Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I’ve written at least nine full-length novels plus novella bits and pieces. The real question should be: how many novels have you completed. You know the editing and revising process. That’s basic one. “There Be Demons”which will be coming out this summer [2014] from The Grumpy Dragon.
I started out as a young writer, got side-tracked by life, and was pulled back into writing when I worked at a weekly paper when I started writing short features, which I then sold multiple times to print magazines. But the publishing world has changed and those markets no longer exist.
Now I write fantasy since it amuses me. I concentrate on two basic worlds at the moment: the Far Isles Half-Eleven who are more grumpy than noble and Andor where the demons roam.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“There Be Demons”, my coming book–since most of what I’ve published have been novellas and short stories to build my “author platform”. The book was inspired by a short story I wrote — “Night for the Gargoyles”, which was published by the British ezine, Spectra Magazine in 2010. Only I was intrigued by Britt Kelly who was a secondary character in the story. [ Night for the Gargoyles is available free on Smashwords in a variety of ereader formats https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/365506 ]
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer who’s trying to convert to an outline–or maybe summary–writer. My worse habit is to start playing Mahjong when I get stuck.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to count. In fact, I think every book I read influences me–either by doing something extremely well or by showing me what not to do. I named my blog Lessons from my reading based on that observation.
Some authors who influenced me early were A. Merrit and Andre Norton. Others Catherine [C. L.] Moore, Leigh Brackett, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey, Nora Lofts, Lee Child, Jane Haddam, and Sharyn McCrumb…just to name a few.
What are you working on now?
I’m cleaning up and reorganizing my files and folders while I wait for “There Be Demons” to come out. Basically, I’m rewriting some short stories to fit into the world of Andor plus I have a couple of novellas to complete in my Far Isles Half-Elven world.
When that’s done, I’ll start on the second book of a Britt trilogy. It’s basically a bunch of disjointed ideas in rough chapter sequence. All telling.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
None. I don’t seem to have much luck with marketing if marketing is supposed to equate with sales.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, even if the novel you’re working now is crap. The fourth idea you turn into a novel might be the one where your imagination and your grasp of the writing craft coalesce.
The converse of that advice: write, write, and write some more, and never throw away an idea or partial. You never know when it might come in handy in the future.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The above.
What are you reading now?
Veronica Roth’s Divergent
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing “Lost at the Crossings”, the second Britt Kelly book. After I finish the sequel to “Troublesome Neighbors”, “Black Tail’s War”.
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 thesaurus and a dictionary, plus a case of notebooks with pencils and erasers.
Author Websites and Profiles
M. K. Theodoratus Website
M. K. Theodoratus Amazon Profile
M. K. Theodoratus Author Profile on Smashwords
M. K. Theodoratus’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account