Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Cambridge Phd in Mathematics by training, but I have always loved writing and had a keen interest in history (I had a minor in history along with my Math degree). I have authored several technical texts and one other novel, a scifi, “How Noble in Reason.”
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Beyond the Dragonhead.” I’ve always had a fascination for Vikings. My DNA test says I am 75% Scandinavian. I wanted to portray the Vikings as real people, like my Swedish family on my mother’s side, and I also wanted to tell the story of the trade and settlements of Vikings in the East, a story that gets short script in modern literature.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure how unusual it is, but I study the history and environment of the story, think about my characters, and then wait for scenes to appear in my mind. I see the book like a movie and just start writing down what I see. I used to think it was a little strange, but I have heard that others do this as well. In my scifi, which was a murder mystery, I did not know who had committed the murder until I was halfway through writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Michael Chrichton’s Eaters of the Dead (13th Warrior as a movie),
J.R.R. Tolkien
Umberto Eco
Irving Stone
James Michner
Phillip Dicke
HG Wells
What are you working on now?
The sequel, and another scifi
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads has been pretty effective, though it does pick up readers who have no business reading a serious historical fiction (mostly steamy romance types).
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Orwell’s six rules:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The difference between a writer and an author is that authors are read. Get your manuscript into the hands of as many readers as you can, get there critiques! J. Michael Stracynzski
What are you reading now?
Istanbul, A Tale of Three Cities.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The sequel!
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?
I’ve never been able to answer this question. Arrgh!