Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have ridden horseback over most of the landscape featured in my novel. I live in New Mexico, and love green chile. I also hate chocolate (go figure!). I was raised on a cattle ranch and my love of the outdoors is evident in my writing. I am an elk hunter, Vietnam veteran, worked as a cowboy and spent a career as a natural resource manager. Enjoys travel, desert walks and playing with grandchildren. Lived in Asia for five years. Once told a Bible story to a group of nearly-naked men in a grass hut with unsheathed swords laying across their laps. Met Emperor Hirohito in the flesh.
Like most writers, I have several partly-finished novels in the desk drawer that will never see the light of day, and the world is better for it. I wrote a serious book on theology a couple of years ago called “CrossCurrents: Making Sense of the Christian Life.” But I had started my novel before I had even begun that work. “The Stonegate Sword” was published a few months ago and it is my first novel. It has been favorably compared to FINGAL’S QUEST, RED HUGH PRINCE OF DONEGAL, and THE HITTITE WARRIOR.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Stonegate Sword. It started out as a sort of fan-fiction to the Lord of the Rings, but it would not stay in that niche. I then decided to write about a hero’s quest where the hero is a person with a modern world-view, but living in a medieval era. That would produce some interesting tension, and perhaps critique both modern and ancient values. So I thought about a time-travel adventure. Disliking this, I finally hit on the idea of a hero who had been reared in seclusion studying modern times, which were ancient times to him. He then would have to go out into essentially a medieval world, armed with modern values and thinking. That would make an interesting story, or so I thought, and I have tried to bring it to life. Otherwise, the story is mostly about places, landscapes and topics that I know something about. It is the old “write what you know” idea.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. I used to write longhand, and I still like the ability to cut and paste in a tactile way. But now I mostly stick to a word processor, unless I am on vacation and a notepad is more convenient. I try to write and get the ideas down before I lose them, and worry about editing later. A good idea, which I don’t actually do as much as I should, is to keep a pad by the bedside and breakfast table and jot ideas down as they come.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read widely and have done so for the last sixty years. That being the case, it is hard to pin down my influences. I like the classics of English and American literature, and at one time read most of the well-known Russian novelists. I very much like historical novels and non-fiction, and have read widely about the Civil War and World War one and two. I am a Vietnam veteran, and have enjoyed selected readings about that struggle, also. I can say for sure that J.R.R. Toliken, C. S. Lewis, and Stephen R. Lawhead have influenced me.
What are you working on now?
I am now working on a sequel to The Stonegate Sword. It continues the stories of Don, Philip, Deborah and Rachel and their companions as they struggle against the invasion of the Prophet’s army. I am probably half-way through a good, clean, first draft. Then, of course, the real work starts.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I send out a newsletter to friends and acquaintances. It is very hard to build readership, but this has had the biggest payback. I have had some small bumps from other promotions, but have yet to find a site that yielded significant results.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Set aside some time every day to write. Even 500-1000 words a day will mount up into a major work over time. Get you ideas down on paper. As the old saying goes, “You can’t edit what’s in your head.”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t try to do much editing while you write. I find myself thinking about scenes throughout the day, and try to imagine them in detail. Then when I sit down and write, it is almost as if I am writing a description of something that has actually happened to me.
What are you reading now?
God is an Englishman by R. F. Delderfield, Glory’s War by Alfred Coppel, Angel War by Philip Dodd, and The Shouting Man by Fiona McShane.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I envision a third book of the Stonegate series. I am not sure it it will take off where book two leaves off, or whether it will skip a generation and deal with children of the main protagonists. I see some attractive writing challenges each way. Along the way, I hope to continue to refine my technical skills.
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?
Probably first place would be a book on desert island survival, or edible tropical plants. Seriously, though, the Bible would have pride of place. A one-volume Lord of the Rings, definitely. Perhaps Robinson Crusoe. Add Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. Finally the Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.
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