An Interview with DrBuller
Today I had the pleasure of getting together with long time writer for Royal Road, DrBuller. Here is what we talked about:
Good evening and welcome to the interview. Today we have DrBuller! How are you doing today?
I am doing well, thank you very much. Thanks for having me on.
So you are a writer on Royal Road, you’ve worked with a subgenre called “Dungeon-Core”. Can you explain what that entails and what it is a subgenre of?
In some forms of fantasy, the brave adventurers like to go into dangerous locations known as dungeons. The Dungeon-Core subgenre puts a reverse spin on this trope by showing it from the perspective of the Core of the Dungeon, letting the reader know what the place itself thinks about the intruders.
Interesting and your book is called “The Ancient Core”? Can you tell us a bit of what it is about?
Sure. When reading through the sub-genre itself, an average reader would be quick to point out how quickly the so-called Dungeon-Cores become a dungeon. Normally, they would be a simple pebble on the ground and then turn into a massive structure within only a few days or weeks. I thought that people might like a more slow take on the beginning of a Dungeon Core, seeing every step along the way of how it becomes this great entity. It can give a more personal feel when one sees the first few steps instead of the final product and that’s what I hoped to show with this piece of fiction.
It is a very complex read. Can we get a sample of some of the story?
“The pattern was without change, with no sign that it wanted to change, always going back to what it originally was no matter how much the Core pushed it around. The swirls, corners, and loops all came back together no matter how much it was all stretched.”
This is definitely not simply a Dungeon Master designing a dungeon, is it? It’s more meta-physical?
If there is one thing I've always mildly annoyed about in the Dungeon-Core sub-genre, it’s how little the authors spend on the magical aspects. They all have ideas of the Cores being able to summon monsters, loot, and matter yet they rarely explain why that happens. Or at least well enough to satisfy those incredibly curious. I wanted to explain nearly every detail of the system and I believe that has come across quite well in the fiction itself.
Have you been influenced by other fantasy writers, or perhaps other dungeon-core writers?
There is one writer in the Dungeon-Core subgenre that I adore. It’s an author known by the name of Dakota Krout. Yet I will say that the most influential work that I have read which caused the creation of this fiction is “The Egg” by Andy Weir.
How long have you been writing now and did you start on Royal Road first?
My first piece of real writing was actually on Royal Road back in 2016. I had been writing since around 2015 but not to a level where it can be called real. It was never more than a few lines before the first fiction on RR.
For those of you that do not know, Royal Road is a website for authors to showcase their work, usually fantasy or sci fi in one nature or another. DrBuller, how did you come across the website?
I actually first came across the site when it was primarily focused on translating a certain Light Novel by the name of “Legendary Moonlight Sculptor”. However, I only really started to use it when the site had moved over to what it is today back in 2016, when a story by the name of “Overseer” made me interested in seeing what else the site had to offer.
Would you say you found a degree of success with your own work?
At some level, yes. Just a few weeks back, I hit one thousand followers on a single fiction. The one-year-younger version of me would have been ecstatic at five hundred so I do think it’s worth it to call it successful.
I can only imagine. Now do you prefer to go by the name “DrBuller” or do you plan to eventually publish under a different pen name?
I normally only called myself Buller but there was already one of those on Royal Road. The ‘Dr’ is merely a pun. And, yes, when I get a bit further down the road with writing, I will be changing the name to something a little more human. Not sure what it will be yet but it might incorporate some animal-puns.
“Ducksworth”. Do you think you will pursue traditional publishing or self publishing down the road?
Having looked through the options, I do think that I am coming closer to traditional publishing. I already know which company that I will go for and am just waiting for a piece of fiction that might be interesting enough to sign me up.
Excellent to hear! Perhaps another Dungeon-Core or something along that genre type?
For now, the idea is to go for either a human main character or a humanoid one. While Dungeon-Cores will be included in some form, the more traditional fantasy has started seeming more appealing to me.
Ah, well then, do you have any parting advice for the future and aspiring writers out there?
I sure do. Rewrites are for after you’ve written it all one time. Actually writing anything at all should be the first priority. When that’s done, everything else can follow.
I agree! Well DrBuller, it was nice having you here, tell us what plans you have for the future?
I plan to continue writing until I am physically unable to and hope to share it with all.
Excellent! You can find DrBuller and his works such as “The Ancient Core” in the link below!