Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After an exciting but debilitating career as a field archaeologist, I partnered with my friend, Barry Hayes, to start Broke Guys Productions and work on creative projects together. We started out writing screenplays, including the first two installments of our Cycle of Ages Saga. After failing to find funding for our ambitious film concepts, we turned to writing novelizations of our fantasy saga. We were traditionally published through Dark Oak Press, but we preferred to go our own way with the newest editions of our novels. I also write short stories and poems and have had both published traditionally through Yahoo Voices, Dark Oak Press, and Pro Se Press.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I am in the editing phase with my third novel, Cycle of Ages Saga: Delve Deep. It is my longest work to date; the current edit is roughly 165,000 words. It is the third installment of our fantasy saga, but it is my first solo novel. Much of this novel was inspired by a prequel novelette I wrote for the Cycle of Ages Saga. Deep Diving Death Defying Dwarves of the Deep is featured in Dark Oak Press’s anthology Capes & Clockwork.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a bit anachronistic. I tend to start most stories with pen and paper, using legal pads or composition books. Then I type up the results and refine my story while typing. Much of Delve Deep was writing in this fashion, much to the chagrin of trees everywhere.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hmm…quite a number of writers have influenced me in one way or another over the years. Here’s a partial list: Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Neil Gaiman, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, Toni Morrison, Claude McKay, Charles Dickens, Bentley Little, Robert Bloch, Ed Greenwood, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Flannery O’Connor.
What are you working on now?
Editing Delve Deep for its June/July release. Working on two fantasy short stories for Richard Fierce, another author who is putting together a shared world anthology. Expanding my email subscriber list (please visit my website and join up today!).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly, I sell better in person, preferably behind a table at a con or book event. I am still trying to find a wider readership/audience online, which is part of why I am here.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Edit. Find someone professional to edit for you. Then edit again.
Good critical beta readers are worth their weight in Pulitzer-prizes.
Pay for a professional cover. If your publisher won’t, find a new publisher or do it yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To paraphrase Cheri Priest, the only way to finish a book is to keep your ass in the chair and write, write, write.
What are you reading now?
Changa’s Safari by Milton Davis. The Complete Compleat Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After this epic novel, I may turn back to screenwriting for awhile. There are so many content providers now that I may develop some of the ideas for series that have been brewing in my head for the past few years.
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?
Boy Scouts of America Handbook. SAS Survival Manual. A guide to tropical plants, herbs, and how to use them. The Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy.
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