Interview With Author David Pyke
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a native Texan related to one of the Alamo defenders. My great-great-great-great-great-granduncle, Isaac Millsaps, was one of the Immortal 32, the reinforcements from Gonzales who answered William Barret Travis’s call for help, rode to San Antonio, and died in the Alamo on March 6, 1836. So, yeah, I get misty eyed when I visit the Alamo. I use my heritage to fuel my writing: my Silas Grant novel series is set in the Republic of Texas, and many of my characters are veterans of the Texas Revolution.
I’ve published one book, but I’ve been writing professionally for 48 years, since I was fifteen years old. I’ve written for newspapers, magazines, and websites, writing everything from news stories and obituaries to long-form features.
In 1991, a mutual friend introduced me to Suzanne, an English literature teacher from Missouri. Our first date was on Friday the 13th. Suzanne later confessed that before that first date, she read some of my stories to see if I could write. Apparently, I received a passing grade. We were engaged five months later, married four months after that, and in 2022 celebrated our 30th anniversary.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Rescuing Crockett is my debut novel. I wanted to write a series taking place in the Republic of Texas, and I created a protagonist named Silas Grant who I would introduce at age sixteen and follow him through early Texas history. However, I needed a strong hook for the first book. I drew inspiration from some of the greatest what-if MacGuffins of fiction, like Raise the Titanic and The Da Vinci Code, and came up with what if Davy Crockett survived the Alamo?
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think of my habits as unusual, but I hear of many writers who write at a particular time of day or place or atmosphere. Journalism, however, teaches – demands – that you write anywhere, anytime, and at a moment’s notice. I once dictated a story from a gas station payphone next to Interstate 35E in Dallas (this was long before mobile phones).
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My two biggest influences are Larry McMurtry, the greatest Texas author of all time, and Bernard Cornwell, the master of historical fiction adventure. Other influences are Battle Cry by Leon Uris, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, and The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth, Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, and To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy.
What are you working on now?
Promoting and marketing Rescuing Crockett and writing the second book in the Silas Grant series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Best resources: Dave Chesson’s Kindlepreneur, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Jane Friedman.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. Every writing job will make you a better writer, whether it’s a short story or essay or covering a high school football game for a local newspaper. When it comes to self-publishing, be patient, organized, and give yourself time. There’s so much to do, and not every bit of advice from even the most respected voices will work for you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” –Stephen King
What are you reading now?
More Texas history research. It never ends.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing the second book of the Silas Grant series and planning future Silas Grant novels.
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?
SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere (first job is don’t die)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Battle Cry by Leon Uris
and my novel, Rescuing Crockett (if you don’t want to read your book, why would anyone else want to read your book?)
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