Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, hello there. Greetings from an anomaly. I am an Appalachian with a business degree from a European college and passports full of stamps from all over the world; fluent in Danish, Kentucky and West Virginia. I write flash fiction anthologies that vary in genre with each volume. Why do I do this? There’s no one here to stop me. One blogger calls what I do “the art of the short short story”. I call it imagined scenes from imagined lives; or “glimpses” that allow you to follow a protagonist for a few pages before I close the door and drop you into the life of another. I just published volume 5 in the series and they are all a very different experience. Volume 1: stark prose – volume 2: emotional roller coaster via short story – volume 3: satirical farce – volume 4: horror with a dash of humor – volume 5: sweet critter tales.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest volume “Creature” is a collection of previous chapters featuring non-human protagonists with twelve new chapters added. I did this one for all those people fawning over pet videos on FaceBook, myself included. My characters tend to have bigger adventures and get into more trouble, though! My favorite story involves an emotional support group for hated insects.
The previous volume “Dark Side” was published in September and featured horror with a dash of humor. I imagined Twain and Poe getting drunk watching a Tim Burton movie and sitting down to collaborate. It was a fun inspiration and I think the result is exactly as you’d want it to be.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I follow the Hemmingway method. Google it if you don’t know what that is. Story ideas come at me out of nowhere all the time so I record ramblings on my phone and have a mountain of post-it notes in my journal. When I sit down to write I end up deciphering this stuff a lot better than you’d imagine. My brain is wired to have swirling thoughts so I’m comfortable with it; but if I gave a logical thinker my brain map they’d probably get lost and die in a cave somewhere.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I tend to love the classics. I love Orwell, which people say is trite, but there it is. I love Twain’s disdain delivered with a smile; Poe’s woe and darkness, and Dante’s stark preachiness. Alternative history is really cool. I think the Bible is the most epic book ever made available to mankind. Read God’s fiery berating of Job or King Solomon mid-depression and you’ll find something you didn’t expect. I guarantee it.
What are you working on now?
I can’t tell you how many people have asked me to make the next volume Christian fiction. So that’s what I’m researching now to do it justice. Some of the stories will be influenced by my own experiences and some will be imagined scenes. Later this year I will tackle science fiction, which will please my Trekkie mother immensely.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media is really the best, hands down.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it, let the writing flow out of you in an incoherent stream. You can organize it later, that’s what editing is for. However, edit four times after you think you’re done.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Carpe Diem.
What are you reading now?
Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To take this concept as far as I can. I enjoy it and my readers look forward to reading genres they might not have tried before. My editor has challenged me to thread a novel together and I hope to do that in 2018.
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?
A Bible to pray for rescue; a Survivalist handbook, 1000 ways to use coconuts, Mark Twain anthology.
Author Websites and Profiles
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