Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Lies That Bind is my first published book. The novel was inspired by my original screenplay, which was honored by the Missouri Playwrights Association and was offered an option by a Hollywood producer.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Currently, I’m working on keeping the characters in the Dark Horse Trilogy Book 1 alive (the ones that manage to survive anyhow) as I research Books 2 and 3, Honor Among Outcasts and Something in Madness. So far, Honor Among Outcasts takes place in Missouri, the nastiest, cruelest arena of the Civil War, with massacres, the burning out and depopulating of entire counties, harsh, unreasoned mayhem that went far beyond the conventions of war.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to write novels that are fundamentally different experiences for the reader, which is why they don’t fit neatly into any single genre or category. You could say my style, regardless of milieu (historical to futuristic), attempts to be at once tense, touching, ironic, tragic, funny, and deep, with many conflicting ideas playing out—and myriad twists, turns and surprises. Lots of surprises.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My literary expertise is in what I call the American tragicomedy movement: Faulkner, Twain, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor, etc. Lots of great reading, which influenced my own writing. I also love Shakespeare, plus I have studied a variety of historical periods, including the American Civil War, World War II, and Fourteenth Century Europe.
What are you working on now?
I’ve also recently completed the final draft of The Antiquities Dealer. In this genre-stretching mystery/thriller, a Jewish antiquities gallery owner is drawn into a scheme by a purportedly ancient society of Israelis to alter history. Millennial religion, futuristic biotechnology, and human evolution collide in a cauldron peopled by TV evangelists, Middle East conspiracies, and radicals of major religions. Lots of excitement, drama, romance, and, of course, surprises.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’d say Goodreads, since it fosters communication among readers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. It took me years of rewriting and agent-searching, but it finally clicked. They say write what you know, but don’t take that too literally. What one “knows” is not only personal, but also what a person has learned, studied or finds interesting. In my case, it’s history. Still, it’s all personal in a sense.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To have faith in yourself.
What are you reading now?
I’m re-reading As I Lay Dying.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing Book 2 (Honor Among Outcasts), and spreading the word about The Lies That Bind, hoping to bring more readers to its universal message of hope and aspiration against all odds.
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?
Absalom, Absalom!, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Winter’s Bone.
Author Websites and Profiles
Ed Protzel Website
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