HOUSTON, January 21, 2012 — If you are not properly conditioned to handle rejections, rejection may cause you to rethink your actions and may lead to regret. Nothing worth doing is easy, and you will have to fight for your dreams. From When Jonathan Cried For Me, by Carter Lee.
Dream Chasers is a series of articles where I will interview a variety of people in a cornucopia of industries that are striving, thriving, and living to achieve their dreams. Not only will we learn about these incredible people, but we can learn from them, be inspired by them, and be encouraged by them to help us to achieve our own goals and dreams.
Recently I spoke with Australian and bestselling horror novelist (The Dark Path), Luke Romyn.
Carter: You spent a lot of time doing security, seventeen years I believe. You started bouncing at night clubs and that transitioned into security for Disney, celebrities, and even handled security on the set of The Pacific. How did you transition from that type of work into writing? Did you always want to write?
Luke: I have always been intrigued by the written word, in all its shapes and forms. There is so much power in a story, whether fiction or non-fiction. It can inspire or demoralize, intrigue or bore to tears. Wars have been waged over the messages relayed through books; thousands killed over a message older than a thousand years.
For myself, books gave me hope when I had none, and in writing them I desire to impart some of that sanguinity on to others, to show them that there is always a way through, or merely to let them escape reality for a short time and enter an adventure using only their imagination. As such, my stories are based around realistic characters, with believable faults, and lines drawn in gray, not black and white.
My work in security over the years has allowed me to see aspects of humanity which most people never even realize exist; good people doing horrific things, and horrific people doing deeds of incredible morality. I pour this reality into my characters, giving them flaws just like everyone else. Nobody knows all the answers, and no hero can fight darkness without a few shadows of his own.
Carter: You lost your father at a very young age. From my understanding, you then began to get in trouble with the law. How old were you when this loss occurred? What got you off of the path you were on of getting in trouble with the law to the path you are on now?
Dark Path (click to enlarge)
Luke: I was around fifteen when my father was killed while working in Fiji. Unable to deal with the horror of it all, I went right off the deep end.
Teens are notorious for being idiots without reason. Well, I had more reason than most and made full use of it. Alcohol became my fuel of choice and violence my release from the pain I constantly felt inside but had no idea how to express.
It was a burning sensation in my mind that ignited the moment I awoke and kept me awake long after I should have been asleep. I hated myself and everything around me, and drinking was the only thing that helped me look in the mirror; fighting was the only thing that made me smile. I lost count of the times the police brought me home covered in blood with no memory of whom I had fought or why.
I was like this for many years, taming somewhat when I began nightclub bouncing at eighteen years of age. I learned then that, despite the massive increase in confidence alcohol brings, nobody can fight whilst drunk; but I was still violent for many years, still drinking whenever I got the chance. It wasn’t until I hit rock-bottom that I realized I had to change, that the path I was on would only end up seeing me dead or in jail. I was hanging out in the wrong sort of company at the time, and the lines between good and bad had become so blurry as to be non-existent. What felt good was good. What felt bad was anything that opposed us.
It’s terrifying when you wake up in a terrible place with no idea how to get out. I was in that place, and knew my choices were extremely limited…
This is where books came to my rescue. I was reading the books of David Gemmell at the time who used flawed characters, and his words sang to me like a bell of hope in the gloom of my failure. It was a long road out of that place, but with the help of my lovely wife, Sarah, I think I’m almost there. I no longer drink and can look at myself with pride, not hate. I no longer hurt others without cause, but I will stand up to anyone who seeks to harm others, regardless of the fear I feel inside.
And I am on the path of my dreams, determined to follow it forever.
Carter: When did you decide to fully go for your dream?
Luke: I had a friend in my early days of bouncing who was more like a brother to me. We had all these tales of our experiences and fights, and we’d often discuss putting them into a book, knowing it would be a bestseller. Anyway, we never got around to starting it, but the thought always stayed in my head and one day, many years later, I sat down at a computer and began to write, churning out the stories of a misspent youth to my future adoring fans….
There was only one problem; the book sucked.
I was never designed to write non-fiction, and my mind kept straying from the words I was trying to write and imaging the story I could write if only I wasn’t constrained by the truth. And so I scrapped the piece of crap I was writing and let loose with my mind’s eye. And the rest, so they say, is history.
You can read more about Luke Romyn and his books by visiting http://www.lukeromyn.com/home
Read more of Carter’s Dream Chaser series:
Dream Chasers: Angel Rivera
Carter Lee is the author of, When Jonathan Cried for Me, President of Innovative Social Dynamics LLC., and is a professional speaker. To learn more about his book visit http://www.whenjonathancriedforme.com . For a personal appearance or speaking engagement visit http://www.innovativesocialdynamics.com
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