Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
In my science fiction world I’ve got seven books, two of which are in prepublished status. I’ve also written a couple of YA books that have been published traditionally under another name.
Storytelling is my passion and writing is my instrument for it. There’s few things I enjoy more than discussing a story with friends or my kids. I love story and have a semi-mystical view of its powers. I tell stories because I love them.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have just completed the Unique Miranda Trilogy (and added a prequel novella to it titled Kill Ship). It all started with Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. I took names from it and from James Cameron’s 1986 film Aliens and started to weave characters. It grew from a simple premise: what happens in the future to all the people who freeze themselves now?
From that I created a story of one woman and then the cast kept growing and growing until I had this whole fun epic to write down.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to keep tabs on the weird writing habits of famous writers. I like orange peels by my writing desk. I make sure I take a walk throughout my longer writing sessions so my back doesn’t hurt (a painful lesson learned one summer). I allow my sons to interrupt me, that’s terrible for the writing, but great for the pleasures of fatherhood.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ray Bradbury is my godfather. Dante is my great-grandfather. Star Wars is in there too.
What are you working on now?
I was struck by an idea for a literary sci-fi military book. It’s wholly unlike anything I’ve ever read, but it is so entertaining to me that I couldn’t care less whether anyone else will want to read it. And yet, I’m certain this book will be loved. I admit to writers needing a certain amount of arrogance in which to operate and that I have a healthy dose of it.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a lot of fun with other writers on Instagram.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read the books you love, break them down, chapter by chapter, and then write, write, write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Neil Gaiman: “Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”
What are you reading now?
Gnomon by Nick Harkaway is unbelievably good.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I love, love, generating new ideas, so I’m working on executing them now. I’ve got another trilogy rattling around in me, so that might be my next big project.
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?
Dante’s Commedia so that I can figure out what Paradisio is doing. Brothers Karamazov so that my soul will be blessed. Maybe something like Finnegan’s Wake so that I will have plenty of problems to ponder. I’d want something by Ray Bradbury to make me happy, but I don’t know what…
Author Websites and Profiles
H. W. Taylor Website
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