Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a writer of short stories and there is no twelve step program for that.
I live in Tucson, AZ with my lovely wife, a neurotic dog, and a demanding cat. In my spare time I build and fly model airplanes, ride motorcycles, do some writing, play with photography and read. In order to pay for all this, I teach GED classes for the county court.
I currently have ten short stories, two collections, and one essay available to the world. Topics range from education reform to big questions such as why are we here (the answer may surprise you) to the somewhat nonsensical. Basically, I write where the wind takes me.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I released two shorts at the end of last year, Aware and Visitor.
Aware tells the story of a robot that is struggling with becoming self aware during an emergency in space. I can’t really point to any one thing that inspired it. I do watch a lot of Star Trek.
Visitor was inspired by The Tale of the Three Brothers in Harry Potter. I can’t say much about it without spoiling it. Disclaimer – the story has nothing to do with Harry Potter, it was just the spark that started a thought.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have the attention span of a screaming flea on acid when it comes to writing. I have at least a half dozen stories banging around in my head. As a result I’m usually writing at least three stories at a time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I don’t really know. I read so much from so many different arenas that it is hard to point to any one influence. It all kind of mashes together into big pile. I like reading epic, many book long stories, short stories, mindless fluff… I’m even happy sitting down and reading car repair manuals. I’m sure it all gets into my writing somehow, I just can’t trace it.
What are you working on now?
I currently have in the neighborhood of eleven ideas that have been committed to word files with an actual name. Of those I have done serious work on about five. There are countless other ideas hopping through my sub-conscious at any given time.
I am putting together a new collection that will be out mid 2015 that will include some previously unpublished work and some photography as well.
The best way to keep up is to have a look at my website where I have samples of work in progress.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll let you know when I’ve found it! I’m somewhat active on twitter and facebook, but I do have the extra obstacle of having a job that locks me out of social media so I’m not as active as I probably should be.
One web service I have used a couple of times that I like is The Book Nymph, they have some good publicity packages for reasonable prices.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you like and don’t be afraid to set it loose on the world. You could be the best writer in the world but nobody knows it because you are afraid of what might happen.
That and get help with proofreading.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t quit your day job.
Actually, the best advice I ever heard was your writing is doing nothing sitting on your hard drive. It’s what made me look into self publishing.
What are you reading now?
This is actually a hard one for me to pin down as I get through books rather fast. Floating around my house with bookmarks is a book on the development of the lunar lander training module, a collection of Edward Abby, a repair manual for my Dodge Durango (I fixed the problem last week but I’m still reading parts of it) a few airplane magazines and some motorcycle magazines. On my Kindle I’m currently reading a dystopian future novel and have a few sci-fi books in the que.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As I write this, lunch.
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?
I would take my Kindle along with a solar charger. Just because I’m stranded on a desert island does not mean I have to live like an animal.
Author Websites and Profiles
David S Reynolds Website
David S Reynolds Amazon Profile
David S Reynolds Author Profile on Smashwords
David S Reynolds’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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