A Slice of Cake With... Ricardo Victoria

This week I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with Ricardo Victoria. 

Born in the frozen landscape of Toluca, Mexico, Ricardo dreamed of being a writer. But needing a job that could pay the rent while writing, he studied Industrial Design and later obtained a PhD in Sustainable Design, while living in the United Kingdom. There, he did a few things besides burning the midnight oil to get his degree:

-Trained in archery near Nottingham

-Found Excalibur

-Discovered whether Nessie was real or not (but won’t disclose his findings)

-Worked on a comic book store to pay for his board game & toy addiction

He is back now in Toluca, living with his wife and his two dogs where he works as an academic at the local university. He has short stories featured in anthologies by Inklings Press and Rivenstone Press. In fact, he was nominated to a Sidewise Award  2016 for the short story Twilight of the Mesozoic Moon, co-written with his arch-nemesis, Brent A. Harris. He has also won a local contest for a fantasy short story during college. But hey! That one doesn’t count, does it?

What kind of books do you write?

I tend to write stories that explore personal issues of the characters –who they are, what’s their place in their world, overcome traumas, forgive themselves, find a reason to be- in a mix of action, humor and a bit of horror in settings that combine magic and science, while having the adventures I would have loved to have as a kid. Think of a more well-rounded, more complex 80’s Saturday morning cartoon.

Can you describe your writing why?

I have a couple of reasons. One, and I haven’t made it a secret, it’s that I write as a form of occupational therapy to deal with my depression and anxiety attacks. It has become a survival tool to clear my head when things get messy inside it. Another is – and I don’t say this as a form of bragging- since I was a child I have a quite hyperactive imagination and have the nagging need to tell stories about the things my mind comes with. All the time stories are coming out of my head –and by all the time I mean, even when I’m sleeping, some ideas for short stories like Kaana came as dreams-. The third one is that I have always wanted to share the worlds and I came up with and hopefully someone will like them.

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

If you allow me to share two moments from my upcoming novel:

“So back to the topic, warptrains run with magick energies?” Alex asked.

“That’s the common agreement, yes. Hence the development of something as stupid as arcanotech. Using ancient knowledge to develop trains. That’s why freefolk stay away from civilization as much as possible.” Sam shook her head in disappointment.

“I can’t argue with that.” Alex rubbed his chin. “And I studied that subject in college. Anyway, so if magic acts like a radiation field, it should follow the same rules of energy conservation… But how would that explain a disintegration spell, for example?”

“Look. Magick, for all its potency, has to follow simple universal rules. Like the energy conservation law you mentioned. You can’t create neither destroy energy or matter, just change it,” Sam explained plainly.

“So, following that, there is no such thing as a disintegration spell?” Alex asked.

“No, instead, it’s actually just a teleportation spell used in a creative way.” Sam smiled. 

“You don’t teleport the whole subject at the same time to the same place… That must hurt.” Alex grimaced at the thought of having his limbs ending up half a planet away from his torso, or worse.

“It is also the number-one cause of death of many rookies working magick,” Sam added, stealing a bite from Alex’s pizza.

“Your craft sounds more complicated than I thought. It is as if a magick user is warping reality using high energies while their brain is calculating thousands of quantum states,” Alex reasoned, after a while.

“That’s why I believe that arcanotech is to magick what engineering is to quantum physics. Not even in the same league of understanding,” Sam replied with smug satisfaction.

And:

Alex and Gaby started to walk towards the entrance of Ravenhall. Fionn tried to open the door, and this time it worked.

“A few words before you start your test, Greywolf,” Mekiri said. “Remember, the past is a lesson, not an anchor. The present is a gift, not a test. The future is an opportunity, not something to fear. All of us will arrive at our destination sooner or later. The difference lies in the path we take and with whom we choose to walk it.”

Fionn remained silent and Mekiri let him go after Gaby and Alex. This was going to suck.

Tell us about your latest project

My current project is the one that has been years in the making, my first novel: Tempest Blades. The Withered King. It’s the story of a war hero –gifted by strange powers which means he can’t grow old- who is retired after a tragedy struck him and a century later, he has to come back, not only to stop an evil from his past but also to mentor a new generation of heroes that look up to him. And given that being a mentor is possibly one of the most dangerous jobs in fiction (look at Obi-Wan for example, one day of teaching and gets killed), he has his job cut for him. That’s what you get by agreeing to help a friend.

All jest aside; this is a very personal work because it has been percolating in my head since high school at least and I finally managed to get it on paper. It’s going to be published by Artemesia Publishing under their Shadow Dragon imprint on August 20th 2019.

What is your favourite cake?

Chocolate cake. Nothing fancy, just a good chocolate cake

I couldn't resist a little bit of fancy, Ricardo! You can find Ricardo on Twitter and from time to time he posts worldbuilding and the occasional short story on his website. 

Join me next week when I'll be having a slice of cake with Kathleen Jowitt.

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

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Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.