Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was a newspaper editor for 20 years before taking up writing fiction full time, most of my books in the fantasy genre though I have written some horror and a handful of more literary works. I’ve written 24 books and, to be honest, I’m not sure how many short stories, at least a hundred, perhaps more.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent novel is titled The God Sword. Several different ideas came together in my mind over a period of a few years to inspire this novel. First off, the writing style itself harkens back to a form (or forms) of fantasy literature that was more common in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing mostly upon one character, not delving too deeply into politics and social situations, but looking more at the philosophy of religious thought, mainly notions of faith and what it means to take a “leap of faith” or what it means to trust in something that can be proven. While some might consider The God Sword an other-worldly Christian fantasy novel, that would only be true in the barest of senses, for the look at faith here is meant to go beyond one particular religion or belief system.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Ha! It would be more appropriate to say I don’t have any writing “habits.” I write at any time of the day, even the middle of the night. I also write on a number of different devices, from a laptop to a netbook to a Kindle Fire to another digital pad to an old NEO by Alphasmart, sometimes even just with pen and paper in a notebook. I write at my kitchen table, in my bedroom, in restaurants, at friends’ houses, all over the place. Hmm, it might help my productivity some if I had better writing habits, ya think?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Like a lot of writers who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, Stephen King was a huge early influence upon me, especially his more epic works such as The Stand and later, his Dark Tower series. Some of my early favorite fantasy authors were Fred Saberhagen, Andrew Offutt, and Alan Dean Foster, though a little later I came to love the works of Robert E. Howard, Steven Erikson, and R.A. Salvatore. Some of my favorite authors are of classical note, such as Alexandre Dumas of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers fame, though I also have a fondness for the writing style of the Marquis de Sade, though his subject matters are often difficult to take.
What are you working on now?
Having recently finished The God Sword, I’m between projects at the moment and weighing my options, my interests. I might return to my Ursian Chronicles and finish the 7th of my Kron Darkbow novels, but I also have a number of other ideas pulling on my interests.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Normally I don’t do a lot of book promoting, but I’ve found social media, specifically Facebook, to be a valuable tool for letting others know when I have something new to offer. I also have had some success with an online newsletter.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Allow yourself to write badly, but publish wisely. Your first draft isn’t likely to be sparkling material, but that’s okay as you can clean it up later. As you write more and gain in experience, your writing will improve, so give yourself that time, that luxury, to learn what works for you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably what I wrote above about allowing oneself to write badly but publish wisely. I think I originally heard that from Dean Wesley Smith.
What are you reading now?
I’m on a non-fiction kick of late. I just finished Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, but before that, while writing The God Sword, I delved into some religious studies, while also mixing in some tabletop role-playing rules books.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Getting up, making coffee (decaf … ugh!, but my cardiologist says I gotta), and sitting down to write, kind of like I’m doing right now at 7 in the morning. My life is writing. It’s what I do. There was a time when I could never imagine NOT being a writer, and while I feel differently now with age and experiences, I can’t see any reason to stop writing because I can write about anything, any subject matter that comes to mind.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A book on survival, a book on how the heck to get off a desert island, and probably a Bible because it contains just about every genre one could ask for as well as plenty on spirituality and philosophy and more.
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