If you're a fan of fantasy, horror or sci-fi novels — or some combination of all three — you should definitely check out DEXTRUS, a series of literary novels with some amazing illustrations.

DEXTRUS tells the story of a teenager, the titular character, who has a mysterious past. Throughout the series, Dextrus sets out on a dark journey to learn more about his past and see what the future holds.

The series is written and published by former Fanshawe students Scott Williams-Oakes and Norm R. Weichel. Weichel also illustrates the images that are part of each volume.

I had the chance to have an email chat with Williams-Oakes himself and ask him a few questions about DEXTRUS.

How did you start it?
"Norm and I were in a band together for four years, during our college days at Fanshawe. After departing from the band, I kept in touch with him frequently. He remembered my interest in creative writing and approached me with an idea that would later become DEXTRUS."

"The story has been worked on, re-written, and revised over the past couple of years. Norm approached me with an idea for an independent film, sort of a horror film for kids. We both became really excited in the project. We brainstormed a storyline, characters, scenes, and eventually I wrote a screenplay that we were both happy with. Unfortunately, a film, even on the independent level, was too expensive of an undertaking for us. We decided to shelf the idea for a while. It wasn't until the spring/summer of 2011 that I approached Norm with the idea of re-working the screenplay into a novel. Interestingly enough, Norm had the idea of re-working it into a comic book series."

"We realized though that doing it as a full comic book series would also unfortunately be a massive financial and logistical undertaking. So we came to a compromise and decided to release DEXTRUS as a novel series, with a volume each month. They are literary 'novellas' if you will, with vivid and exciting cover pages, and cool bonus reading material as well."

What's your day job? Does Norm have a day job, and if so, what is it?
"I work as an automotive industry delivery driver in London. I'm also a bassist in a regional metal band. Norm writes and records independent music as well, designs really cool multimedia projects, and works at Minuteman Press printing company in Parry Sound."

How would you describe Norm's art style? What media does he use in DEXTRUS?
"Norm would be interested in hearing how other people would describe his art style, but all he can really say is that he doesn't like anything overly cartoony. Norm aims to be horrifying, somewhat realistic and dark. He usually paints with acrylics, but he has taken a different approach with DEXTRUS. Norm sketches everything, same as he's done since he was a kid, only now he either scans or photographs his sketches and inputs them into his computer. Norm uses various digital painting techniques to colour and enhance his drawings."

Where does your inspiration come from?
"Our inspirations come from a lot of places, mainly the fantasy genre. Games like Diablo, and books like Lord of the Rings. We both have mutual interests in sci-fi and horror as well, and we both have a great interest in comics/graphic novels."

Where do you see it going?
"We plan to release about six or seven volumes in total. We're gradually designing promotional and bonus material with each volume release. We are contemplating attending some conventions as well; we'll have to see how it goes for us. I will be appearing at Shock Stock from April 13 to 15 at Centennial Hall. I will have a table where people can purchase DEXTRUS volumes and chat."

"We have had the discussion of where we'd like to take DEXTRUS. We'd love to explore publishing the entire story as a single release, all volumes in one book. It would be nice to work with a publisher to try to distribute DEXTRUS on a larger scale. It would be exciting to go back to the beginning and release the story as an actual fully illustrated comic book series, or even shoot it as a film, as originally desired. We just have to see how the dice rolls."

You publish a book a month — that's pretty rigorous! How have you found that?
"With a few strict deadlines and some planning, publishing a book a month is not too bad. Norm worked for the North Star (Parry Sound newspaper) and they ran on rigorous deadlines. Norm works well under pressure and he's a little addicted to the rush of making sure a book is completed each month. Crazy amounts of work go into getting the book ready for physical form, but after all of that is done, it's time to actually make the book, which only takes a number of hours, usually overnight."

How do you put the books together? What's your working style like? Do you work on most aspects together or separately?
"A lot of the story is already written, and has been for some time. When we decided to take this route, we went back and re-wrote/re-imagined the story. I broke down the story into chapters. When it came time to work on releasing them we decided how many chapters each volume will consist of. I get busy on writing/revising the story, Norm gets busy on designing the layout of each volume, drawing the cover and chapter illustrations and designing our website material and bonus stuff. We are in constant contact with each other, and we share the same interests and somewhat of the same personality, so it works out great. It is very much a team effort for sure."

What do you see yourself doing in the future once DEXTRUS is finished?
"We have had a discussion about working on other things together. I have an idea that we might expand on once this current incarnation of DEXTRUS is complete. We even have tossed around the idea of continuing the story of DEXTRUS beyond where it currently will end, possibly expanding on other characters in the series."

Any advice for anyone who wants to write or illustrate his or her own novel?
"Love what you do. You have to be totally in love with your work; many hours will be spent, many times you will question yourself and you will be discouraged, but just keep at it. Make connections; don't be afraid to talk to people in the industry, at the comic shops; ask for advice, tips. Know where you want to take it and just do it. Explore and find out the best methods to get your passion out there. Insane devotion to your love and your craft is needed."

For more information, check out Weichel's video about the making of the first volume at tinyurl.com/dextrusvol1video. You can also check out DEXTRUS on Facebook at tinyurl.com/dextrusfb. For more information about Slangdoll Publications, Weichel and Williams-Oakes' publishing company, check out slangdoll.com. You can pick up a copy of DEXTRUS at Hot Dog Musique and Cinema, located at the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton Streets. Keep an eye out for Volume 6, which will be hitting the shelves soon.