When did you realize that you wanted to become
a writer?
The inkling began in the 4th grade. I
wrote a sequel to another kid’s goofball pirate story. While reading it aloud
to my fellow classmates, I had them rolling off their chairs with laughter. The
power to entertain, to cause people to think… heady stuff.
Is being an Author all you dreamed of, or did
it just happen? The best and worst thing about it?
I love telling stories. I’m less fond of the
business side. It most certainly didn’t just happen. It required and continues
to require a tremendous amount of dedication.
The best thing about it? When the tale tells itself.
The muse is an incredible phenomenon. The experience of sitting down and having
a story pour forth (seemingly from the ether) is a magical one. I am often just
as surprised as the reader at how the story unfolds.
What was the very first thing you ever wrote?
The first real work (with a fleeting hope for
riches) was a screenplay. It was a dystopian look at terrorism during an effort
to terraform Mars (Humans had global warmed their planet to the point where
Mars was looking like the only other option.) Just to remind everyone how long
climate change has been on the radar, I wrote that when I was a kid in 1987.
What made you create (your book)? How did it come to you?
The Of Sudden Origin series sprang to life from a
frustration with the improbabilities/impossibilities within the science of the
zombie genre. I love the notion of the zombie apocalypse, the struggle for
survival, the unstoppable monster, how humans respond to disaster, and I wanted
to tell a story where it seemed almost too plausible and therefore, all the
more frightening.
Who is your literary hero?
Hugh Howie. Not just because he is a really good
writer. He has quite literally laid the foundation upon which so many
independents have built an author’s career.
How much of your characters are based on your
traits or someone you know personally?
I have no doubt that I have met bits of them all of
my life. Many are likely within me. Being a fiction writer is not very different
than being an actor, where the characters are derived from the sum of experience.
Describe your main character in six words.
I have
two main characters, but the same words fit both of them: self-reliant, brave, smart,
adaptable, quick-thinking, lovable,
Describe the world you’ve created in six words.
Utterly, relentlessly, brutally, terrifyingly,
page-turningly, intense
What scene was your favorite to write?
In Part 4 The Crucible (semi-spoiler alert) the
combined protagonists have barricaded themselves into the smallest refuge
available. There is nowhere left to run. The combination of conversations and
events that take place in this small space (while a horrible death is tearing down the
door) is just precious to me.
What scene was the hardest for you to write?
No particular scene. I place my characters in
impossible situations without knowing myself how they may or may not survive.
If I suffer from writer’s block, it is during the times when I have to pull a
literary Houdini for my characters. Such extrications require a lot of
conscious and subconscious work, and often a lot of research.
What are you working on now?
Bastion Saturn is an action packed space opera
that takes place at the end of this century. Saturn’s moons have become a haven
for those who don’t want to be part of a collective mind (singularity) back on
Earth. It’s more or less a Western. Once again, I concern myself with the
science behind the tale: in this case: the nano world, AI, robotics, deep space
survival, gravity, terraforming, rocket science.
I am also writing the third serialized novel for
the Of Sudden Origin universe. Titled Hostile Intent, it takes place a year
after the events of Children of Fiends. So much fun. What a world.
Goals? Accomplishments? Improvements?
1) Supporting my family as a fulltime author.
2) Recognition within the science fiction world as
a significant author.
3) I hope to make every reading experience as good
if not better then the one before it.
Are there any authors or books you recommend?
Innumerable I’m afraid. My influencers range from
Ken Follett, James Clavell, Robert Ludlum, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Isacc
Asimov, Robert Heinlein to Steven King, Scott Sigler, Elmore Leonard, Colleen
McCullough and Hugh Howie.
What's your favorite thing to do when you're
not writing?
Day to day– spending time with my family.
Otherwise- traveling the world.
