Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started my first epic when I was twelve years old. Years later, that manuscript is still in a box somewhere. I’ve completed one book recently, my first, and am working on the second. Maybe the third will be the boxed epic!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s called The Silverblue Butterfly. I have always liked the idea of genies doling out wishing. However, I wanted this one – the butterfly – to be different. He’s kind of an anti-genie. While he does give you your wish, he does his best to make it a wasteful one.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a lucky dinosaur. It’s one of those rubber jobs that cling to the back of a pen. I stick it on every pen I use to write my books. Apart from that, I’m disappointingly normal. Sigh.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Without sucking up, I can honestly say that Orson Scott Card is my idol. I once borrowed a book authored by him from the library. It was a collection of short stories. I have to say, it was the succinct mastery of the words, the remarkable descriptions and original stories he wove that sparked my desire to be a better writer.
What are you working on now?
It’s a complete change from The Silverblue Butterfly. It’s not in the children’s genre for one. I’ve decided to test the waters in fantasy, but the gritty kind that almost seems real. The book I’m working on now details the trouble, physically and mentally, that can happen when a man takes the law into his own hands. It’s a vigilante story but without the Hollywood glitter.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have to be honest, I’m very new at book promotion. So far, I’d have to give thumbs up to Awesome Gang and Amazon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
One rule – if the book doesn’t excite you, it won’t encourage you to work on it every day, nor will the readers like it. However, if you can find a story idea that makes you excited and you can create plot twists that make your heart beat faster, the same will happen for your readers.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That fear is normal. Many writers are paralyzed by fear. They dread the competition, that they are not good enough, that they cannot seem to complete the book fast enough and that they might never be successful. Since writing is a solitary project, we often feel left behind, seeing the success of other authors. The best advice I ever heard was that nearly every writer is scared of these things and that it’s not just me. That got me to stop procrastinating and write more.
What are you reading now?
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To dip my toe in the genre of gritty fantasy and make it my own. I’m dedicated to becoming a full-fledged author in this sector so there’s a lot of hard work ahead.
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?
They’d all be empty notebooks. Books are books, right? Wink wink. Getting stranded on a desert island is a perfect distraction-free environment to write your next book. So definitely empty notebooks. Big ones.