Nick Oliveri - Vivid Scenes, Breathtaking Adventures and Twisty Storytelling

Posted on 10th of February, 2023 by Naomi Bolton

Nick Oliveri treasures the unique potential behind every person’s story and values sharing those tales with the world. Skilled at crafting sentences that bring his characters and their narratives to life, he is passionate about the beauty the written word has to offer. Nick is a former startup co-founder dedicated to the onset of the circular economy. Born in Ukraine but having grown up in Massachusetts, Nick currently resides in San Jose, CA, and loves wine, hockey, surfing, philosophy, art, and of course, reading and writing. As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, The Conjurer.

Please give us a short introduction to what The Conjurer is about.

The Conjurer is about a lone storyteller who has the power to sway a whole kingdom with his tales. But Mikalla, The Conjurer, must choose between serving his king or serving free speech when he is forced to sell a war to his beloved people. Colorful personalities and treacherous minds lurk in the shadows as conflicting motivations make for a truly cinematic read.

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this?

I was inspired by a tough junction in my life that left me directionless. I felt like Mikalla and the rest of the characters were truly real, and they were a way to express myself and speak in an artful way. Writing to me is a means of communicating with something higher. The Conjurer himself is a figure embodied by self-expression and freedom of speech.

Tell us more about Mikalla. What makes him tick?

The nature of Mikalla’s artistic expression is effectively explained as a “wild, animalistic compulsion, an urgent need to have his insights and emotions fly from his heart.” He creates, simply, because he feels like he has to. Many people can and will relate to this.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I actually have an eye for aesthetics, design, and fashion. I love the visual arts and that’s why I’m releasing a Kickstarter campaign on February 15 to fund my dream of illustrating the audiobook of The Conjurer. I am making a cinematic experience of The Conjurer, and with my hopeful skills of marketing and willpower, people will believe in me enough to contribute to making The Conjurer’s audiobook a cinematic experience as an illustrated audiobook come to life.

The king is rattled by addiction. Why did you create him this way?

King Oro is an interesting and confounding character. He started drinking when he was young to numb the pain of feeling inferior to his father, his late older brother, and not feeling as though he’s qualified for his role as king. He often takes the easy way out as a coward, but he also has the greatest empathy and biggest heart of any other person in the story.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

I want readers to really take in Mikalla’s final story. What The Conjurer tells at the end of the story is the greatest piece of wisdom I found throughout my life and still propels me to this day. Mikalla’s last myth suggests self-empowerment and the confusion of others’ unfair expectations.

Interesting cover. Please tell us more about this.

On the cover, you’ll notice that the shadows are bigger and uglier versions of the puppets in front of the flame. This is supposed to mean that things aren’t always what they seem. It is also a play on Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” You never know sometimes when you’re looking at the shadows or the real thing in life. It’s a confounding world we live in, and the cover is meant to reflect that.

Do you work according to a plot when you write, or do a lot of the things just "happen" along the way?

Things happen. I do not plot anything out. All I do is spill my thoughts and blood onto the page and see what happens. As a result, the characters in the book are not characters; they are real people. The events that unfold are real to me and real to my readers. That’s it.

This is book 2 of the Stories of Shadow and Flame series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in the series tie in with this one?

The Conjurer was my debut novel and can absolutely be read as a standalone; that’s what it was meant for. However, I just published its prequel, “Becoming The Conjurer,” which technically makes it the second book in what’s meant to be a trilogy (sequel coming 2024).

What are you working on right now?

I have two main projects. I am releasing a Kickstarter campaign on February 15 to fund the illustration of my audiobook for The Conjurer. I am making a cinematic experience with that and want both readers and non-readers to enjoy my beloved book. My other project is a non-profit in which we are granting aggregate $1,000 dollars to independent authors. Applications for the grant close on March 1.