An Interview with Aral Bereux
​Best Selling Author of the
Juliana Rae Chronicles.

It is both an Honour and a Privilege to be able to bring this Interview to you and our thanks to Aral for granting us the time and the opportunity to do so.
 Therefore without any further ado, let us introduce you to Aral Bereux

• What sets “The Juliana Rae Chronicles” apart from other thrillers?
  ​

The J Rae Chronicles are dystopian survivalist based; the supernatural themes take a backseat, but remain to lighten the seriousness of the plot. Essentially, it’s a psychological thriller – will these characters’ flaws permit them to survive?​Why did you write the J Rae Chronicles?  
I wanted to get J Rae out of my system. I’d been carrying the character along with me since early high school – and her world, for that matter.

•  What were your Goals?  
  ​

Once I started writing the first of the four books in my mid-thirties, I realized there was a far more important message I wanted to convey – humanity in its purist form. I think that’s why the books are described sometimes, as “brutal” to the reader.

• Was this your first foray into the world of writing? 
  ​

I’ve always written. I have manuscripts scattered everywhere dating back to when I was around 15. I threw out a giant packing box of handwritten manuscripts pre-age 15. Something, I now regret.

• Do you believe that there is such a thing as "Writers Block"  or is it just a form of procrastination?  
  ​

No such thing as writer’s block.  I’ve never suffered writers block. I personally don’t believe that it exists. It’s another term for procrastination when the writing gets tough. You know, some people think that because a writer writes – and that it is his passion that enables him to do so – that writer’s block is some sort of emotional issue. It isn’t. 

•  Ok, then In your own words, how would you define what is commonly called “writers block”?   
  ​

Writer’s block is when you hit a difficult scene and you don’t know which way to go, but you push through it anyway. If it’s a shit scene you delete it and start again.

• What roadblocks did you run into in the writing of this novel?

​The roadblocks, for me, were of a personal nature. I think the writer, as a creature, is very difficult to live with. They become withdrawn, moody, sullen when they have a project that they’re passionate about. I was also going through was what I think now, was postnatal depression. Looking back, I was in a very dark place and J Rae helped me to survive it.
​

• Besides just telling the story, what were you trying to communicate in the writing?
  ​

That civilisation is on the brink of collapse. I mentioned the word ISIS before anyone know who they were – that was coincidence, but if you read the books, Isis is a character leading a rebellion based on ideology…and ideology is something you can never kill completely.
I also included, particularly after editing later editions, the RFID chip, electronic tattoos, drones, and Big Brother CCTV on every corner. Much to my horror, most of the book has started to come true in the last few years.

• What will the reader feel when reading The Juliana Rae?​​
  ​

I always get the review of how “real” my characters are. My characters have big flaws, but they also have big hearts – especially J Rae and Bas. Caden is the necessary leader, prickly in character, he makes the tough decisions – and I think readers respect that he has to sit on the line and use people and experiences to his advantage to win. It’s a roller-coaster ride – and I wrote it that way on purpose. It is based against an Urban Warfare background. The characters don’t get to rest because they have to survive – so my reader won’t get a break either.  I never plan in advance. I never draft. I tried that once and I threw the outline of a perfectly good story in the bin. I prefer to read my book as I go, letting the characters take me where they want to go. The story isn’t up to me, it’s up to my characters, regardless of what I write. 

• While writing the Chronicles, what did you learn about yourself?

​I was caught up in the tide of success that followed with the books and didn’t really have a chance of any self-contemplation until later. After one interview where I was discussing the possibility of funding an independent movie on the basis of the books;
I was forced to ask myself if this is what I really wanted, or am I just going along with the fans?  It's important to please yourself sometimes, more than it is to please those around you. Self-preservation is what I learnt.

• Where are you currently located and what do you do for a living, when you’re not writing?

I actually write for a living. I’m one of the lucky few in Australia that can honestly say that. I ghost write for one company based in Victoria, and I’m chief editor of another website, along with investigative journalism. It isn’t fiction – in fact, it’s sometimes scarier than fiction because of the geopolitical topics I have to cover.
​

• Family?

I have three children. Of them, two want to become cinematographers and the middle child wants to become an author/artist. 

• How long ago did you decide that you wanted to try to write a novel?

I remember writing my first book at aged 8, and I still have it. I remember consciously deciding one day as I was writing at my desk that I could try this for a living. I think I was around 12 when I made that decision. But even then, I understood that to write anything worthwhile, you have to have something real to say. I knew it wouldn’t come until my 30s and 40s.

• What did you enjoy most about writing the Chronicles? 

J Rae’s sharp wit. I was surprised I could write such dialogue. But the writer’s journey was incredible. I made some great friends in the author’s community as I went along, and the entire experience is very memorable.

• What inspired you to become an author?
• ​

It was after I read two books: The Sphere by Michael Crichton and The Dark Half by Mr Stephen King. I was writing before I ever read these books as a kid, but these were my first two ‘real’ books I picked up to read cover-to-cover.
I still remember reading Sphere as I walked down one of the roughest streets in my town – the street I grew up in. I was a few houses down from my address when I realized that I wasn’t ‘in’ the book. I looked around at the dystopian type neighbourhood and thought “I can write a book too.” It was just about timing and patience after that.

• How long did it take you to write and publish The JRC's?

The first three books were written, edited and published within 12 months. The fourth book followed shortly after a break, and took around 3 months to complete. In essence, I wrote 4 books in 18 months. It was a crazy time.  But once I have an idea in my head, I tend to knock out a draft within 2 months.

• What did you first read? 

Stephen King’s The Dark Half. From there I soaked up every title that came out. But lately, I’ve done the same with George Orwell’s books.

• How did you begin to write?

I grew up in a very poor family. We were, socio-economically, non-existent. I used an old copper candle holder to prop a single candle in, I would lock myself in my bedroom the second I came home from school and write until late at night – by candle light. I would use whatever plain white paper I could get a hold of, or foolscap from school, and use a black pen. Always a black pen.
•Who were the first to read what you wrote?
My editor at the time and the audiences on Amazon. I never permit anyone to read my work until it is completed.

• What is your favorite genre?

Dystopian thrillers; psychological thrillers and horror, for fiction.
Non-fiction: History: mainly the French Revolution, Cultural Revolution and now I’m just starting to read up on the Russian Revolution. Outside of that, International Relations and Politics.
•Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some more of your work or learn something about it?
http://dystopiannews.com
http://www.aralbereux.

• What is your creative process like?

I have my own space; a small study lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, no outside window and my circa 1800s teacher’s desk that I have written at since I was a young kid. I lock myself in this room and tend not to venture out until all my journalistic work and fiction work is completed. Usually late at night when the kids are sleeping, or very early morning.

• What happens before sitting down to write?

Grab coffee, I burn my incense, I turn on the computer and first check to see if I need to edit any articles. I scout headlines for world news, then comes any article deadlines and after, when I’m done with the journalism, I’ll usually churn out 3000-5000 words for fiction.
•What type of reading inspires you to write?
Movies, documentaries – they inspire me. The “what ifs” in life inspire me. Humanity inspires me. Other books – as much as I love them – don’t inspire me to write.

• What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

First person irritates the bejesus out of me. Yet, when I first started writing, that’s how I wrote. I guess I view it somewhat amateurish and the easy way to write. Third person, when done right, can hold you hostage within the book until the last pages.

• Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

I really don’t know. I’m good at arguing real world topics. Sit me around a campfire to tell a story and I think everyone would go to bed early.

• Deep down inside, who do you write for? 
  
  
• For myself, of course. If it were for the fans, I’d have another 2 JRC books out by now.

 

• Is writing a form of personal therapy?

Without the writing, I’d be lost.

• Are internal conflicts a creative force?

Of course they are. Without the experience of conflict, your characters will be portrayed flat. I see this in a lot of authors on Amazon. The plot is great, but the characters are very 2 dimensional. You just know that it is vanity writing, and that these ‘writers’ never really lived beyond their own bubble.

• Does reader feed-back help you?
• ​He's charged who is numb

I treasure reader feed-back. There isn’t enough of it though. People are lazy. They want, they take and rarely leave anything in return. I blame it on the social media phenomena that has made us all lazy, to the point our attention spans can cope with nothing more than a brief headline.

• Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?

I’ve only started sharing with one other, JD, a political-absurdist thriller author in Florida. @therealjakedevlin on Twitter. We bounce back emails for opinions. He understands the way I write and why.

• Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for?

​I had found my “voice” in the Chronicles. But my latest work, The Think Species and Project Pandora are different. They’re both more serious, darker, more grown up than J Rae.

• What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.?
  ​

I’m happy if I accomplish at least 3000 words per day on fiction. Anything less, really, isn’t acceptable.

• What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate?

Books, music, incense and a lot of cluttered mess.

• Do you write on a computer?  Do you print frequently?  Do you correct on paper?  What is your process?
  ​

The fiction is always on a computer. I think too quickly to keep up using long hand.
Journalism, however, is different. There’s interviews via email, research on the internet and books, and editing. Investigative pieces, though, I will print off a draft, and go through it long hand with my research surrounding me, on the floor.
 

• What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information?
  ​

I can’t share that information, as they would be considered dissident sites. But, I have a very close working network of insider info via these sites, and the majority of the people there are considered my virtual family.

• What are you working on now?

Project Pandora is my latest venture. When I was in Paris I happened to sit near the table of a suit and tie man with his laptop and files, in a café in Montmartre. I glimpsed the title “Project Pandora.” He freaked when he noticed me reading it; quickly he gathered his things, walked outside and made a lot of phone calls on the other side of the street. Thankfully, I had a plane to catch that afternoon. Naturally, my mind went into overdrive with story possibilities.

• What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone?

But them in a drawer and don’t read them for 2 months. If you read them after 2 months and the ideas and words appeal to you, then you may have something. Find someone you can trust that isn’t family. Family always lie. You need to be told the truth.

• The armchair psychologist: Is creativity an act of rebellion for you?
• ​

No. I have no choice but to write. I was born this way. I wish, sometimes, that I could be happy with the mundane 9 to 5 job, but I can’t. The tortured artist role is not fun. It isn’t a choice.
I rebel within my writing, yes; to get my point across. In some countries, with the journalism I do, I’m considered a dissident. But the act in itself, much like my musical roots, I really have no say in what I do creatively. I just do it. If you have something to say, don’t be weak, just say it.

• Do you work well under pressure?

I work best when under pressure.

• It is said that you are only as good as your last book. Wouldn't you like to have a more secure type of work?

As an author, if you are good at what you do, then you will always have job security. If you work hard, you will see the benefits eventually. Writing isn’t about damn hard work. I think the security of the work comes from within – am I ever good enough? Do my words count for something?
According to my fans, I’m as good as my first Chronicle, not my last one – though the fourth is personally my favourite.

​I’ll be aiming for a traditional contract with my next two books, and they won’t be ready for quite some time. This time I’m pacing myself. Only time will tell how they judge the next two.

 Dystopian author. Journalist. Editor. P/T anarchist, P/T realist. F/T smartarse.

Thanks for taking the time to read this Interview
Aral.