Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born a Navy brat and as such had to move about every three years to a new place. This gave me a lot of exposure to many cultures, diversity, and exotic places of travel. I was able to go to destinations and participate in many great adventures that many people only dream about.
Unfortunately my childhood was very rough and there weren’t very many happy times. As I look back at some of the pictures of my childhood, I don’t see any where I was smiling. I guess both the traveling and my need to express my emotions through a catharsis are the basis of my most of my writings.
I’m married now and we have a daughter. I’m active in her Campfire actives. I enjoy camping, traveling, hiking, camping, gardening, painting miniature figure, and yes, writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book that I have published is one called “Lost Souls.” This is outside the realm of the dark elf series that is at the heart of most of my writings.
Last summer our family went on vacation to Northern Lake Tahoe and went over to Virginia City. While we were there, we lost our daughter in a haunted graveyard. I can tell you right now that there is no greater terror that a parent can face than the disappearance of their child. The wrong kind of thoughts had entered my mind. Some how I wondered what Stephen King would write. From there, the story fell into place.
We found our daughter, she was fine. She had simply found another family with a daughter her age and had moved to another section of the graveyard.
Initially “Lost Souls” was going to be a stand alone book, however, since I leave my mind open for any possibilities and try to remain flexible in my writings, “Lost Souls” may become the first book of a three book series. Like the first, the other two will center around my travels and my adventures in real life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do most of my writing at night, after work and after dinner. My best creative time is usually between 9 pm and 11 pm. I try to write about one thousand words a day and try to make my books to be around 100,000 words per book (or more).
When I go camping at the cabins at Camp Killoqua, I’m not as distracted and the surroundings put my mind into a better creative place. I’m able to write about 3k – 4k a day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
R.A. Salvatore, E.A. Poe, and Stephen King are the authors that have influenced and inspired me. I think readers will be able to see their influences in my books. The last book I wrote “Lost Souls” was a direct influence from Stephen King and has a lot of the elements that he uses in his books and is actually dedicated to him.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on book 11 of the Orbbelgguren Series called “The Rising Dead.” In book 10 “The Troll Wars”, the war had ravished the land. Now the 11th book picks up where it left off. The survivors are dealing with grief, survivor’s guilt, and nightmares. The vacuum of power has now been filled with something worse than there was before. A half crazed, non-linear being is trying to save his race and he’s willing to destroy everything in the process, but has he unleashed something that not even he can control? Has his methods gone too far? The hero’s are trying to stop him, but are faced with what they would do to save themselves in the same situation. They must decide if they should let him continue and run the risk of destroying the world or stop him and run the risk of even a greater danger.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not very good at promoting my books. Right now I’m using Facebook, Lulu, twitter, Goodreads, and a few other places but with little success. Any help and advice would be appreciate. I’m not looking to sell a lot of books, but I think the niche that I am writing for would love the Orbbelgguren Series if I could get the promotions to them.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
This is easy. There are only 3 pieces of advice that I give to new authors.
1) Live. Put down the smart phone, stop the texting, stop being on Facebook, get off of the TV and go outside and live. Interact with people. Get in a fight. Fall in love. Get your heart broken. Travel. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset. Embrace the great outdoors. It’s difficult to write about something that hasn’t been experience. Remember, reality is sometimes stranger than fiction.
2) Read. Read good books, read bad books. Find out what you like and what you don’t like. Read classics even if you don’t enjoy them at least be able to say that you’ve read them and have an opinion about them. See how great authors write. See how bad authors write. I’ve read books where I’ve been so immersed in them that I’ve finished them in 1 day. I’ve read books so bad that I’ve tossed them across the room never to pick them up again. Reading stimulates imagination and is a great source of education. Read, read, read.
3) Write. Now that you’ve gotten what you want to write about and how to write it, it’s time to put it on paper, digital or otherwise. Just write. Write good stuff, write bad stuff. One of the best pieces of equipment to have is a waste basket to toss the bad stuff away and fill up. A good author tosses quite a bit away initially, but at least they write. The good stuff will come, the techniques will flow, but it never will if it’s never put down on paper.
What are you reading now?
I’ve got a couple of books by R.A. Salvatore that I have to catch up on and really would like to pick up the latest by Stephen King. Meanwhile I glance through my complete collections of Poe for inspiration.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I think I’m going to move away from my dark elf series again for a short time and write a non-fiction story about last summer’s vacation to South Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Bodie. My wife really enjoyed the travel portions of “Lost Souls” since she’s an armchair traveler. However, she didn’t like the horror parts of it (not her style). So, she’s asked me to write a non-fiction story that she could completely enjoy. She’s going to buy a bunch of these and hand out to our families, you know, like one of those Christmas/New Year’s letters that you usually get from long lost relatives that try to cram everything that they’ve done in one short letter.
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?
As much as I love Stephen King and E.A. Poe, I don’t think I would want to bring any of those books. I’m afraid that if I read those books I’ll find footprints on the beach of the deserted island that aren’t mine, a fire that I didn’t start, and strange messages written in the sand that would keep me awake at night (hmmm, I think I’m now inspired to write another book). Anyway, here’s a list of a couple of books I would love to have:
1) The bible. Not for religious purposes, but a reminder of those who had gone through trying times in their life and through faith had been able to see their way through it. This will remind me to never give up hope in such a desolate area.
2) A Boy Scout survival guide book. This will help with building shelters, fire, how to hunt and fish and even make a raft to get off the island.
3) “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells. This is not only a great story but a reminder that one person can help restart a whole civilization and if he could do that then I could simply make it through as one person on an island. Also, at the end our hero takes a few books to restart his life and the same question is asked “Which books did he take?”
4) “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe. The reason should be obvious.
If I could bring 1 more, it would be blank so I could fill it with more of my writings, be it fiction or non-fiction.
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