Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an IT manager for my family business. I have been an avid reader since I was young and always wanted to try my hand at writing. I have spent years writing technical documents, but there isn’t much fun in that. So I sat down nearly seven years ago to see if I could do it, and several months later I had a complete manuscript in my hands. Life always got in the way of the final rewrites and editing, but that’s what makes writing better in the long run. Without a little pain and failure, an author is going to be cold and stale. Finally I published my novel, The Freezer, on Jan 1, 2015. Since then I have learned how much work it is to market your own product. I split my time between my family (3 kids, mostly grown up now), my hobbies (too many to name), my work, and writing. I currently have two books published, my novel The Freezer, and a short novella called Paradox Cycle.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Paradox Cycle is my latest book and it was an exercise in writing that turned out good enough to publish. I wrote it, edited and rewrote, and designed a cover for it, all in the span of a week. Like my first novel, I did it to see if I could. The inspiration came from being disappointed over and over with stories and movies about time travel and paradox. I woke up with an idea in my head and later that night had most of the story figured out. It’s a fun short read that could be the start to a full series.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The only thing unusual about my writing is that I do it all in my head and all sequentially. I don’t take notes or draw up a timeline or an outline. I just start telling the story as if I were telling it to a group of friends. I also don’t verbalize while writing – it goes straight from my brain to my fingertips and I get to read it for the first time as it appears on the screen. This played against me this summer as I had a surgery that prevented me from typing for a couple months. I couldn’t use speech to text software as I just couldn’t put things into words without a keyboard in front of me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Pretty much every author I have read has influenced me in some way. Notably, Niven gave me a lot of ideas on futuristic technology (some I even borrowed for my own writing). Epic fantasy authors like Jordan, Martin, and Goodkind inspired me to want my stories to be epic, not just one event, but one major event with subplots and a believable world. Stuart Woods made me love a hero who everyone wants to like (and who always gets the girl). Finally, John Sandford showed me how much I like a well developed character, one you can believe exists, even if he killed them off right away. I don’t like when I need a body with a name, I prefer to develop some depth first, but you can’t always spend time on character development. Most feedback I get has to do with the character depth, which makes me happy.
What are you working on now?
I am about 75% finished with my second full novel, a second book in the Genesis Endeavor series. In “The Freezer”, I built the world and established some characters. In “Immortal” (the title of the next book), I get to explore that world, flesh out more characters, and develop the overall story further.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found that promoting takes a combination of many factors to be successful. I don’t have a surefire method yet, but I have had some success with regular discount promotions that are advertised with several sites (preferably through newsletters) like Awesomegang.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice is to write and then write some more. I didn’t do much for nearly five years with my first book, and when I finally got it finished and published, I realized I would be WAY ahead if I had written two or three novels in those years. If you are just getting started, don’t stop unless you don’t want to be an author. Once you publish and start to gain a following, you need to feed those readers as often as possible. The most surefire way to increase sales is to write more.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My physics teacher in high school had a son who wanted to be an artist. He told his son he had two choices: he could either go to an art school and spend his life choosing between buying a canvas and buying the paint to put on the canvas, or he could go to a business school and learn about business, get a good job, and afford all the paints, brushes, and canvases he could ever want.
What are you reading now?
I just finished reading “Memory Man” by David Baldacci. I am taking a break from reading because I find it difficult to work on my own book when reading someone else’s.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Hopefully my next book will be finished before Winter and I can start on the next one. I won’t ever quit my day job, but I enjoy writing, I enjoy knowing people are reading my work, and I enjoy a little extra income that might lead to an earlier retirement.
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?
When it comes to “top ten” type lists I always flounder. I can’t even point to my favorite of ANYTHING. That being said, Lucifer’s Hammer would be at the top of my list. I love that book and it inspired me to write in the Post-Apocalyptic genre. I’m not a religious man per se, but I would probably want a copy of the Bible. While there are dozens of books I regard as the best I have read, I would want to choose something really long because I would likely have a LOT of time on my hands.
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