Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written ten books, the Richard Carter series (Mystery/Suspense). Only three of them are “ready for prime time” at the moment. The others are cooling until they can be edited and redacted properly.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest is Cold Tears. It is actually the second book of the series (#3 was published in Aug, 2013). It was published out of order due to contractual problems. Inspiration? The characters themsekves, I suppose. Each book in the series takes up where the last ends. Each story is a stand-alone, however. The reader need not have read the previous novels to fully understand and appreciate the one he is reading.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know. Is beginning at three or four in the morning unusual? Is using a data base for plotting the key events in the story, for reminding myself of who knew what when unusual? Does it sound odd to say that I let my characters tell me what should happen next? I have a good eidetic memory for the spoken word. I rely on it hear both what real people I have known have said and what my characters are saying as the plot progresses. Another thing I do is avoid reading books in my genre while writing. I usually read non-fiction or classical fiction.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is a tough one. I greatly admire many writers. I hesitate to mention any of them because it seems pretentious to compare myself to any of them. I only wish I had the ability to tell a story simply like Twain, to draw a person into the culture like Kipling, or to handle the language like Conrad. I suppose James Lee Burke, Dean Koontz, Jonathan Kellerman, and Tami Hoag inspire me. I certainly enjoy them.
What are you working on now?
I am currently editing book 4 of the series, Secret Song. I am also writing book 11 (tentative title: The Other Law).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Wow. You got right to the heart of my problem. Sales. GoodReads, I suppose. Like most writers (I imagine), I would live in my imagination and write rather than pound the bricks, knock on doors, and hawk my wares. What I have learned about the people who would help writers promote their works is that (to use an analogy) there are more lures designed to catch fishermen than to catch fish.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Write every day. Keep at it until you discover your voice. Remember that readers honor you when they read what you produce. Let your work cool before you serve it to the public. Wield your blue pencil vigorously, but know when to stop. Use rare words rarely.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never pass up the opportunity to say how much you care about someone. You may never have the chance again.
What are you reading now?
Kim by Rudyard Kipling.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m riding with the Carter family for the foreseeable future. I guess I’ll go where they take me.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Why didn’t you ask which of my children I love the most? It changes. Once upon a time it was Stranger in a Strange Land, once Catch-22, once The Far Pavilions, once The Stand, and once Youth by Conrad. Today it might be a play instead of: Antigone.
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