Interview With Author Robert Herold
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have two novels out out at the moment, with a novella due out on Friday the 13th in May of 2022, and a third novel due out on June 1st, 2022.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Witch Ever Way You Go–My editor approached me and asked if I’d like to be part of a project she was heading centering around Friday the 13th: 13 authors would write 13,000 word stories to be published independently on Friday the 13th. It sounded like fun!
Totem of Terror–This is my third book in the Eidola Project Series, about a team of 19th century ghost hunters who become ensnared in deadly supernatural investigations. The group is headed by William James, a real person and brother to Henry James, who was a famous psychology professor at Harvard and was really into investigating the supernatural.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
What? Like do I sit a tub full of peanut butter when writing? No. I’m just your average horror writer who has been in love with the genre ever since he was a pup and wanted nothing more than to be a werewolf.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett
The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler
East of Eden – John Steinbeck
The Conjure Wife – Fritz Leiber
Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty
The Judge Hunter – Christopher Buckley
Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
Devil in a Blue Dress – Walter Mosely
+ Almost everything Bernard Cornwell has written
What are you working on now?
I am currently writing a sequel to Witch Ever Way You Go. After that I will probably write the next novel in the Eidola Project Series. I have ideas for both a prequel and a sequel.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Asking book bloggers to review my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Here are some thoughts that may help you on your journey.
• Most significant: KEEP WRITING! Writing is a learning process and it will probably take years before you are published &/or gain notoriety. Prepare the psyche for the long haul.
• Put the inner critic into a strong box and lock it tight until you’re done. (Let it out only when you’re in the editing process and only if it’s on good behavior!)
• Come up with an ending first. (If you are in the middle of something and don’t know where you’re going, stop and come up with an ending.) This gives your writing a direction and a purpose and you will avoid dead ends
• Don’t stop to do major revisions/edits until you’ve completed your first draft.
• Once your first draft is completed, let the critic out, but keep it on a tight chain. Do not let it drive you to despair and cause you to delete your work. In fact, save each draft. You may later find you want to use something from an earlier draft. Also, don’t let your inner critic cause you to get caught up in endless revisions.
• Join a writers’ group! Try to find one with published writers &/or members who are better writers than you. You’ll learn from them and their praises and encouragement will carry weight.
• Develop a thick skin. Handle criticism wisely. Do not engage in defensive remarks or in explaining what you meant. Note what they had to say, and after a day or two decide if you will give it credence.
• Take note if you hear the same criticism from more than one source.
• Traditional AND self-published writers will need to engage in marketing. Cultivate those skills. (A great resource is Your Book, Your Brand by Dana Kaye. Another is Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran)
• Read as well as write! Read broadly, as it will enrich your writing and help you learn by example.
• Start your next book, story, or article.
• Apply the lessons you’ve learned along the way. We learn by doing.
• BEST WISHES!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be gentle with yourself. You’ve only got one of you.
What are you reading now?
I just finished rereading The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I originally read it in high school and it was just as good as I recalled.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My next piece. If you’re a writer, you write!
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?
Collected works of Shakespeare
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Author Websites and Profiles
Robert Herold’s Social Media Links