Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Rick Chiantaretto. I’ve often been accused of having done more in my life than the average person my age but if I were completely honest, I’d have to tell you my secret: I’m really 392.
So after all this time, I’m a pretty crappy writer.
I have two books published and a bunch half written (when you have eternity, where’s the reason to rush?). I’ve been favorably reviewed by horror greats like Nancy Kilpatrick, and my how-to-write-horror articles have been quoted in scholarly (aka community college freshmen’s) papers.
I enjoy the occasional Bloody Mary, although a Bloody Kathy or Susan will suffice.
Mostly, I just try to keep a low profile so people don’t figure out who I REALLY am.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest project is the Crossing Death series, and I just published Death of the Body (Crossing Death #1) on Friday, the 13th of December 2013 🙂
The entire series was actually inspired by a dream. Granted I had to take some liberal license and plug a whole lot of holes. From the human invasion of Orenda, to the dog Max, to the escape from Madam Lucacious’ test on the hillside, to the surprise at the very end of the book (and even to the very last page of the series that has yet to be written), I dreamt it all. The dream was so vivid that when I woke up, I was devastated that I had misplaced my father’s ring, and spent half an hour looking for it.
You know those dreams within a dream that are so vivid it takes you a while to convince yourself you’ve woken up?
I kept telling myself it was only a dream, but I had died and awoken so many times I couldn’t be sure. When I saw my friend for the first time that morning, I was so completely convinced I was dead that I sheepishly asked her if she could see me. She laughed and assured me I was alive, but it still took 3 hours to feel semi-normal again.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I suppose I don’t write every day, and that’s unusual for a writer. I have to be in the right frame of mind, and usually that ends up being pretty late at night. Since I write dark fantasy and horror, I tend to huddle myself in a blanket with my favorite cookie (or other snack), turn out all the lights, dim my monitor, and let the ghosts speak to me while I write.
Most of the time, I end up catching my own reflection in a mirror or window, illuminated by the glow of the monitor. The scariest thing in the room, of course, is me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
LJ Smith’s “The Forbidden Game” was a huge trilogy for me when I was a kid. That book made me fall in love with reading. Nancy Kilpatrick has always been an inspiration–she was one of the first “real” authors to support me and my work.
What are you working on now?
Death of the Spirit, book two in the Crossing Death series, of course!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang.com!
I think it’s all about social media. You have to get to know the book bloggers, and make them fans. Book bloggers have their own little underground society, and I love it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I hear people, all the time, say “Oh, I’m writing a book.” Usually, when I hear that, I get a little sad. Don’t get me wrong–I think EVERYONE has a book inside of them, and CAN write a book.
But what makes a writer is someone who finishes.
There comes a point when you have to decide you’re an author. That’s it. That’s the moment. That’s when you commit and you finish. If you’re “writing a book” you’re not an author yet. You’re an author when you dedicate to being an author.
And that dedication is what most writers lack.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t wait. Publish now. I can’t believe how many authors I know who sit on their work, waiting for one of the big publishers to pick them up, querying agents every day and plastering their walls with rejection letters. That’s because they don’t really have much else to put in the query letter other than “I finished this manuscript, and my mom likes it.”
Publish. Become the author you’re supposed to be. Then you can write in your query letter that you have 15,000 Facebook followers and are selling 10,000 books a month. That makes your chances much better, and you get to make money while you “wait.”
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Rebecca Ethington’s series (both Through Glass and Imdalid), and anything by Sheena Boekweg is great. Nancy Kilpatrick has a new short story coming out in an anthology, and I’m excited for that, and I’m about to one click Stephen King’s Dr. Sleep :).
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to finish up the Crossing Death series, and then start working on a couple of other books I have in my head. I’m very excited for a “fairytale mystery” I have planned, and my quintessential haunted house novel.
My husband and I hope to move to Costa Rica soon… so if I can find a way to write horror novels on the beach, that would be ideal.
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?
Can I take 3 or 4 Kindles instead? They’re smaller, and hold lots more books ;).
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