Meet Scott Norton. By day, he’s a devoted dad who commutes from Mornington to Port Melbourne for work at a printing company. But in the eerie pre-dawn hours, when most of us are still blissfully sleeping, Scott enters another world – The Otherworld – in his guise as teen fiction author S.B. Norton … and that’s where the magic happens.
From 5am until 6.15am every week day, Scott immerses himself in the world of the Operatives, whose mission it is to rid a parallel universe known as The Severed Plane of the warlocks and wizards that control three of its four quadrants and who prey on human kind. These quadrants provide the settings for the three (and soon to be four) novels in his Otherworldly Operatives series: Flames from the North, Southern Vexations, and White Eyed Children of the East, which he’s launching at a Meet the Author event at Farrell’s Book Shop next month.
At weekends he’s able to devote a little more time to The Otherworldly Operatives, and that’s something he relishes. “It’s quite exhausting. But I needed a creative outlet, and it’s great for my own escapism as I have a very vivid imagination.”
Scott has been a self-published author since 2014. With no support team besides his family and friends, he has written, edited, designed, promoted, distributed and established his books’ presence on social media and in the minds of teenagers world-wide. With lots of adventure, these horror fantasy novels appeal to 10-14-year-olds (he often visits schools to meet his young fans) but have found devotees among much older readers too.
With one more book in the works to complete the series, he’s relishing the traction he’s establishing overseas. His protagonists come from all over the world and represent a variety of ages, so his novels have wide appeal. Readers respond well to these strong characters as they travel through corridors from this world to The Otherworld and fight to save human kind from being kidnapped by The Severed Plane dwellers.
“The suburb that my main protagonist lives in was inspired by Mornington, Dromana, Cowes and Phillip Island,” says Scott.
The tales of warlocks and witches include some scary bits that keep the young readers interested and are quite dark at times, but there’s an underlying humorous tone throughout the collection.
You can meet Scott at Farrell’s on Saturday, September 16, at 3pm, where he’ll be more than happy to sign copies of his books. Perhaps in blood, we’re not too sure …
INSTA: @s.b.norton
FB: @theotherworldlyoperatives
W: sbnortonhome.wordpress.com