Author of Dead Peasants
When did you realize that you wanted to become a writer? What was the very first thing you ever wrote?
I don’t know that there was ever a “realization,” more that stories would come to mind that just refused to go away until they were put to paper. Each time it was/is a little different, whether the thing that sticks is a particular character, scene, voice, etc. Once it does though, writing becomes a matter of making my hands keep up with my mind.
The first thing I ever really wrote was Number Four, which was a decent storyline, if not quite there in the execution. Sometimes I still think I would like to revisit it, but there is hardly enough time to get to all the new ideas I have, so I’m not sure when that might happen.
Who is your literary hero?
I think this could be taken as either an author or a character, both of which I have.
On the writing side, I am big fan of Lee Child, C.J. Box, and James Lee Burke. As far as individual characters go, I like Child’s Jack Reacher, Box’s Nate Romanowski, and Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt.
How much of your characters are based on your traits or someone you know personally?
Describe your main character in six words.
Drake Bell in six words: resourceful, guarded, loyal, gritty, optimistic, naïve. A little bit of an odd mix for sure, but hopefully that’s what makes the character work.
There are a couple of characters throughout various works that are based on people I know, but for the most part I try to conjure entirely from scratch, or at the very least take certain aspects and amplify them beyond recognition. I will use names though!
Describe the world you’ve created in six words.
Montana, exactly the way I remember it.
What scene was your favorite to write?
The most fun for me are the scenes where the Crew is all together, everybody giving each other a hard time. That’s exactly the kind of interaction I tend to have with my friends, so it all feels very familiar.
What scene was the hardest for you to write?
Without question, the funeral scene. I myself had lost a family member not long before writing this, so in some ways it was hard pushing back those memories, in others it was cathartic.
What are you working on now?
Right now I have four books being released in successive weeks, both self and traditional published. In addition I am working on two new novels, including the manuscript to Dead Peasants.
What's your favorite thing to do when you're not writing?
I live in Hawaii, so every minute I’m not working or writing I spend outdoors. Hiking, surfing, snorkeling, whatever I can get into.
