Wally Jones is a first-time author. He is also fully dyslexic. It wasn’t until his late twenties, and after dozens of tests for physical disabilities and learning disorders, that it was discovered he was missing the fundamental ability to encode and decode word phonics. Reading and writing simply wasn’t possible for him. He subsequently spent many years building a comprehensive Sight Vocabulary and is now considered to be fully compensated. However, dyslexia still causes him many problems. Though he continues to struggle with reading and writing, Sam the Chosen serves as testament that all challenges can be overcome.

Q1 – Tell us a little about yourself.

We live in Orlando, so naturally Disney is big part of our lives.   My children have grown up with, and around. Disney.

I am an avid board gamer.  I own roughly 400 board games.   We play at least a few games every week.  Board games are a great way to engage the mind and offer wonderful social interaction. 

I love stories, either books or movies.  A good story is wonderful.

I am a huge audiophile.  I always have music playing. 

Q2 – What is the name of your latest project? Tell us more about why you embarked on this project. If a writer, share your synopsis.

My book is Sam the Chosen.  It won Reader Views Book of the Year.

Synopsis

The attacks changed everything. Life would never be the same.

So much carnage, and yet the enemy was never seen. Not even once. The truth is, humanity had no chance. You can’t fight what you can’t see.

Sam tries to return to a normal life after the attacks end, but constant reminders and paranoia feed the need for protection at all times. The desire to run, that internal voice triggering the urgency to escape this harsh world, is very real. Now an ill-fated camping trip will show Samantha just how deep the peril goes. Swept up in a new reality, she gains a deeper understanding of the way the world operates. For Sam, there is no returning to her old life. Sam is now Chosen.

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This is a somewhat long story.  Apologies in advance for droning on and on. 

About 15 years ago I began having a recurring dream.  Every night the same dream played out in my sleeping mind. 

The dream was about a man who didn’t fit into society.  Not that he was outcast, he just didn’t feel comfortable being around other people.  He worked better alone.  So, he removed himself from society and lived in a cave in the mountains. 

Roughly six years ago I had the sudden and overwhelming need to put that dream into written words.  I have no idea where that idea came from, but I felt compelled to write, which is huge thing for a fully Dyslexic person.  I never thought I’d be a writer. 

As I wrote the dream slowly morphed into a different story.  It changed from a light tale about a man living in the wild, into a heavy and dark story that contained many difficult and touchy subjects. 

About halfway through writing that story I decided to research how a debut author can get published, or the best way for a new author to find a publisher.  It took a few weeks, but what I found was interesting and educational. 

Many publishers, especially for new authors, want books that reach a broad audience, with fun uplifting stories that capture and fascinate the reader.  In other words, they didn’t want what I was writing, a dark and heavy book. 

I put the first book away and began working on a new story, a sort of offshoot from the original.

This time the main character was a boy named Kevin, who like his predecessor, didn’t fit in so he went to live in a cave in the forest.  Eventually Kevin met an odd group of people who took him in and made him one of their own. 

About halfway through writing that story I realized that Kevin, being an eleven year old boy, didn’t possess the skills and life experiences to take the story where it needed to go.  He was just too young to handle the situations that were arising. 

I erased most of the Kevin storyline and changed it to focus on his mother, Sam. 

Sam was strong and determined.  She carried the plot easily and with grace.  The rest of the story just fell into place. 

When I had an initial manuscript for Sam the Chosen I once again began research, this time on how to find and sign with a publisher.  I read hundreds of horror stories about authors trying for years to find a publisher, only to come up empty handed.  The general consensus was that for every one hundred query letters sent out, you would get a hundred rejection letters back, six months later.  It was a huge eye-opener and a bit staggering.  I had no idea the publishing industry was so cut-throat. 

So with a bit of a self-defeatist attitude I sat down and sent out query letters.  On that first day I sent of eighteen, expecting to hear nothing in return. 

Two days later I got a phone call from the president of Koehler Books.  He said two screening readers gave him Sam the Chosen.  He read it and instantly knew he wanted to sign me. 

The rest is history. 

Q3 – What inspired you when you encountered struggles along the way?

Being Dyslexic is rough.  Especially for a writer.  I can count Dyslexic authors on one hand and have fingers to spare. 

Dyslexia causes no end of problems.  Writing is slow and tedious.  I’ve often said “words are like tiny daggers stabbing me in the mind.”

But Dyslexia also pushes me.  I want to prove that a dyslexic author can be a good storyteller and write well.

Q4 – Have you ever traveled as research for your work/project/story?

No.  Not yet.  I tend to write what I know. 

But, I do plan to revisit the mountains of North Carolina this summer. 

Q5 – How has your lived experience influenced your work/project/story?

While reading Sam the Chosen I believe it becomes clear that I cherish the Smoky Mountains.  That whole area is dear to my heart.  I grew up in those old rolling mountains and a younger me stomped through those forests and called them home. 

I don’t think it is possible to spend lengths of time in those ancient mountains and not absorb some the mindset and culture of the Native Americans.   They were, and remain, ingenious people.

There was a Cherokee village near the main camp I stayed in while in the mountains.  I spent as much time among the Cherokee as I could.  I learned a lot about respecting the land and true nature conservation.  I will never forget it. 

Those Cherokee concepts of nature being a living entity play a large role in Chosen ideology and serve as the base social structure for Chosen society. 

Q6 – What do you want readers to take away from your work/project/story?

First, I hope the readers are left wanting more.  I want them to crave the next book.

Second, I hope the readers understand that Dyslexia and Anxiety are real and harsh.  Both have extreme real-world consequences. 

I also hope the readers are left with a desire to explore the mountains.  

Q7 – Do you believe books can inspire social change? How?

I do.  But I believe it is a slow process. 

Q8 – Anton Chekhov said, “The world is, of course, nothing but our conception of it.” What is your opinion of this statement? How does it coincide or conflict with your perspective of the world?

As a scientist I completely agree.  Einstein inserted that very concept into Newtonian physics and changed the universe. 

Everything is relative. 

Everyone sees things differently.  That is a wonderful thing, otherwise the world would have a singular mindset.  And that is scary.

Actually, I write about this concept in Sam the Chosen.  A long dead race called the Seacs destroyed themselves with the same group-think mentality. 

Q9 – What personal experience had the greatest influence on your worldview?

My background is an odd collection of weird times and twisted tales.  For many decades I jumped from one adventure to another, a happy-go-lucky person with an open mind wandering the world, wanting to see and learn. 

Many people have said I’ve lived the craziest life ever.  I like that.  I’m like a Frankenstiens monster of life experiences. 

Give me an hour, and I will amaze you with stories of adventure and/or stupidity. 

In a simple statement – I don’t do nothing well. 

I’m always getting into something, from climbing mountains to crossing oceans.  That was especially true as a younger man, but it has cooled a bit as I grow older.  After 50, things slow down.  LOL

I don’t believe any one single event changed me.  Everything blends together to form the whole. 

What I have learned –

Be kind.  That alone will get you everywhere.

Be genuine.

Have an open mind.

Listen. 

Learn.

Be prepared for the worst.  Be thankful it doesn’t happen. 

Cherish what you have.

Love.

Q10 – What perspectives or beliefs have you challenged in your work/project/story?

I hope I’ve shown the fallacy of group-think, common sense, and the consensus mentality. 

We are all individuals.  We need to be treated as such. 

Q11 – How do you see the relationship between writing and culture? How about the boundaries between fiction and reality?

Todays fiction is tomorrow reality.

Need proof?  Watch Star Trek.

Q12 – Aldous Huxley said, “I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.” How have you changed throughout your creative process? How do you improve yourself every day?

I absolutely adore Huxley.  His writing is prophetic. 

Brave New World should be required reading for everyone.  Everyday our society becomes more like that world, with the Alpha and Betas versus us lowly Gammas. 

As for me, it is an odd thing.  Writing itself is a massive change.  As a dyslexic person I always hated writing.  It isn’t easy for me, but I enjoy it now.   I think I’ve improved. 

Q13 – To what extent can fiction affect or improve the developments in science and technology in human life? What about religion and politics?

Fiction improving science and technology is easy.  Much of Star Trek has become everyday life.  That is wonderful.  Obviously, I’m a big Star Trek fan. 

However, I strongly believe fiction and science have no part in religion.  Religion is prophetic by nature, and thereby beyond scientific reasoning. 

Q14 – Eckhart Tolle said, “Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” In your opinion, what is the next step and how can writers affect this?

A good writer can shine a light into the darkest recesses of humanity and bring to surface the hidden and ugly things within.  Only by facing those demons can we grow. 

Q15 – Intolerance and divisiveness are prevalent across the globe. Our voice may not be loud enough to right every wrong, but it is enough to make a difference one person at a time. Small acts move mountains. What one thing would you ask your audience to do to help inspire social change?

Dyslexia is the single largest learning disorder, with an estimated 15% of people having some form of Dyslexia.  Not all are fully dyslexic like me, but all suffer.  Not all dyslexics compensate like me either.  I worked hard and I am lucky to have built a sight vocabulary.  It is slow and prone to mistakes, but it works. 

Anxiety is the single largest mental health disability.  When someone with anxiety has a panic attack it is brutal.  (The main character, Sam, suffers from anxiety.)

I would like to bring more awareness to Dyslexia and Anxiety.  Show patience and a helping hand to others who appear to struggle. 

Q16 – Maya Angelou said, “I did then what I knew how to do, but now that I know better, I do better.” We have all made choices that we regret. We are all flawed humans. Together, we are experiencing this human story unfolding. Share a transformative experience where you learned from a mistake. How do you actively choose to make better choices?

I have learned to accept bad situations.  My mindset is that we are put in rough spots to teach us something.  Our job is to figure out what is to be learned, process and accept that lesson, and grow from there.

Connect with Wally Jones

Authors are only as good as their audience. Support this amazing author by connecting with him and sharing his work with your people. Follow the links below to connect and purchase his books!

• Website –  theprophecystoryline.com
• Facebook – Wally Jones
• Goodreads – Sam the Chosen
• Goodreads – Wally Jones
• Twitter –  @WallyJo25381582
• Instagram – Sam the Chosen –  @sam_thechosen
• Instagram – Wally Jones –  @rygel69
• Linkedin – Wally Jones

Stay tuned for Wally’s video interview on my Story Unfolding YouTube channel. Be sure to go subscribe to hear about Wally and other authors, creators, and entrepreneurs who are making a difference.

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Read more, Write mindfully!