Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with a writer who doesn’t just tell stories—he bends reality, tickles the boundaries of genre, and invites readers into the wildest corners of imagination. Meet Kent Wayne, the creative force behind ‘The Unbound Realm’ series, ‘Echo,’ ‘Musings,’ and the genre-defying ‘Kor’Thank: Barbarian Valley Girl.’ Don’t miss the reviews of ‘A Door into Evermoor’ and ‘Weapons of Old’—they’re up on the blog!
A former military man, Kent brings a rare combination of grit, introspection, and philosophical flair to his storytelling. Raised in the U.S. by Korean immigrant parents, his creative world is deeply rooted in the influences of his childhood—particularly ‘The Dark Tower’ by Stephen King and Brian Michael Bendis’s ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’. He also enjoys dogs, philosophy, and tower defense games.
Writing under a pen name that pays homage to two iconic heroes—Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, he strikes a heroic balance between Superman, a heart-centered hero and Batman, who is focused on logic and discipline. According to him, they’re the superheroic equivalent of a yin/yang.
Join us as we dive into the mind that blurs the line between satire and sincerity, magic and meaning—Kent Wayne’s universe is anything but ordinary.
Amisha: What does your writing routine look like? Does the muse come easily to you or do you have a ritual to summon her?
Kent: My writing routine has varied throughout the years. At first it was based on word count–500 words a day, and look over/edit/revise two chapters a day. I experimented with different investments of time and word count. At one point when I had more time, I was drafting 3500 words a day, and I didn’t edit until I finished (that was Echo 4). At another point, I was pressed for time, and only wrote 5 minutes a day. If you’re pressed for time, it obviously makes sense to work with a hard time limit, rather than a hard word count.
The muse comes pretty easily to me. I think a lot without effort, so my imagination is always at a constant rev. Throughout the day, most of my focus goes towards letting thought come and go, rather than generating it. When I’m writing, I simply channel my thoughts into my story, and the material arises in a spontaneous manner.
Amisha: I think no one would dispute the fact that your imagination is as boundless as it is brilliant. So tell me this. You are ex-military. How does one go from being military to being a fantasy author? What inspired you to be on this journey or was it always the plan?
Kent: I never planned to be an author. I tried to write stories a couple times when I was younger, but I always got writer’s block. I think being in the military gave me a deeper understanding of human psychology, specifically why people do what they do, and what beliefs guide them to say what they say. That allowed me to “feel” my way into what a character should say or how they should act.
Amisha: How much your personal life and experiences have contributed to your writing?
Kent: My personal life wanders in and out of my writing. I’m not a writer who says you should only write about what you’ve experienced. If that was the case, no one would write about mecha-robot combat or fantasy-world settings, because no one has experienced those things. Orson Scott Card wrote a military classic ‘Ender’s Game’ that was so good that it ended up on the Marine Corps Commandant’s reading list. But Card never served in the military (he was a missionary) and he certainly never experienced futuristic combat with tech that hadn’t been invented. Christopher Paolini wrote ‘Eragon’ when he was a teenager. Not only had he never encountered dragons, he didn’t have much life experience. Yet his book ended up doing quite well, and also ended up as a live action movie.
I say write what you resonate with, and use whatever life gives you to add your own flavor to it.
Amisha: That’s great advice. Now you’ve got me interested in both these books. I have to read them now. And yes, ‘writing what you know’ is limiting advice. Writing is about exploring both what you know and what you don’t. So what else do you like to do besides writing? What are your other interests?
Kent: I like lifting weights, jiu-jitsu, philosophy, and meditation.
Amisha: Who is your favorite character you have created and why? And which character did you have the most fun developing?
Kent: My favorite character is the one I’m currently working on: Jon Dough (Yes, the reference to a dead body, Jon Doe, is intentional). The reason he’s my favorite is because he’s in my attention more than any other character, simply because I’m writing about him at this moment.
I would say he’s probably the most fun I’ve had as far as development. He’s a carefree teen (or wants to be), and it’s fun to reflect his absentmindedness, naivete, and eagerness for experience in his speech and actions. I spent my teenage years being morose and gloomy, pretending that being pessimistic made me worldly and cool, so it’s nice to write someone I (ironically) resonate with more as an older man. I like the fact that he isn’t jaded, and that he’s open to dive into things.
Amisha: When I was reading your books, what I thought about the character of Jon was that he had a knack for making the best of things. Rather than trying to control his situation and constantly worrying about the future, he embraced it like it was his destiny.
There’s one line from your books that I deeply resonated with, ‘There are other worlds than these’. I have always been fascinated with the idea of other realms and dimensions. Are you a believer in other realms and alternate realities? How do you incorporate this viewpoint in your stories?
Kent: Full disclosure: I didn’t write that line. That’s from Stephen King’s ‘Dark Tower’ series. Yes, I absolutely believe in other realms and alternate realities. I believe it is woven into the structure of existence, as an inevitable expression of infinite abundance, which in my perspective isn’t about wealth or time. It’s about pure possibility.
I incorporate this into my stories by frequently mentioning alternate realities. In The Unbound Realm, I write about doorways into other dimensions.
Amisha: What’s your favorite writing snack or drink?
Kent: Black coffee.
Amisha: Which part of writing do you find the most challenging? What’s something you struggle with or don’t like?
Kent: I don’t really dislike anything about writing. I would say the most challenging part is editing–I like to go over my drafts again and again, obsessing over the rhythmic change between super small things like then and and then. Editing, in my opinion, is where you turn watery broth into palatable stew. Despite the fact that you can’t hear the words (when you’re silently reading them), there is still a rhythm to them, and the readers can detect it. It’s evident in poetry, and it’s also why I could never imagine letting anyone else edit my stories.
Amisha: I love this answer. I think editing is everything in writing. And I love that line: ‘Editing is where you turn watery broth into palatable stew.’ As a successful fantasy author, what advice would you want to give to other aspiring fantasy writers?
Kent: This goes for all writers: give yourself permission to write badly. Just write. You can fix it later.
Amisha: What do you think most people misunderstand about being an author?
Kent: It is first and foremost for you. It’s a terrible way to make money, and it will never please everyone. It will, in fact, disgust and infuriate people, and they will judge your worth by what you write.
If it isn’t generating fulfillment, then it probably isn’t worth it.
Amisha: I think most people learn it the hard way, including myself. I have now come to realise that writing only has a purpose when you do it for yourself.
How do you see yourself evolving as a writer? What is your vision for the future? Are you working on a book right now or do you have more releases planned? What can the readers expect in the world of fantasy from you?
Kent: With each story, I’ve wandered into some aspect of writing that I hadn’t explored before. I’ve had to teach myself how to write action, female characters, humor, first person perspective, different settings, etc. etc.
The next book I have planned is a detective noir with fantastical elements. I may or may not return to fantasy in the future. I might dip into horror and see where that leads. However, taking another cue from Stephen King’s Dark Tower, I do have easter eggs in all my books–my other stories are referenced in whatever book you happen to be reading.
Amisha: Is there going to be a part 3 of the Unbound realm and when can we expect it?
Kent: Part 3 (the last part) is actually done. I’ve been editing it for a while now, but family issues got in the way. I hope to be finished editing around the end of this year.
Amisha: That’s great news. Can’t wait for it come out and read it.
Thank you, Kent, for sharing your world and your wisdom. Readers, if you haven’t yet stepped into The Unbound Realm, or any of Kent’s other works, now’s the perfect time to start.
Check out Wayne’s work on his website . Follow him on Facebook , Goodreads , and X .
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