Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My background is in psychology and neuropsychology. I have a Ph.D. in Psychology and have authored a few dozen papers on brain injury and cognition and a major book in this area. I turned to writing fiction as I neared retirement. I have written mysteries and thrillers and science fiction. So far I have published 10 novels, both by traditional publishers and using self-publishing. I also edited a literary review for seven years.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is a reissue of a book I wrote fifteen years ago and was published in hardbound by a traditional publisher, but is now reverted to my property. It is called I, Carlos. I took the occasion of its fifteen anniversary to self-publish paperback and Kindle editions of the book, adding an author preface. It is a scifi/political/crime thriller about a man who has a computer chip implanted in his brain that causes him to plot to assassinate the President of the United States. I also recently had my psychological mystery, The Oedipus Murders published by Black Rose Writing. Both books are on Amazon.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My only unusual writing habits are that I read a great deal about the subject matter that I am writing about before beginning a novel. I also may visit locales featured in the story. I write at least 2-4 hours per day nearly every day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite books are literary novels by authors such as Thomas Wolfe, Lawrence Durrell, Walker Percy, and current novelists, Jonathan Franzen, Richard Ford, William Boyd and Panayotis Cacoyanni. I also read science fiction and enjoy classics by Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein, among others. In the mystery genre, I am devoted to classics such as Raymond Chandler and his character Philip Marlowe and to Dashiell Hammett and his Thin Man and well as Ross MacDonald. I love anything by James Ellroy. I’ve tried to write like all of these authors at one time or another, mostly unsuccessfully.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished a science fiction novel, called Ezekiel’s Brain about AIs destroying the human race and establishing a race of AIs in the future, one of which is a copy of a human brain, named Ezekiel. I’m writing a sequel to it in which a group of AIs plus Ezekiel explore the universe and interface with other organic and nonorganic races. I hope for it to be a series. Ezekiel’s Brain has been accepted by a small-press scifi publisher, NewLink.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own website and a second literary review website, plus a substantial mailing list. My books all appear on Amazon and most are available at other websites and, on order, from most bookstores.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep submitting to agents and publishers. I’ve had a couple of agents, but I’ve had better luck getting small presses to publish my books. If you are a talented marketer, you can earn more and have more freedom by self-publishing. I’ve used both Kindle Direct Publishing and Ingram Sparks to self-publish. I find Kindle Direct Publishing easier to use.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I met Jonathan Kellerman once and told him I was writing a book and what was his advice for getting published. He told me “write at least 8 more. I didn’t get published until my 9th book.”
What are you reading now?
Dostoeyevsky’s “Notes from the Underground”
What’s next for you as a writer?
I like to write book reviews and I will continue to do so. I also am planning to write a series of scifi novels using my characters from Ezekiel’s Brain, which will come out in late 2020 or early 2021.
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?
One Raymond Chandler, Philip Marlowe novel, The Brother’s Karamazov, Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer, and Ulysses, which perhaps I could make it through.
Author Websites and Profiles
Casey Dorman Website
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