Mini AMA: Tommy Kerper (SourpatchHero)

It came as a set. I'd read a few isekai LitRPG stories and kept thinking how fun a duo of friends would be. I didn't need to know the hero's story, and the idea of the sidekick (Orrin) popped into my head. The rest was writing the story and trying to keep the two boys under control.

I started I'm Not the Hero on royalroad.com, so my pitch was mostly… screaming into the void. I never imagined the kind of success that I've had with my story, and my publisher approached me about bundling things into a book and audio. So many of our LitRPG stories are about the solo hero journey, but my favorites always include side characters that steal the show. Orrin and Daniel are on the journey together, even if one is my main character. I can't imagine one without the other.

(Five books published, soon to be six)

The growth of both characters through the series is something that I've tried hard to capture. Daniel hopefully stops and thinks things through a bit more, as well as listens to his friends. Orrin gains confidence in himself and finds his own inner-hero along the way. At the end of the day though, these are two best friends that realize that their magic class and powers don't define who they are. They gain abilities that make them both unstoppable… and continue to use their power to prank each other.

I'm a pantser. I know the characters and set them loose within the story beats that I know are happening. My idea of what is going to happen rarely meets the page. I see a movie in my head of the characters talking, thinking through plans, and failing at everything they try and simply write it down as fast as I can. The humour comes out when the characters feel it, so it feels natural in the moment (hopefully). If things are getting too heavy, Orrin will try and lighten the mood. Daniel constantly puts his foot in his mouth. Both of them are fish out of water in the world they've found themselves in, which also leads to some very interesting misunderstandings.

I knew the basic stats: strength, will, etc. Everything else I made it up as I went along.

An example of some planning would be levelling. I knew enough to plan out how much experience each level would need to go up to the next. I did some quick napkin math to make sure I didn't give the characters too much power, too quickly. The rest came as I needed it.

When I needed to explain how the spell worked, I brainstormed mid-chapter, took notes, and did math (SO MUCH MATH). The pieces fell into place, and I will able to pull new ideas as the picture unfolded in front of me. I would say that maybe 20% of the total system was planned, and the rest is a patchworked tower built on math equations, hope, and luck.

I released INTH with no expectations of publishing. I had a day job (lawyer- yuck), and this was a fun hyper fixation that I didn't know would last. Once I started writing and releasing to royalroad, I knew this was bigger. I knew I would need to write to the planned end (the only thing I actually knew would happen).

Podium found me, pitched me, and put together everything. They handled the audio, art, edits… The stuff that would have taken me away from writing, which is the best part of being an author. It's been a great relationship, and I owe Podium a lot for taking a chance on some random guy with a name like SourpatchHero.

I was given a list of names to pick from that Podium thought would work. We had discussed using someone else, when their schedule fell through. We went back to square one, and then I got an email that said: Actually, Nick Podehl has an opening.

I've never responded to an email faster.

Nick's performance didn't shape how I wrote dialogue. I hear a mix of his voices and the characters as I imagined them before the audiobooks while writing new scenes, but the characters themselves remained unchanged. With how little direction I ever gave, I'm astounded with how he captured every character's voice and mannerisms so close to what I originally imagined. It's a testament to his skill.

For the first book, my wife was pregnant with our youngest. Once she was asleep, I would write until two in the morning. Once the baby came along, that continued. I was up at 6 A.M., working until 5 P.M., helping with the kids, and writing from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M.

I burnt the candle at both ends for almost two years. It sucked but felt rewarding.

Then, I was able to quit my job and start writing full time. That was a shake-up. Sleep is on the menu again. I work from about 8:30 to 5 P.M. daily now. I'm the parent who gets the kids to and from school, goes to appointments, and can take a day off if one of them is sick. It's the best job, and I feel like I'm on the best (and longest) sabbatical to ever exist.

I'm an Orrin. I over-plan and over-think everything. I would find the best optimization for whatever class I received. I would do my best (and likely better than the characters I wrote) to keep quiet and build up power.

I love Daniel, but I don't have the need to be the biggest, baddest MOFO in the room. I'm fine raising my friends up and standing in the background. The people who matter will appreciate me.

I'm Not the Hero is a classic isekai story of a summoned hero who must defeat the demon lord, but from the perspective of his best friend who accidently tags along and must discover how to be heroic even when he's not the hero.