Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Greetings everyone, my name is Richard Dalglish, and in July I had my first novel published, a fantasy-adventure titled “Day of the Fastle.” I’m the former managing editor of the business magazine Jewelers’ Circular Keystone (JCK), which covers the U.S. jewelry and watch industries. These days, besides working on my own fiction, I’m a freelance editor and writer, which includes editing all the fiction for 7-11 Press. I’ve also written three complete seasons (13 episodes per season) for two of 7-11’s multi-episode series, a space opera called “Phoenix Earth” and a young adult fantasy series titled “The Order of 5ive.” Like most writers, I’m a voracious reader. In fiction, I lean toward detective mysteries (Michael Connolly, Ian Rankin, P.D. James, Tana French, et al.), and I’m a big fan of Kate Atkinson. In nonfiction, I’m especially interested in (but not limited to) American history, politics, and what we used to call current events. I’ve done my share of traveling (always useful for a writer) and once spent two nights in Liechtenstein. I’ve also haggled with merchants in Marrakech, slept in an orange grove in Valencia, and paid homage to the Cavern in Liverpool. I was at Woodstock, and I ran the Gettysburg Marathon a few decades ago (3 hours, 56 minutes, 15 seconds). In addition to “Day of the Fastle,” I’ve written three other books, one due out next year, one yet to be submitted, and one that’s unpublishable in its present form. (I do like some of that last one and haven’t totally given up on it yet). I live in Yardley, Pennsylvania, with my wife, Julie, and our cat, Carli. I graduated from Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with a degree in English.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, tentatively titled “Jarn’s Dilemma,” is a fantasy novel that will be published in 2017 by Double Dragon Publishing, which also published “Day of the Fastle.” I enjoy detective mysteries, including police procedurals, and “Jarn’s Dilemma” is actually a fantasy police procedural. The inspiration was simply to see if I could write such a genre-crossing book, and I’m happy with the result (and I hope readers will be). The setting and most of the characters, including the protagonist, were familiar to me from another novel I had written. That novel (the one not yet published) was also a kind of mystery, so it seemed natural to use those same characters in a more overt detective-style story.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always intend to create an outline before writing a novel, but I never get far. I list as many scenes as I can (not many), and then my brain seizes up. Although I know how a novel begins and ends, I don’t know everything that takes place in between until I start writing. There’s something about the actual writing process that sparks ideas and drives the story forward. Eventually, I write past the place where the outline stopped, but I go back to the outline and “catch it up.” The book is finished before the outline, but I continue catching up the outline anyway. Sounds crazy, but it’s actually a useful exercise because the finished outline provides the first draft of a full synopsis.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think any influence has been subtle, even subconscious, but I believe that nearly every good writer I’ve read may have had some influence. I’ll mention one fairly recent book as an example, “The Girl With All the Gifts,” by M.R. Carey. It’s like a master class in how to create suspense, how to handle multiple points of view, how to develop character, and how to create genuine emotion in a harrowing dystopian world.
What are you working on now?
As a temporary break from novel writing, I’ve been writing flash fiction, which is fascinating. The idea is to write a complete story in 500 words or 300 words or fifty words, yet you necessarily need to leave things out. A flash shouldn’t seem like a scene from something else or come across as navel-gazing blather that lacks actual characters doing something. Flash fiction is also called “sudden fiction,” which is a better name. A flash (I guess we can’t call it a “sudden”) is over in minutes, but done well it makes a sudden, strong impression.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve taken an all-of-the-above approach. I’ve sent press releases, joined Facebook and Twitter, created an Amazon author page and Goodreads page, had business cards printed, been interviewed by an author (a former client) for her blog, and done a podcast for a website that’s for and about authors. I’ve announced it to two writers groups I’m a member of, tried to contact a couple of local fantasy book discussion groups, and e-mailed some book review bloggers (still waiting to hear from any of them).
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take the craft of fiction writing (and any writing) as seriously as you take the imagination part. You need unique, intriguing, exciting story ideas, but without craftsmanship even great ideas can fall flat. You want to write sentences (thousands of them in a novel) that propel the story forward just by the way they’re written. You also need to understand elements like point of view, plotting, pacing, conflict, tension, suspense, characterization, dialogue, and lots more. Avoid overwriting.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
1. Good writing depends on revising and rewriting. 2. Write with the reader in mind.
What are you reading now?
“The Enemy Inside,” a legal thriller by Steve Martini, a new author for me.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Although I didn’t intend it this way (honest), “Day of the Fastle” cries out for a sequel, so I’d like to write one. I would also like to write a sequel to “Jarn’s Dilemma” and perhaps even a series of fantasy detective stories based on Jarn and the other characters in that novel.
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?
“The Complete Works of Shakespeare,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Oxford Book of American Short Stories,” and “The Times Atlas of World History.”
Author Websites and Profiles
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