Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written one book, a collection of short stories. I live in Michigan. I like to write and read, play guitar, go kayaking. I play softball during the summer and I just started skiing again during the winter. I have a pretty big DVD collection, mostly horror movies. I’m a horror film/fiction addict.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is called “Now You’ll Never Know: A Collection of Short Stories.” It has nine stories in it. The stories were inspired by a variety of things. Two came from dreams. One was inspired by a TV news report. Another was inspired by a movie trailer. Two were inspired by an author friend who sent me a couple pages of an unfinished story and asked me to finish it if I could.
The title was inspired by a song: “Starfields,” by I Will Never Be The Same. Listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDBaG06DJbc
One of my favorites.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to listen to music while I write. I like a wide variety of genres: rock, metal, electronica, rap.
I’m notoriously slow as a fiction writer. I tend to write in binges, and sometimes those binges are followed by times where I don’t work on those projects at all. Having a select time to write each day just doesn’t work for me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like the subtle strange horror of Shirley Jackson and Robert Aickman. I also really like Clive Barker’s “Books of Blood” and “The Hellbound Heart.” Of all the Stephen King books I’ve read, I think I still like “Night Shift” the best.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a novel-length story and progress has been slow. Like the material in my short story collection, it is very bleak but with a glimmer of hope, with dark humor throughout.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have tried to use Facebook and Twitter and Goodreads and other sites to promote my books during their free promotions, but I haven’t had a whole lot of success with any of them. The promotion aspect of putting my writing out there has been very difficult.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to edit. For me, I like to keep things streamlined, no filler, make sure it’s a quick and hopefully interesting read. One story from my collection, I cut almost 50 percent of the word count on it from first draft to final version. You may have to edit out lines that you like, maybe even one of your favorites, if it doesn’t fit. I like to let the story write itself as much as possible. I start with a premise, a couple of main characters, and then set them free, and see where they take it. Sometimes, I don’t know how the story will end. I feel like it’s better to let the story grow like that rather than trying to force it somewhere. Your characters, left to do what they like, might surprise you, in a good way.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King’s “On Writing” is full of good advice for authors. The best advice is probably just read a lot, write a lot.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading “Harbor” by John Ajvide Lindqvist. I really like his other books, “Let the Right One In” and “Handling the Undead.” Might read “Little Star” after I finish “Harbor.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
If I can finish my current novel project, I would like to go back to short stories for a while, I think. Hopefully, the practice I’ve had finishing the stories for “Now You’ll Never Know,” plus the novel, will help me write faster and more effectively on first drafts. I would like to write enough for another collection.
What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite novel is probably “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson. Growing up, I really liked “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings.” I have read “The Hellbound Heart” by Clive Barker many times. Quite a few of my favorite books are short story collections: Poppy Z. Brite’s “Wormwood,” Barker’s “Books of Blood,” and “Night Shift” by Stephen King.
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