Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
So, I was in the Navy for about 13 years. Before that I worked various odd jobs while getting my bachelor’s degree in computer science, and when I finished my degree, I knew I did not want to be a programmer for the rest of my life. I had knocked around the idea of being a Navy pilot, and I still had time, so I went for it and was accepted. In the service, I flew the MH-60S (essentially a navalized version of the Army’s Black Hawk), and then went back to fixed-wing and instructed in the T-6. After that, I did a tour as a JTAC with one of the SEAL Teams, including a deployment to Africa. A JTAC is a person trained to orchestrate and direct air strikes–technically, air strikes in close proximity to friendly forces, which is indeed what we were doing in Africa. It was during that tour that I started this book, and finished it on that deployment, in my little shipping-container bedroom. Prior to that, I’d written several long novels, but none of them have I considered in a condition fit for publication, even indie self-pub, so this is the first one I’ve tried to bring to market. Aside from work, I’ve done a few other things in my life. I like to try things for real, if at all possible.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of the book is Outsiders. I wrote it as a single work, intending for it to be an honest attempt at a normal-length novel, but I failed dramatically, so I split it into three volumes when I decided to POD-publish it. We’ll see how that goes. As to inspiration, honestly… I got the idea for it after rewatching the first Michael Bay “Transformers” movie and thinking, “You know, it’s kind of fun, the semi-realistic military action and jargon and stuff mixed with something imaginative like aliens. Except the semi-realistic military action actually isn’t realistic at all. It’s all wrong. And the aliens are all wrong, too, of course–which is to say, no, not that I’m expecting Transformers to be a realistic alien invasion story, but there’s something to the idea that fanciful science fiction (not just limited to aliens, but other subgenres like cyberpunk) could be done with more of a focus on the science, not to make it less fanciful so much as to just make it something that you can watch (or read), and enjoy, but also learn something fun. Why couldn’t we have a story like Transformers, that’s a bit lighthearted and fun, but which doesn’t make you dumber by the minute. So, that’s what I tried to do here. The idea is that you can read this story and, when it starts talking about some piece of technology or some military tactic or something (nothing classified, naturally, and it has been reviewed for that), you can google that thing and maybe learn something.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual writing habits? Heck no. I just write when I can, because I work for a living. The Navy career is done, but I’m no less busy now.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Reading is the most important thing nobody does anymore. Oh, sure, I know, around these parts plenty of people are reading all the time, soaking up Kindle books or what have you all the time, but here’s the thing: I’ve read them, too, and the truth is, most of what’s written these days you can tell is written by people who grew up reading nothing more than Facebook posts and online fan-fiction, or, one generation further on, grew up reading nothing more than novels written by people who grew up reading nothing more than Facebook posts and online fan-fiction. A lot of that is the explosion of self-publishing, but I think there was a break in the literary chain that had been otherwise unbroken, for the most part, from the Olden Days straight through to the late 20th Century. I think there was a generation, somewhere around Gen X or Millennial, that didn’t grow up reading old stuff. Nowadays, finding an author who can write with the quality of a Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton (both masters in their genres, but stylistically simple and straightforward, neither one exactly renowned for literary genius or deep, thoughtful character creation), much less a Joseph Conrad or a Charles Dickens or a Jane Austen. Nowadays, finding a story that’s good and also clean in terms of grammar, spelling, and even basic word choice, is a slog. Writers like Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King might not be writing literary fiction, but they read some, growing up. They devoured books, and good books at that, and even if they decided to go a different route, to focus on different things, a more commercial entertainment style, with slim characters and steady action, their skills were informed by the legacy that came before them.
I say all that to say this: read the old stuff. If you like to read, devour older generations of works. For every modern novel you read, read something that was written before 1970, at least. If you are a scifi buff, soak up the greats, the Michael Crichton, the Isaac Asimov, the Arthur C. Clark, the Ray Bradbury, the Robert Heinlein, the Frank Herbert, the H. G. Wells, the Jules Verne, the Mary Shelley, and the Nathaniel Hawthorne (and any others I missed here). If you like adventure stories, read Jack London and the Rudyard Kipling and Alexandre Dumas. Read “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen. Then read some Joseph Conrad. If you like fantasy, do read Tolkein’s a C. S. Lewis’s works, both. Don’t try to be too cool for school. “Oh, everybody reads LotR and says it’s the best, so I’m going to establish my individuality by not reading it.” No. Read it. Same with Jane Austen, if you like romance stories. (Men, do yourself a favor and read “Pride & Prejudice.” You will not regret it.)
And then, when you are comfortable reading some of the older works in your genre, expand your horizons. Read “A Tale of Two Cities.” “Heart of Darkness.” “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn.” “The Scarlet Letter.” “1984.” “The Old Man and the Sea.” “The Brothers Karamazov.”
And a note to one particular objection that pops up every now and then about some of these older works and their authors, namely “But but but… some of them were… racist.” Understand this: in a hundred years, people will look back at something you do, or support, or take for granted in your life today, and they will recognize it for the evil that it is, and revile you for the evil monster you are. We are no better than the people of old; we are no less blind to our evils than they were to theirs. When everyone around you is telling you not to read something, because its writer was a bad person for this reason or that reason, read it, and hope that your posterity will do you the same favor when your moral crimes are recognized.
What are you working on now?
A steampunk gothic horror. Hopefully this one will be of a normal length.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Heck if I know. I ain’t never done tried this before.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be a reader, first. Consume books by the hundreds, including many of the old ones. While you read, you can practice writing, write short stuff if you like. I never did a lot of that. Maybe one or two short-stories in school. You’re not wrong if you don’t do that. The main thing is the reading.
Second, live. Live life. Don’t just be a writer; go out and do stuff. You want to write about military people? Join up for a stint. Want to write cop stories? Go be one for a few years. Hunt, fish, sail, skydive, fly, SCUBA-dive. Fight. Learn to fight and get yourself into a few fights (legally, naturally). Ladies, I’m talking to you, too. If you’re going to write about characters fighting, take some boxing classes, and put yourself through at least one full-contact bout in the ring. It won’t kill you. It will change your life, though. Do the things that scare you the most. I’m not saying you have to have lived everything about which you will write, but the more you live, and the more you challenge and attack your fears, the more your life can give texture and believability to your writing.
Finally, once you have consumed hundreds of books and have at least begun to live a little, then start writing the stories you want to read that no one else has written yet. Don’t worry too much about style or technique. You’ll have absorbed all of that and will have decided what you like and what you want to use. Write like you want to read. Then, expect your first few to be not good. Keep writing more stories, until they start coming out good. (And, again, most people will start with short works, but don’t worry if that’s not you. It wasn’t me. My first original story was a 240,000-word fanfic. Fit for human consumption? Probably not. But it was plenty of practice.)
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Honestly? This one: “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Also, “Never follow your heart, for the heart is sick and deceitful above all things.” If those are too much for you, though, try this one: “If it’s not difficult, not painful, doesn’t humble you and make you feel like you’ve been judged and found wanting, doesn’t make you feel at least a little badly about yourself, it’s probably not worth doing.” Or, just, “Do the things that really scare you.”
What are you reading now?
I have been reading the Forgotten Ruin series (much love!), but I will take a break from that for another classic. Probably Ivanhoe next.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Expand my free time again so that I can get back to writing. I have another idea for a novel that will probably get me burned at the stake, but it will need some planning.
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?
Would start with the Bible, to keep things in perspective. Then the Lord of the Rings (complete edition with appendices) because it takes up plenty of time and has plenty of re-read value. The last two? Probably big blank books I can write in. Being stranded on a desert island would make for good writing time.
Author Websites and Profiles
William Collier Website
William Collier Amazon Profile
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Goodreads Profile