Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
In 1998 I embarked on a teaching Grand Tour throughout Asia, and what a fascinating journey these years have been. After seeing much of Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand, in between stints of teaching and futures trading, I settled seven years ago here in beautiful Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
I’m an avid fan of SF, Horror, Fantasy, Historical fiction, DVD serials, and Asian transcendental practice. Thus far I’ve worked in SF, Horror, and Film Criticism. I’m looking to expand into Historical Fiction. I’ve done four book in three series, science fiction (Zero Point Light), zombie horror (Bangkok Z), and non-fiction on Film (Crisis Climax).
I’m frankly fascinated by this morphing world of book publishing. Imagine integrating multimedia in an ebook, i.e. period folk ballads as chapter breaks for a Historical novel. Music and visuals done right would enhance and deepen a reading. Ten years ago no one thought e-readers would ever be popular, and look at them now. We have the same resistance today to other emerging innovations. It’s an excellent time to be active in this industry!
I was a teacher until 2006, when I moved here to Chiang Mai. I also have an ongoing passion for bluewater long-distance sailing, caving, scuba diving, and of course reading. I collect TV serial DVDs, and frankly I love this new long-story format of 24 episodes a season. I enjoy book series that reflect this!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
NEW SIQDOR, Zero Point Light, Book 2. It was inspired by science fiction series of the past, most notable those of Peter Hamilton and Hugh Howey.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do most of my first draft writing sitting in a popular Thai coffee house, Wawee’s, near the Chiang Mai night market.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Peter Hamilton, Hugh Howey, Larry Niven, Ryan Casey, L.T. Ryan …
What are you working on now?
TOEY’S BURDEN, Episode 2 (Horror); NEW SIQDOR, Zero Point Light 2; STORY CRISIS, STORY CLIMAX 2 (Crisis Climax).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
StoryFinds, Amazon in-house promotion.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to develop an internet presence, on a blog or in some other way. Better yet, build an ’email list’ as a base which will be enormously valuable to you later on. 75% of ebook marketing and sales will happen through your list. So any form of email list will be hugely helpful to you later on. If you don’t do that, you’ll be shelling out money constantly for straight-up book ads, and ads for FREE 5-day eBook promotion periods to spark sales.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hold short-term FREE promotions of all your eBooks. People downloading your books for Free increases your visibility better than anything else.
What are you reading now?
Brian Harmon’s “Rushed”, Marko Kloos’ “Lines of Departure”, Jack Noble’s “The Recruit”, Larry Niven’s “Ringworld Engineers”, Bobby Adair’s “Slow Burn, Zero Day”.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to start a Historical Fiction series set in ancient Rome, a long-standing interest of mine.
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?
“Remembrance of Things Past”, “War and Peace”, Churchill’s “The English-Speaking Peoples”, the “Divine Comedy”, “Foundation” series, and all of Homer.
Author Websites and Profiles
Stephen Carter Website
Stephen Carter Amazon Profile
Stephen Carter’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account