Today we are with Mr. Dennis K. Hausker author of the trilogy titled The Faenum Quest and discussing Book III and the last book in this series The Faenum War. 

PBR:  Good Morning, Denny.  How does it feel having successfully completed and published your latest work-The Faenum War?

DKH:  The first word that comes to mind is satisfying. I feel I accomplished what I set out to do with this series.

PBR:  We’ve all heard it said that books sometimes take on a life of their own.  Were there any parts of this book that changed from your original intention as you wrote?

DKH:  That’s probably true, although in my case it’s hard to document. When I write I have virtually no idea what’s going to happen until it gets written. There are times when I think I’m going one way and the story won’t cooperate and goes in a different direction altogether. This is probably the sign of an addled mind at work.

PBR:  Dave is a true epic hero and the protagonist of the trilogy.  Is his character influenced by any living being from your life and experiences? 

DKH:  I can’t really say that. What I did was think about what I would like to read and the kind of person who’s heroic by my definition. I wasn’t looking for the hero to be perfect, because there are no perfect people. I wanted him to be competent, so his issues had to be unconventional. What greater challenge is there for a man than to suffer about his relationship with his woman. Dave’s strength’s were his good heart and his decent nature, and his desire to do the right thing always. He was a neat guy.

PBR:  What about the evil master, is that character completely fictional or influenced by horror movies, science fiction, or other characters you’ve witnessed?

DKH:  Possibly Stephen R. Donaldson’s invincible villain Lord Foul was a starting point, but I wanted to imbue the imprint of the quasi-religious aspect, the heaven and hell angle. The consummate evil master was all powerful to mortals, wrongness taken to the ultimate, but he wasn’t greater than the good. He had equals who could overcome him and cast him back into the pit.

PBR:  Wilphrus is certainly the ladies man.  Are the triangle scenarios between the men and women that we see in the story based on any real life situations you’ve observed?

DKH:  I think everyone in the world knows of marital breakdowns and poor choices, but that wasn’t the driver here. Wilphrus actions could be seen as philandering, but as the third book explains, he came for a defined purpose and he had to leave behind his own wife. History would have had Selane, Lissette, and Jenna devoured and killed by Raja Dul. He interceded to save their lives and change history, and to also create the three half sisters as avatars as vital elements for a future great calamity. The three women didn’t fail in their marriages to their hero husbands, they weren’t even aware of what they were doing due to Wilphrus magical control until afterwards. Wilphrus had a conscience, praising Dave for what he painfully endured, but his mission to save the future world allowed him no choice of compromise. As the book explained, no husband would willingly give up his wife for another man to father children. Wilphrus did what he had to do.

PBR:  At one point I thought Raji Dul and Wilphrus might be the same shape-shifting person.  Turns out they were not.  When Wilphrus takes Jenna, Selane and Lissette, Raji Dul turns into a wild animal and runs off.  Does that imply he was too evil to change into a decent human being?

DKH:  Not really, Kai and Dul were ancient wizards too, but subject to their primal cravings. Neither was what you could call fully good or bad. Dul changed forms at the instant he lost the women as a reaction of frustration. He had a sense he’d been eternally thwarted about his compulsion to consume these women. Their lure was irresistible and his cravings unquenchable. He thought about them constantly and continuously. They were a prize always just out of his reach and therefore the greatest goal of his life to sate that hunger lust.

PBR:  What is the ultimate message you want your readers to take from this trilogy?

DKH:  I could say good triumphs in the end, but that’s not it because in real life evil wins too many times. My thought is to say never give up whether in trying to be your best, in fighting back against adversity, forgiving those who wrong you and forgiving yourself for your own failings and weaknesses. Anybody can be saved. Dave believed it to his core and so do I.

PBR:  So what is next for you, will you go on vacation or start another book or series?

DKH:  I’m currently writing a new trilogy. Since I’m retired I’m on vacation everyday anyway. My wife and I travel extensively already. (I’ve been to Disney World)

PBR:  If you do start another writing project, what genre will it be, a single book or another trilogy or series?

DKH:  The new trilogy is also epic fantasy. I used some of the same elements but I take a much different path. Ever I want to evoke the emotions of the reader and tell a good compelling story. 

PBR:  Thank you for your time with PBR today and good luck with all of your books. 

Thank you. I’ve enjoyed this.

Denny Hausker