Interview With Author Will Astrike
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m retired, living in Oregon with my wife who’s also retired. We have two grown children who have careers of their own, and we are finally pursuing our avocations and hobbies.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is titled AMOS GETTING, A Life on the American Frontier, and it tells the story of a man born in 1819 of a French Trapper and his mother Canadian Cree. He is raised for thirteen years as a Brule and the story is about the times of his life, the events he encountered and battles he survived throughout his time in the nineteenth century.
It was certainly a labor of love creating Amos and living with him, the research for the book in general was exhaustive. The details make the story, in my opinion.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write usually early in the morning and late at night, curiously enough. But I have no real set schedule. Most of my writing requires a good deal of historical research but that’s one of the aspects of creative writing that I enjoy most.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
McMurtry, Elmer Kelton, Elmore Leonard’s work, the westerns of course but he is a master of written dialog. I also enjoy Robert B. Parkers western series and his mysteries in general.
I’ve read Louie Lamour and Zane Gray of course, but the more recent writers are my favorites. I also love the seafaring stories of Patrick O’Brien, though they have little to do with my particular focus group…I try to work him in here and there when it fits.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing the fifth book in the Frank Bass series, called slaughter. The basis of the story is rooted in the Annihilator killings in Austin in 1886, though my story varies considerably in detail…the story is fiction after all.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I sell everything through Amazon’s Kindle Publishing and frankly I’m quite happy with their marketing programs. The finished product is every bit as good as any “imprint publisher” and I don’t have to worry about sacrificing the rights to my work.
At some point I’d like to write a screenplay of one of the Bass stories but that’s a ways down the line.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stay true to your interests and you’ll improve a little with each effort. And also the old one “If you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life”
What are you reading now?
James Fenimore Cooper, I love the language. Though when I’m writing I usually don’t read. I suppose the research for the story is my reading. For example, I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin for some background when writing Amos Getting. It’s an amazing book, I think I read it was second in sales only to the bible in the the 1850’s, and was very influential in the Emancipation Movement in the north that led to the Civil War.
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?
Probably Larry McMurtry and Elmore Leonard…anything. The Berrybender Narratives jumps to mind. It’s been several years since I read any of them.
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