Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in El Paso, Texas, do a lot of traveling, and love meeting people. My hobbies are gardening, crafts, competing in marksmanship championships, and spending time with my two Maine Coon cats (Sigwan and Hebert—pronounce that last one “A-bear”) and a purebred alley cat, Melvin da Twerp.
My first book, a stand-alone about a mysterious psychiatric patient and the doctor who treats her called Gabriel’s Call, published in 2019. Since then, I have added to my completed books with my epic series called The Unit. The prequel, Before the Unit: The Recruiting of Kevin Banks, tells how one member of my elite and highly secret federal law enforcement team came to be a part of that team. The first book of the series tells how the team’s only female member and team sniper found herself in the team and adjusted to being a woman in a man’s world, joining them in a hunt for a domestic terrorist cell. In all, there are now 20 books published in The Unit series, with number 21 being written right now.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book of The Unit series is entitled Mirror, Mirror. It focuses on a man turned criminal who was once a member of a special forces military unit and becomes a contract military policeman on a large military base. To avoid giving out any spoilers, I’ll mention that the name was inspired by the fact that he parallels one of the unit’s undercover operatives in his past experiences, leading that operative to question what he might do in the future.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
What’s considered unusual? Maybe the fact that I’ll be “living” a character at night before I go to sleep and find myself waking in the morning with new insights into the character? My books focus heavily on the human side of this team, not just the missions they find themselves involved in, so I find this a good mechanism for learning more about them. I always tell my readers that I have to write their stories because they won’t leave me alone if I don’t!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read just about everything, but my two main loves as genres go are science fiction and action/adventure/crime. I’m in the process of reading all of John Douglas’s books on crime and criminal profiling. In the past, I had a goal of reading every book Isaac Asimov ever wrote. I even wrote to him as a youngster, and he wrote back! (Excited hand-clapping, and I wish I’d kept his response.) Ray Bradbury was also high on the list during my younger existence. Tom Clancy is a favorite. As research for my own books, I’ve read a ton of nonfiction in the true crime genre and have a ton more to go.
What are you working on now?
My current work-in-progress is called Gridlocked, and will be the 21st book of my The Unit series. The book centers on a hacker that has managed to access the grid control system for one of the United States’ three major electrical grids. She’s really ignorant, and has no idea what she’s doing nor the devastating consequences of her actions. I have the great fortune of knowing a grid controller, and though I have no intention of actually giving anyone any knowledge that could be used to actually hack the grid, he helps me keep it real while also maintaining appropriate security for the vital network that keeps the lights on as well as many other things. Intertwined with this is the team’s hunt for a madman that they’ve been pursuing throughout the series—a man who is intelligent, clever, and has managed to hide his identity while committing heinous acts.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m a recent user of Awesomegang for book promoting, and have used too many others to really list. I’d prefer not to mention those I’ve found unworthy of their fees as most of the sites I’ve used have been fee-for-promotion sites, though I will mention that of those I’ve had good luck with Freebooksy and FussyLibrarian stand out.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
First, make sure you have a clean manuscript. I also do editing, and find a really poorly edited book will turn me off right from the start. Second, don’t fall for the old axiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Make sure you have both an eye-catching cover and one that speaks to the theme of your book. If doing a series, make sure your covers “brand” it by having enough similar items to make a book recognizable as belonging to your series. Do a good formatting job or hire a formatter.
Above all: PROMOTE YOUR BOOK!!! Amazon alone markets (according to current reports) 48.7 MILLION books. If you don’t promote your book, how do you expect to be seen among 48.7 million? There’s only one way: PROMOTE YOUR BOOK.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t short-change your writing ability and DON’T GIVE UP. I had none other than my own mother ridicule my writing at a young age, so I reached adulthood thinking this was something I couldn’t do. Here I am now, author of 22 books and counting, averaging over four stars for each and every one. You can do it! DON’T GIVE UP!
What are you reading now?
Gore Vidal’s historical novel Lincoln. Over 600 pages!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Why, Book 22 of The Unit series, of course. Not sure what the theme will be this time. So much crime, so few books about it.
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?
Oh, my. Am I allowed to take unlimited paper and pencils, too? If so, a copy of Merriam Webster’s Dictionary and The Chicago Manual of Style will do. If not, I’d have to flip a coin numerous times to pick from my favorites. Maybe four by Tom Clancy, or Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy and the Bible (not that I’m very religious, but the stories can be inspiring). Given I think I have at least a thousand books in my house (bookshelves in every room except bathrooms—that’s where magazines go!), that’s a really tough question to ask me!
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