Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing in 2003. Like my previous occupation (Home design & building) I’m self taught. So far I’ve written around fifty novels, novellas and short stories, mostly in the erotic/erotic romance genres, but I have also written romance, suspense, drama & political stories.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest full length novel is EEK! I’m a Woman. It is funny, romantic, suspenseful and erotic. A version of it sans the erotic is titled Manhattan Miracle. Truth is I can’t remember anything that would have inspired these books. I started it a while back and shelved it for some reason and then a couple of years later decided, ‘This is too good not to finish’. And believe me, it is good.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
A. Unusual? That’s putting mildly. Bizarre is more like it. I go to bed and wake up early whereupon I write and or promote. Not 10pm/6am early. No. More like 7:30pm/2am early. As I write this sentence it is 4:48am. Last night I didn’t get to bed until 9:30 so I woke up later than usual—3am.
This actually works quite well for me as there are no interruptions or distractions like come later in the day. I call these early hours my ‘quiet time’. Waking at 2am is an average. I’ve woken as early as 12pm. (11am once) So while most people are going to sleep, I’m awake and starting my day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
You know, since I started writing I’ve been too busy writing stories to be reading them. My reading has fallen off to about a book every three months. Right now, I’m reading Star Island by Carl Hiassen. This one isn’t that good. I loved his Skinny Dip and Native Tongue, but he’s gotten quite silly in his newer books, sort of like Janet Evanovich books. Funny I like. Silly I don’t.
Continuing more on subject. The last book I read was a mediocre effort called the Last Juror, by John Grisham and before that a good book and an average book by Michael Connelly, respectively titled The Brass Verdict and Scarecrow. These are three of my favorite author who for some reason aren’t writing up to their standards
What are you working on now?
Lots, when I find the time. My Work in Progress includes, my ongoing and not that popular, YET, series The Televangelist. Previous works were titled, The Bastard Preacher, The Ruthless Preacher and The Wicked Preacher. The next book is called The Godless Preacher, the third Letta Storm novella Rejected, and an erotic Western of what I call novelette (15K to 25K) called simply Cowgirls.
Other WIPs are A Sapphic novella titled The Photographer, the fourth and (hopefully) final episode of the Consequences series $ex in $in City and about two dozen others.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mostly Twitter, but I also post on Facebook and sometimes use inexpensive targeted marketing. I blog about my books as well, but not that much. I’m actually not that good at marketing and hope to find some tech savvy wizard who can help me promote.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Only to keep your day job. Writing and publishing books sounds romantic and it could and should be, but the ebook market is brand new right now and is evolving. For me marketing my books has become quite…I won’t say cut throat, because it’s not, but it’s so time consuming and easy to make the wrong moves. Let’s just say I find it challenging.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
LOL. When my friends told me I better take that girl (my absolutely wonderful wife of 33 years) off the market. I did and while our lives have had ups and downs, I’ve never regretted it.
What are you reading now?
A. Answered above. How about if I told you my all time favorite books (or series)?
• Dune, Frank Herbert & Dune Universe series Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson
• The Deathgate Cycle, Weis & Hickman (so good, it spoiled me for Fantasy)
• The Quiet Game, Greg Iles
• Skinny Dip, Carl Hiassen
• The Keep & The Tomb, F Paul Wilson (first of fabulous Handyman Jack series)
• The Firm, John Grisham
• The Sum of All Fears, Patriot Games & Cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy
• Kiss the Girls, James Patterson
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, the mantra among writers seems to be ‘Keep on Writing.’ It sounds like a good idea and I’ll probably do that, but I’d like to get to a point where I could work on a few ideas I have for books which would take a lot of time and wouldn’t pay off for a long time if ever. One is a Sci-Fi Vampire Fantasy, I’ve given two working titles, World in Chaos and Angels of Magic (if you like to leave a comment saying which title you like best, I’d appreciate that.)
Other ideas I’d like to work on would be a story about Hannibal or rather Hannibal’s fictional son who is spirited off to Greece, just before he is killed by the Romans, a story about Atlantis and a noir mystery about Castle Hot Springs, a popular get away for the rich and famous in the thirties and forties, literally in the middle of nowhere, about fifty miles Northwest of Phoenix.
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?
Does Encyclopedia Americana count as A book? Whether it is or not, I’d bring a book of how to make a boat from Palm shards, coconut shells and bamboo, or how to build a hot air balloon from palm fronds and bamboo. Then I’d bring a book on 101 delicious ways to fix coconut.
I know, that’s about as funny as being stranded on a desert island. Can we make it a dessert island? I could really get into that?
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