We were lucky to catch up with Justin Sloan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Justin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

One of my heroes in this writing life has been the author Brandon Sanderson. Not only is the man prolific, he writes amazing stories and shares his knowledge on the craft through teaching at University (and offering those classes online). He straddles the very successful side of both traditional and nontraditional publishing and, based on our limited interaction, seems to be a very approachable and kind person.

It was his books Elantris and then the Mistborn trilogy that made me both excited about fiction and obsessed with fantasy. On top of that, it was because of my love for his books that I then found George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, the books that propelled me to start writing. Now I have had the opportunity to write in Martin’s universe, and I have dreams of adapting Sanderson’s for the big screen. In fact, I once tried to get the rights to Mistborn or Elantris for adaptation, but the price was outside of my budget. Maybe someday?

Brandon Sanderson encouraged me to be prolific, helped me understand the craft, and taught me that I can shape this writer’s life in my way, not having to follow any specific path to get to where I want to be. I hope to serve as such a guiding light for others one day.

Justin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started off as a writer by trying to write a fantasy novel based on my studies of the Peloponnesian War, then quickly realized how much I loved writing. From there I quickly enrolled in classes for prose and screenwriting, and then couldn’t stop–I had discovered my passion. But what took a while for me to get a grasp on was my brand. When I first started, I thought I would write anything and everything. After all, I enjoyed watching and reading most genres, so why not write them all? Well, the easy answer to that is that readers want to have at least a sense of what they’re getting into when they pick up one of your books, and those on the hiring side want to know where you can fit in. So I wrote kids books, fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, and even a literary novel. Would I change any of this? No, because they were stories I had to tell to grow, and they were fun.

However, I think we all need to eventually find our brand and lean into it, and that’s when we can (more easily) make writing a career. For me, it’s about writing sci-fi and fantasy with military angles. I also write thrillers and military stories, and sometimes those all can overlap, but they don’t have to. Why these genres? The answer to that is the same as what sets me apart, which is my lived experience. As a Marine with experience in signals intelligence and teaching martial arts, plus with my time spent in Japan and studying Japanese, I bring a unique voice to any project, but especially any that have ties to military, Japan, or Japan and military. And by the way, I’m working on a novel that is exactly that, so stay tuned! But as a reader, viewer, and gamer, I’ve been obsessed with fantasy and sci-fi going back to The Hobbit animated movie and Shining in the Darkness on Sega, to Ender’s Game and Starship Troopers books, and more recent games like Ghostwire: Tokyo and Ghost of Tsushima. Have you read the Jack Porter books by Jonathan Maberry? They’re great and tie into my military experience and love for the supernatural, and I aspire to his level of prose.

Take a look at yourself and see what about your lived experience combines with your passions and see how that can lead to the type of writing you might want to consider becoming your brand. This is how I managed to write such best-sellers as Shadow Corps and get hired to write the Quantum Trilogy tie-in novels for PlanetQuest, and get into the writers room for such games as Game of Thrones and Battlefield. I understand what my strengths and passions are and frame myself around these, therefore making it easier for others to understand what I bring to the table.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

For me, going full time in this creative life was largely possible because I had mentors and champions along the way. When I started, I knew writing was a lot of fun, but didn’t believe it could really replace my day job. That’s like winning the lottery, right? A dream! But as I progressed in my ‘hobby’ of writing and realized how obsessed I had become with it, I realized more and more how much I needed for creative to become my means of making a living. Luckily, I had mentors and champions pushing me forward.

First there was my significant other giving me support and encouragement, and then my boss at the time encouraging me to pursue writing (was she trying to get rid of me?). Next came Stephan Bugaj, a former Pixar employee who helped me at Telltale but with several creative positions after, to include bringing me on to work creative development on the Emmy-winning Silent Hill: Ascension project! It was because of Stephan that I was able to work on my dream project, Game of Thrones, and because of him that I was able to get a pilot optioned to a studio.

I would love to say that all of my success with novels was on my own, but that was due to another champion who entered my life. Michael Anderle was a writer of novels who had taken off and was doing his part to advise other authors on how he had done it. When I saw that he was writing paranormal fiction that was similar to what I was working on, I pitched myself as a writing partner. To my relief, he said yes! He took me on and we wrote sixteen books together, setting me on the path to be a full-time author.

Now I had books and games going for me, several big IPs under my belt along with several successful original IPs, and I was living the dream! But it never stops, right? I have continued to succeed because of mentors, friends, and champions. And I’m looking to continue publishing, make great games, and sell projects to Hollywood. My journey brought me to Battlefield in big part thanks to another champion, and I recently started a new novel after being inspired when meeting author Jonathan Maberry. On that note, I have been reading Mr. Maberry’s books and hear news of a TV show coming, both of which I am very excited about. If you are reading, Mr. Maberry, I would very much love to have you as my next mentor!

That is a big part of my success–never being afraid to ask for what I want. I try to do so in a respectful way and never expect to get it, but sometimes I do and sometimes I get another opportunity that leads me down amazing paths that I never could have expected. From there, I try to build on my successes, keep assessing my brand and making sure I stay focused, and try to help others along the way as people have helped me.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

While there are many books I recommend on craft, my biggest piece of advice for aspiring writers right now is to go to the Austin Film Festival (AFF). Yes, it’s a screenwriting festival, but they have a game writing track as well! In fact, I’m usually a panelist on the game-writing track and know for a fact that the other panelists are very intelligent and equally kind. Even if all you want to do is write books, the panels at the AFF are inspiring and educational, and the attendees are wonderful people. For me, the AFF has become like a second home.

The AFF has had a huge influence on my journey. I first attended in 2012, and after meeting many friends, learning great lessons on craft from the likes of Michael Arndt and Megan LeFauve, and eating wonderful barbecue, I discovered that this festival is for me. Every year I return and find myself reinspired and learning something new. Panels I have spoken on cover such topics as breaking into game writing and what it is like to work in a writers room, while some of the talks I have found most useful include a talk on characters and heart by the writer of Hook and a script reading with Will Ferrell. You’ll find yourself up late hours discussing craft at the Driskill bar, and taking long walks between panels with fellow writers who are eager to discuss everything about writing.

If attending events doesn’t work for you, I get it, but recommend trying to go outside of your comfort zone at least once in life and go. And then remember that the true value comes from making those relationships, and so you should go again, and again… and again!

I hope to see you all there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://justinmsloan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinsloanwriter/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmsloan/
• Twitter: https://x.com/justinmsloan
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Justin-Sloan/author/B00OJPAM0K