Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I spent twenty years in the USAF, mostly because I lost track of time. I then worked for various agencies around the Washington DC area until I came to my senses and retired- well, quasi retired- and moved out to the Shenandoah Valley. It’s nice out here. No traffic.
I’ve written lots of books, most of them worthless, and if there is a God in Heaven they will remain out of the sight of men until the Seals of Judgment are broken and evil can be unleashed. Two of them are not worthless; at least, they’re readable, which, actually, is a conclusion better left to readers. One of those is published; the other is in search of a publisher.
I have two story collections of various things that have been published over various years at various EZines. I put the collections together to ensure the stories didn’t get lost in the ether.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is “Partholon,” which is an adaptation of an Irish legend about the first men and how they died of plague. It came out of those weird anthrax letters which showed up a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks. The letters bothered me; they seemed so random and small, especially in light of what had just happened, and I couldn’t help thinking they were some kind of a set up. The story grew from there.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I don’t gargle Jim Beam while standing on my head, if that’s what you mean. I’m a straight-out writer: I see the entire story, beginning to end, and I sit down and write until it’s done. Then I write it about fifteen more times until it’s readable.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ray Bradbury, hands down the most influential. I have stolen his style, constructing the same type of meandering sentences that cram so much between the first letter and the ending period. I’m also a big fan of Michaela Roessner’s “Vanishing Point. “She didn’t explain anything that was going on in the crazy world she constructed, just wrote it as it stood and banked on the reader to follow the logic. I love that. She really respects her readers.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to “Partholon,” tentatively called “Tu ath,” continuing the Irish legend theme. It’s set five years after the events of “Partholon” and, hoo boy, is it crazy. It’s actually done. I’m just cleaning it up and hope to have it to my editor, Jayne Southern (affectionately known as the Dragon Lady), within the next few months. The less opportunity I give Jayne to yell at me, the better I sleep at night.
I’m also working on two sequels to two other unpublished series, which remain unpublished because I want to ensure I have the sequels ready to go before initiating; a memoir about the German family I never knew I had (I was adopted by an American family when I was 18 months old), until three years ago when they contacted me out of the blue; and a YA novel about a mythical southern creature called the Cryman. And I’m working on the garden and laying in a supply of wood for the winter.
Busy busy busy.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Beats me. I am a very lazy promoter. I just am. The problem is my attitude: I don’t write to get published; I write because I can’t not. That means I’m spending the majority of my time hunched over the keyboard, either giggling or cringing depending on what shows up, and pretty much consider a well-crafted sentence the be-all and end-all of writing.
I know, I know, that’s a real 20th century attitude but I can’t help it, I’m a 20th Century kind of guy. 19th Century, more accurately.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish it. Just. Finish. It.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Finish it. Just. Finish. It.
What are you reading now?
Edward Rutherfurd’s “The Forest.” I love grand sweeping stories that encompass thousands of years and characters and pages. So, yes, I’m a big Neal Stephenson, Alastair Reynolds, and George R. R. Martin fan, too.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the sequels. Just. Finish. Them. Then publish the series, either through Rebel E Publishers or on my own.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Don’t laugh, but it’s “The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come,” by John Fox, A truly dreadful title, I concede, but it’s the saddest, most heartrending tale I ever read about loss and how events out of your control shape your life. I read it when I was 12 and was just struck through. I still have a copy of it and try to read it on my birthday.
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