Imagine being transported through lightning to another world, surrounded by silver floating creatures; or flickering between a comatose world and a hospital bed. Perhaps you would rather become a reporter in what seems to be a boring town with a big secret. These are just a few of the topics multimedia and multi-genre writer, J.R. Vikse writes about in his short stories, fantasy series, novels, and plays. “I’m a storyteller,” says Vikse. “It’s a part of my makeup. When I’m not writing, I’m directing on stage or I’m acting. I’m always involved in some version of storytelling. It's a passion that I have.”
Vikse was born in Kelowna, B.C., in 1984. He graduated university with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in English. In 2008, Vikse switched from writing university research papers to writing creatively. He published his first of many novels, The Lazy Postman in 2012. Vikse has since expanded his writing to include nine books and one play. Five of his books are part of a fantasy series about the world of Taranthaea, he is currently working on a sixth novel in the series. Vikse is also working on a play which debuted on Sunday, May 24.
Beyond writing, Vikse is also well traveled and full of interesting life experiences from living in many places such as Zurich, Switzerland and Melbourne, Australia. “Being in more places, seeing more things has certainly expanded my horizons,” says Vikse. He is able to model characters, places, and cultures after the places he has been especially seen in his fantasy works. After several years of travelling, Vikse has settled down in Victoria, B.C., where he continues to write, direct and act in local theatre productions. Last fall, Vikse directed a production of DiPietro’s Over the River and Through the Woods at Langham Court theatre in Victoria.
“I always wanted to be a storyteller, but I didn’t always want to be a writer,” says Vikse. “What I always wanted to do was direct.” According to Vikse, both of these methods of storytelling are quite similar as they both construct a story for somebody else to digest. The difference is a story is designed by words, while a play relies on actors, sets, and costume design. A play also heavily relies on interpretation of the actors and the directors, while a book allows authors to control everything the reader experiences. Vikse is also a playwright and describes the experience to be vastly different from writing a book due to the fact that a play is made up of mostly dialogue.
While writing may not have started as Vikse’s preferred method of storytelling, he agrees that it is a good way to do it without infringing on other people’s time. What began as a way to express himself, has developed into a repertoire of stories. Vikse is an outline writer and likes to focus on the twists, turns, and trails of a plot. He often writes with a split-screen on his computer so he can use his outline to help guide his manuscript.
“My characters are built around the plot,” says Vikse. He typically writes casts of odd people, which Vikse and his copy editor and close friend, Teri Craven, both attribute to his quirky sense of humour and outlook on life.“[Vikse] has a very broad sense of imagination,” says Craven. Vikse’s characters are strong and can be quite outspoken, such as Vikse’s favourite fictional character, Jingwei Li. “As a writer it’s really fun and freeing to have a character who just says the wrong thing at the wrong time because she feels like she just wants to say it, which puts her into some interesting predicaments,” says Vikse. While Li’s character grows over The Keeper Chronicles, Vikse admits he also likes the short and intense punch of the characters found in his short stories. “You just get to visit, be crazy, and then leave and never see them again, which is also a lot of fun,” says Vikse.
Vikse’s imagination is displayed through his process of finding inspiration. “All kinds of things can inspire my stories,” says Vikse, sometimes it will be something somebody says on the bus, a phrase in a book, an image, a person, but most often it will be a title. “That’s where The Munsen Street Drive In Theatre (& Tie Factory) came from, I came up with the title, and went ‘Hah, I wonder what that is’ and then I wrote it from there,” explains Vikse. The writer keeps a note app on his phone and a notepad by his bed to jot down ideas whenever inspiration strikes. Vikse says he has gotten to the point in his career where once he investigates the idea further, he can narrow it down to what medium to write the story in.
Vikse is a self-published author, which means he does most of the work himself, including editing and marketing. He enlists help of a few fellow writers, such as Craven, to help with editing and he works alongside a cover designer. Craven has worked closely with Vikse and has played a part in editing almost every book he has written, including his upcoming novel. Vikse chooses to self-publish because of the politics surrounding publishing houses today. “Big publishing houses aren’t really looking for new voices necessarily unless they can guarantee they’re going to be the next Harry Potter or the next Twilight, or the next ‘name your last ten years or fifteen years big book sales,’” says Vikse. Until a writer can sell themselves and prove they can make the publishing house money, Vikse says, self publishing is “certainly the easier way to do it.”
J.R. Vikse is a multi-media, multi-genre writer with nine books, one play, and two more stories on the way. What does he attribute to his success? “It all comes from Lego…. Playing with that as a kid with the sets and creating little stories, … It’s all Lego’s fault.”
Vikse was born in Kelowna, B.C., in 1984. He graduated university with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in English. In 2008, Vikse switched from writing university research papers to writing creatively. He published his first of many novels, The Lazy Postman in 2012. Vikse has since expanded his writing to include nine books and one play. Five of his books are part of a fantasy series about the world of Taranthaea, he is currently working on a sixth novel in the series. Vikse is also working on a play which debuted on Sunday, May 24.
Beyond writing, Vikse is also well traveled and full of interesting life experiences from living in many places such as Zurich, Switzerland and Melbourne, Australia. “Being in more places, seeing more things has certainly expanded my horizons,” says Vikse. He is able to model characters, places, and cultures after the places he has been especially seen in his fantasy works. After several years of travelling, Vikse has settled down in Victoria, B.C., where he continues to write, direct and act in local theatre productions. Last fall, Vikse directed a production of DiPietro’s Over the River and Through the Woods at Langham Court theatre in Victoria.
“I always wanted to be a storyteller, but I didn’t always want to be a writer,” says Vikse. “What I always wanted to do was direct.” According to Vikse, both of these methods of storytelling are quite similar as they both construct a story for somebody else to digest. The difference is a story is designed by words, while a play relies on actors, sets, and costume design. A play also heavily relies on interpretation of the actors and the directors, while a book allows authors to control everything the reader experiences. Vikse is also a playwright and describes the experience to be vastly different from writing a book due to the fact that a play is made up of mostly dialogue.
While writing may not have started as Vikse’s preferred method of storytelling, he agrees that it is a good way to do it without infringing on other people’s time. What began as a way to express himself, has developed into a repertoire of stories. Vikse is an outline writer and likes to focus on the twists, turns, and trails of a plot. He often writes with a split-screen on his computer so he can use his outline to help guide his manuscript.
“My characters are built around the plot,” says Vikse. He typically writes casts of odd people, which Vikse and his copy editor and close friend, Teri Craven, both attribute to his quirky sense of humour and outlook on life.“[Vikse] has a very broad sense of imagination,” says Craven. Vikse’s characters are strong and can be quite outspoken, such as Vikse’s favourite fictional character, Jingwei Li. “As a writer it’s really fun and freeing to have a character who just says the wrong thing at the wrong time because she feels like she just wants to say it, which puts her into some interesting predicaments,” says Vikse. While Li’s character grows over The Keeper Chronicles, Vikse admits he also likes the short and intense punch of the characters found in his short stories. “You just get to visit, be crazy, and then leave and never see them again, which is also a lot of fun,” says Vikse.
Vikse’s imagination is displayed through his process of finding inspiration. “All kinds of things can inspire my stories,” says Vikse, sometimes it will be something somebody says on the bus, a phrase in a book, an image, a person, but most often it will be a title. “That’s where The Munsen Street Drive In Theatre (& Tie Factory) came from, I came up with the title, and went ‘Hah, I wonder what that is’ and then I wrote it from there,” explains Vikse. The writer keeps a note app on his phone and a notepad by his bed to jot down ideas whenever inspiration strikes. Vikse says he has gotten to the point in his career where once he investigates the idea further, he can narrow it down to what medium to write the story in.
Vikse is a self-published author, which means he does most of the work himself, including editing and marketing. He enlists help of a few fellow writers, such as Craven, to help with editing and he works alongside a cover designer. Craven has worked closely with Vikse and has played a part in editing almost every book he has written, including his upcoming novel. Vikse chooses to self-publish because of the politics surrounding publishing houses today. “Big publishing houses aren’t really looking for new voices necessarily unless they can guarantee they’re going to be the next Harry Potter or the next Twilight, or the next ‘name your last ten years or fifteen years big book sales,’” says Vikse. Until a writer can sell themselves and prove they can make the publishing house money, Vikse says, self publishing is “certainly the easier way to do it.”
J.R. Vikse is a multi-media, multi-genre writer with nine books, one play, and two more stories on the way. What does he attribute to his success? “It all comes from Lego…. Playing with that as a kid with the sets and creating little stories, … It’s all Lego’s fault.”
