I’m N.B. Austin, an American author based in Texas.
During my early 20’s I watched a lot of TV shows and movies. Greats like the Lord of the Rings and Breaking Bad taught me about the power of well-crafted stories and characters. On the other hand, not-so-greats in the era of the re-make made me increasingly critical to the point of frustration. Rather than complain though, I asked myself who I was to judge those responsible when I’d never attempted such a feat.
And that is when my authoring journey began…
Having written a bunch of music at that point, story-telling wasn’t completely foreign to me. However, the composition of a script was. So since I’d been more familiar with the format of a book, I decided to start there.
What came next was a Monday of sitting around and writing down any grand, exciting story concepts that came to mind. What resulted was a paper full of ideas I had rolled my eyes at and scribbled out one-by-one. Everything sounded silly to me, so I gave up.
So that is when my authoring journey ended… for about a week
The following Monday, without any intention to continue writing, it hit me. Rather than a genre or a theme or anything like that, what came to me was a scene. I saw a forest, I saw a young girl running, and I heard dogs barking behind her. That’s it. I didn’t know where she was, why she was running, who she was running from, or why they were chasing her. But I knew I was on the right track because just as if this scene had been the opening to a show or a movie I’d been watching, I wanted desperately to find out.
So I typed and I typed and I typed some more until 5 years later I’d published 4 books in what has now become the 5-part Civilands fantasy-adventure series.
What to expect from my fiction
In the Civilands series especially, you will see my writing style (and, to be honest, ability) evolve over time. The series deals with intense situations in a mysterious, Manifest-Destiny-like fantasy world. These situations allow for the type of development you would expect of powerful, relatable stories and characters. To date, my most avid readers speak highly of how those characters grow over time in exciting directions. They also laud the unpredictable nature of the story, which is another thing that sets this adventure apart.
My writing journey has also paralleled my own life in a lot of ways. The most important through lines of all my works are the importance of family, of truth/honesty, and of finding oneself through the trials and tribulations we inevitably face in life.
I’m extremely pleased to say Crimson River, Crystal Eyes, Crescent Heart, and Cryptic Kingdom, the first four novels in the Civilands series, are now available in e-book and paperback! The fifth and final book of the series: Crevasse Colossus is next to be released and is currently being written, with an expected release in 2022.
What to expect from my non-fiction
The events of 2020 and beyond have also pushed me to venture into non-fiction. As a health statistician by trade, I took a particular, “interest,” in the practices of various public health organizations during the Covid era. In too many ways to count I was disturbed by what I saw, so I documented each and every instance of wrongdoing I could find.
A year and a half after the alleged pandemic began, one of the most intense psychological pressure campaigns in history was reaching its height. This is when I realized my expertise demanded I tell my story, because, “if not you, then who?” So I got to work organizing the information I had collected until my furious typing resulted in a 600+ page, 1,600+ citation synthesis of the Covid era’s rampant corruption. This work is titled Stranger than Fiction: Corruption and Crimes Against Humanity in the Covid Era and will also be released in 2022.
Anyone who lived during the Covid era would benefit from reading this work. It is as thorough a retelling as one will find on what happened before, during, and after 2020. It will also serve future generations who can learn from this time period, especially in shining a light on the attitudes and information which the ubiquitous censorship of the day has continued to try and bury. Still, Stranger than Fiction pulls no punches whatsoever. If your mind is not open to realities the mainstream institutions responsible will never acknowledge, this is not the book for you.
Other fun facts about me
Though I’m now based in TX I actually grew up in (on?) Long Island, NY. I came to Austin to attend the University of Texas, from which I received my undergraduate degree.
Beyond my work as an author/writer I have always been a passionate musician. Also known by the moniker OldWiseBear, I currently collaborate with virtuoso producer Alex Leon on the OliveTreeBear project. Logos-driven tracks in a variety of genres can be found for the project at YouTube and/or Spotify, among other places. Here’s an example of which I contributed the lyrics and vocals:
Otherwise, I spend most of my time with my wife, our family/friends, and our dogs. Sports are cool too, specifically the New York Rangers and Texas Longhorns \m/
For more, connect with me here:
