Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Willakaville is my first published book. I have started a science fiction novel and a thriller. The novels will have to wait. They take too much effort and I am very busy with my daytime job and a family.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Willakaville – Amazing Adventures of Astronomical Awesomeness. I think my children inspired it. I love to thing of weird and crazy things and come up with bizarre scenarios. We laugh and joke a lot. I also love anything science fiction. I like to create artwork too and I figured that a children’s book is the best way to combine my passion for being creative in art and writing.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to think of a bunch of silly and unrelated things. Then I think of how they can be mixed and matched to make a story. For example, I might think of a shoe and an airplane and a marshmallow. Then a story about a marshmallow who gets separated by his family builds an airplane out of a shoe in order to go look for them.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Stephen King, Star Wars, Star Trek, Scooby Doo
What are you working on now?
I am working on the second volume of the Willakaville series ‘Baffling Ballads of Boisterous Bravery’. I will be able to put everything I have learned so far into this next book. I am going to add lots more illustrations too!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have been contacting bloggers to get reviews, doing author interviews, contacted the newspapers, radio and tv stations. I have also been promoting it at work, facebook, twitter, pinterest, blogger. I even have a book reading at my son’s school lined up.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to promote your book. It takes some effort and is necessary (otherwise, nobody will know about it). There are tons of websites that give advice and have lists of reviewers, interviewers, and blogs etc.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t Worry, ‘Bout a Thing – Bob Marley
What are you reading now?
I have been reading some kid’s books for reference. Encyclopedia Brown, The Magic Treehouse, Captain Underpants
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to get to the point where I can quit my day job and do this full time. I love it! I think I have enough ideas to last me for a while.
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 Survival Book, A Book on Sailboat Building, Anything by Stephen King.
Author Websites and Profiles
Mathew Heinecke Website
Mathew Heinecke Amazon Profile
Mathew Heinecke Author Profile on Smashwords
Mathew Heinecke’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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