Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I just completed and published my first book, a young adult/adult cross-over fiction adventure novel . It is the first installment in what will be a series. The sequel is in outline form. The third is in conceptual form.
When I’m not busy crafting award-winning fiction and reducing the powers of darkness to whimpering crybabies, I can be found at the controls of a high-performance aircraft, a high-performance car, my eye glued to the scope of a high-powered rifle or putting free weights through their paces at the local gym. I have a great many interests, including reading, which is useful to a writer. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. I’ve never been bored. So many interests, so little time. Time is our great enemy. I really need to make it to Heaven so I will have unlimited time to pursue my unlimited interests. My proudest achievements in chronological order are graduating from UCLA, being accepted in the U.S. Navy flight program, starting and running a successful business, being baptized in the Christian faith, getting the girl of my dreams to become my wife, my three sons, and now becoming a published author with a chance to become a bestselling author.
When I was ten I happened across a book at the library on the UFO abduction case of Betty and Barney Hill and life hasn’t been the same since. Some people have a fascination with the supernatural. I am one. The light side, the dark side, it is all fascinating, however, I am all about battling the dark side, so not surprisingly, so are my characters. Just as strange things are known to happen on the sets of movies that deal with darkness, some very bizarre things have happened during the crafting of my novels. Stephen King personifies horror. I strive to do the same for the paranormal genre. I have employed my extensive knowledge of the supernatural in crafting this exciting, fast-paced groundbreaking series of novels that will turn how you perceive your world upside down.
The world we live in is becoming stranger and stranger by the week. We all feel it. Matt Legend is a series for the times. The end times. The truth is not out there anymore. It is right here among us. Take the journey if you dare. You won’t sleep as well nights but it is better to know what’s here ─ and what’s coming. And don’t go into the forest.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Matt Legend: Veil of Lies was inspired two things. First, there is the challenge of crafting a unique story others will find fascinating. Only you can tell a story your special way. Every voice is unique, like fingerprints or your bio-frequency.
The second motivator is putting the record straight on witchcraft. A certain unnamed author glorifies witchcraft. She is not the only one. There is no such thing as a good witch. Every successful writer needs to write from the heart, have a message, and be passionate about that message. I am passionate about battling the forces of darkness in all its many manifestations. Not surprisingly, so are my characters.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Besides waking up at 4:30 every morning without an alarm clock and immediately launching into writing and continuing until I drop, and writing at all odd hours of the day and night whenever an idea or inspiration strikes, I have no unusual writing habits.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like Stephen King and many of his books and topics. His Pet Sematary (sic) was quite interesting. The late Joan Rivers gave me a copy one day to read. That was before it became a movie. She told me she was going to take it on a flight the next day and wanted to know if I wanted to read it. I sped-read it and found it inspirational.
What are you working on now?
I am working on the sequel to Matt Legend: Veil of Lies. It is entitled Matt Legend: The Hollow Earth. It is in keeping with the reality that the world we think we live in is not the world we live in. It is a novel inspired by U.S. Navy Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s historic flight into the inner earth.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
To be honest I am still seeking the magic formula for promoting self-published books in a manner that emulates the success of the successful marketing of published books by the major publishers. I am picking up the scent. I am on its trail.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
First, be first a student of the craft. Being a great writer is one thing. Being a great storyteller is another. Don’t confuse the two. You need to be both.
Second, read, read, read other authors’ works. Don’t write in a vacuum. It is important to see how successful writers are crafting their works so you aren’t unwittingly wasting your time and energy trying to reinvent the wheel. The wheel has already been invented. Use it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As it applies to writing, the best advice I have heard is to write everyday. Even if you can only write a few sentences that day, write every day.
What are you reading now?
I am reading Stephen Quayle’s Empire Beneath the Ice: How the Nazis Won World War II.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Simply put, writing sequels in the Matt Legend series until I drop.
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?
1. Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. I was a political science major and have always intended to read it but never got around to it.
2. The Bible (enough said).
3. Strong’s Concordance; a must companion to the Bible.
4. The latest copy of the FARs (the Federal Aviation Regulations), of course. I are a pilot (word misuse intended).
Author Websites and Profiles
Denis Mills Website