Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As it says in my bio, I’ve always wanted to be a superhero or a magician. But none of the spiders that have bitten me are radioactive, and my wand seems to be nothing more than an ordinary stick of wood.
I compensate by writing stories about the kinds of adventures I dream about. (Although, frankly, I’m kind of glad to just be a middle-aged author from Ohio. The monster my heroes have to fight are pretty nasty.)
I’ve been publishing independently since 2011. In almost three years, I’ve published three novels in my Wolf Dasher series (the fourth is due out this fall), a novella retelling “Beauty & the Beast” in a modern high school, a traditional fantasy novel (THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER), and three short stories.
Prior to writing fiction, I spent eight years writing role-playing games in the hobby games industry. That was pretty educational. Not only did I learn a lot about world-building, I also learned how poorly it pays and how to compensate by churning out a LOT of words per week. That’s one of the ways I’ve been able to write so prolifically as an indie author, so there was a real benefit there.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is ROSES ARE WHITE, the third book in the Wolf Dasher series. Those novels marry James Bond-style action to a traditional fantasy world with elves and majic.
In RAW, Wolf has been on the ground in the elf nation of Alfar for about a year-and-a-half. Alfar’s political situation mirrors the basics of our own Middle East. He’s become a liability, and his controllers intend to bring him home,. But he becomes engaged to the captain of Alfar’s Elite Guard and refuses the order. At that point, the world’s greatest assassin, Dexter Rose, a magician who can disguise himself as anyone, threatens to murder key officials of Alfar’s coalition government. Naturally, Wolf is the only who can stop him.
I like the idea of an undetectable assassin. I wanted to pit my hero against someone who can’t be seen coming, who has never failed, and then make the stakes incredibly high.
I also play a lot with sub-themes of racism in the book. A religious schism in Elfin culture has two sects hating each other over issues of faith, and elves in general take a dim view of the humans they perceive as occupying their land. ROSES ARE WHITE is a nail-biting detective story, but it has a lot to say about how we treat each other based on the color of our skin and what faith we are.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say my habits are unusual. I outline five to ten chapters at a time to give myself a structure to write from. I try to write one chapter a day, five days a week. Once I’ve finished the manuscript, it goes through five drafts before publication. I have a great editor, who really makes sure I publish clean, taut novels.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Well, as a guy who writes, Bond-style action novels, I count Ian Fleming among my influences. I also like Byron, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, and Stephen R. Donaldson. They all taught me something important about how to craft an enjoyable read.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the fourth book in the Wolf Dasher series, GHOST OF A CHANCE. Unlike the others, it’s a direct sequel to ROSES ARE WHITE, and I want to get it out as soon as possible, so all the questions in RAW get answered. I’ve got two more books in the series planned for the coming years.
After GHOST OF A CHANCE, I’ll be turning my attention to another novella, THE SECRET THIEF. It’s part of my modern fairy tales work. It’s an original story, but it follows a 10-year-old boy who has become haunted by a monster that steals all his secrets and then tells them to the person who will do the most damage with them. It’s very much a fable in the classic sense.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not sure what the best method is. I don’t sell enough books yet for me to think any one way works best. I have a Facebook page, I blog, I tweet links to the blog, and participate in authors’ groups. I try to run sales on a regular basis, and I spend money to advertise. I’ve found advertising with the right sites to be the most effective means of pushing my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. the only way to get the book finished is to write it. Fight through the doubt and the procrastination. If you believe in your dream, make it happen.
Edit. You need an editor. It doesn’t matter how good your work is. You’ll make mistakes. Typos, grammar errors, etc. You need someone to catch them. A good editor will also ask you hard questions about your story structure, your characters, etc. Make sure you can answer them effectively. Be willing to make changes. It’ll make you a stronger writer.
Read. Publishing is a hard business, whether you do it the traditional route or self-publish. Join some writers’ groups. Read some books on the business. Ask questions. Get the answers you need to be effective. That’ll give you a much better chance for success. Writers write to be read. Give yourself every chance to be read.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t settle. Make your work the best it can be. Don’t accept shoddy or mediocre work from anyone — including you.
What are you reading now?
ANGST by David Pearson. It’s a pretty good fantasy novel, but I’ve been so busy moving from Kansas to Ohio and trying to get GHOST OF A CHANCE finished I’ve been going through it very slowly. I don’t read enough. It’s hard to find time.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t like to be satisfied for too long. I’m constantly pushing my boundaries. I like writing the Wolf Dasher books, but I don’t want them to be all I write. I’m exploring different territory with the modern fairy tales, and next year, I plan to publish a memoir about my childhood. I’d get bored if I just wrote the same kind of book.
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?
I’d definitely take the complete works of Shakespeare. That would give me a wide variety of reading material. After that, I’m not sure I could choose. There is so much I’d want. I like variety. I’m not sure I could pick only a few books.
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