your word out there. Whether through Facebook, Twitter or just emailing different people, word spreads faster and who knows when you might get an email about your book that comes from half way around the world.

Daniele also likes to do things besides write books and teach; he likes to go into New York City and just walk around, to feel the vibe of the city and to draw inspiration for his writing. He also played a lot of sports in high school including baseball, football and basketball. He was known as the “sports guy” so when his friends found out about his passion for writing, they were surprised but supportive of him. He also loves to eat and make pizza and to go to the library.

He is open to any questions and encourages anyone that wants to be a writer to contact him through his email: [email protected], follow him on twitter @ntd_pub or look him up on Facebook.