Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a freelance writer and, to date, I’ve written five books if you don’t count fanfiction. Four are part of a series, The Accidental Heroes Chronicles, and the fifth is a romance novel. I’ve been writing novels since 2012 when I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time. That was an amazing and terrifying experience and it was a brilliant feeling hitting the 50k word count before the end of the month.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of the latest book that I’ve finished the first draft of is Deceit. It’s the fourth book of The Accidental Heroes Chronicles. What really inspired it was a love of superheroes and what could happen when you took ordinary people and threw them in an extraordinary situation. The latest book that I’ve published was Expansion, the second book of The Accidental Heroes Chronicles.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know that I’d call it unusual but I do almost always have a mug of tea with me when I write. Most of the time I forget about it and it goes cold but I don’t mind. I also usually have music playing and, when I need a shake-up in my mind or in the story, I’ll change what I’m listening to.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are a few authors who’ve influenced me and, going back and reading their works, I can see places where they’ve influenced my style. Mercedes Lackey, Neil Gaiman, and David Eddings are the authors who have influenced me the most. I love their stories and their style of writing and they are a source of endless inspiration for me.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I am working on the fifth and final book of The Accidental Heroes Chronicles. There’s also another book sitting in my head waiting patiently to be written. I’ve made a few character and setting notes for it.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use tumblr, twitter, and facebook the most to promote my books. They allow a lot of direct feedback and contact with readers who might have questions or comments.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is that a lot of authors go through periods where they think they suck and their writing is horrible. It happens to me all the time. The way to deal with it is to accept that those periods may happen but they aren’t true. Your writing isn’t horrible and someone out there is going to love it. And, even if it is true, you can learn and improve. Never stop writing even if you think you should.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard was if you get stuck in a scene, switch to a new one. Leave a note to yourself and just move on. Also, don’t feel afraid of writing scenes out of order. You can always put them in their proper places when you’re editing.
What are you reading now?
Right now, I am reading The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks and it’s really good.
What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me is finishing The Accidental Heroes Chronicles and getting the last three published on Amazon Kindle, figuring out what I’m going to do with my romance novel, and starting the next book I have planned.
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 books I’d take are The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Hobbit, and The Last Dragonlord by Joanne Bertin
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