Interview With Author W J Long III
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Since grade school, I have been writing stories and creating worlds, often when I should have been paying attention in class. In middle school, my teachers took notice and sent me to the local young writer’s conference.
Sadly, I wandered away from prose to pursue screenwriting, but after a long time away, I returned with this first book in the Silver Sights Saga.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Children of the Black is a story that has lived with me for an embarrassingly long time. I wrote the first version of it while imagining myself as a father and picturing what a relationship with my own child might one day be like. That gave birth to the core character dynamic of the story.
Other pieces were built over time, some from other projects that didn’t quite have what it took to make it. Really, the universe and characters for Children are more than twenty years of ideas grown together into the narrative that exists in this book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know about unusual. I am a fairly meticulous plotter, so I like to have at least a path through the story before I begin. I tend to prefer the feel of writing by hand over typing, but that’s not the most practical method for getting stories down. If you were to see my home, there are boxes of notebooks devoted to storylines, character backstories, and location histories for a ton of ideas that I hope to one day share with the world.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always wanted to do my own thing, but I have a particularly soft spot for Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes. I believe it was the first book I ever loved…that wasn’t a study on dinosaurs. Aside from that, Micheal Crichton was influential in my drive to write. I bet you can guess how that started, but he had a knack for taking concepts that seemed entirely unbelievable and making them real in ways that still fascinate and inspire me to this day.
What are you working on now?
I’m continuing my work on the Silver Sights saga. Book 2 is fairly far along. It’s the most challenging story I’ve ever told, both in terms of how it spins the character relationships and how it explores a universe we only really hinted at in Children of the Black.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Now bear in mind I’m fairly new to this. Right now, I am promoting via the usual suspects, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Goodreads has been good to me so far, and I am always seeking to expand my reach with sites like Reedsy and BookBub.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would just say to have faith in what you’re writing. Nothing is ever a waste. You never know what can come of the ideas you have.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“A writer writes.” – Regina Brett. It seems like the simplest concept in the world, but anyone who has stared at a blank page for any length of time knows it can be anything but.
What are you reading now?
I am dancing between a few books at the moment. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith is my primary, but I’m also enjoying Old World War by Melissa F Olson on Audible, and the geek in me draws me back to the Super Sons Omnibus from DC comics.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I finish book two, I believe I will take a detour. I have a horror/thriller idea that my wife has always wanted me to finish, so I think I will devote some time to bringing that to life next.
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?
That’s an easy choice for me at the moment. The Rogues of the Republic series by Patrick Weekes. (The Palace Job, The Prophecy Con, and The Paladin Caper) I have read through them more times than I can count, and they always make my days more interesting.
Author Websites and Profiles
W J Long III Author Profile on Smashwords
W J Long III’s Social Media Links