Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have published two novels with Twigboat Press. I wrote one contemporary (65K words) to see if I could write novels and then one in the fantasy genre (118K words) to see if I could sell them. I may one day go back and revise my first novel, but the plot needs . . . serious tweaking. The fantasy novel is roaring out the gate.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is Broken Wizards, the first novel in The Artifice Mage Saga: a fantasy steampunk brawl of metal vs. magic where sorcery is bloody, science is greasy, and nobody’s hands are clean. I was inspired by my father’s tool collection and wandering through his workshop as a boy, wondering what all the knobs and gears were for (and injuring myself more than once trying to find out). So I wrote a book about an artificer, a genius expert on gears and machinery, who gets exiled to a land of wizards and magic where all his vaunted knowledge is useless.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to compare my writing to folding a sword. I create books like a Japanese blacksmith crafts swords. I pound out a story. Then I fold it over on itself, add some details, and pound it again. Over and over until the lines are crisp, the flow is smooth, and the wit is sharp.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, authors aplenty and their books: McCaffrey, Patterson, Heinlein, Crichton, Doyle, Poe, Schmitz, Eddings, Flint, Weber, Jordan . . .
What are you working on now?
I am starting a companion series to The Artifice Mage Saga, which will feature a series of fantasy police procedurals: Defenders of the Empire. It looks at the lives of the poor knight-cops who have to hunt down rogue mages, placing a minor character from Broken Wizards center stage.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve had wonderful luck with targeted Facebook ads so far.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Sit in that chair. Finish the book. Start hunting for alpha readers (those who critique while you’re writing) and beta readers (those who critique when you’ve finished) before or during the writing process.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Persistence trumps skill. Keep working at it.
What are you reading now?
I am working through David Weber’s Safehold series and Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Balance my time between writing the future novels and promoting the past ones.
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?
Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein and The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I’ve read those multiple times over the years, so I wouldn’t mind being stuck with them when it’s desert island time.
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