1. What are your background interests/hobbies?
The only thing I’m doing right now is writing. I write professionally as a freelancer. I’m an author, and I write for my own website. That’s not to say I’ve never had any other interests, but right now the focus is 100% on all my writing endeavors.
2. How do they support/hinder your work?
The more you write, the more you can write. It’s like exercising. The more weights you lift, the more weight you can lift. It’s really about conditioning. Maybe today you can only write 500 words, but if you work at it, soon you’ll be up to 2,000 words a day then 3,000.
3. How do you squeeze it all in with family life?
Writing is an exercise in sacrifice. In order to get it done, you sometimes have to turn down things you’d like to do. You really have to look at it like a career. If you want that promotion, you can’t cut out of work early or call off all the time. You’re gonna get written up. You’re gonna get warnings. You may even get demoted, and one thing is certain, you won’t advance. So, the bottom line is that if you haven’t accomplished your writing goals for the day or for the week, you need to think long and hard before you attend that family event or go out to eat or commit yourself to one more thing that isn’t writing. It’s also about priorities. How important is your writing to you? Answering that question is the key to figure out how to work it into your life.
4. What do you love most about writing?
Writing. To me, writing is the ultimate form of self-expression. You get to listen to yourself and your ideas and lay them down on paper. You get to create your own world with your own people. Then, you get to share that world and those people with other people.
5. What’s your daily routine for writing?
My daily routine for writing is just like a job. I get up. I get coffee. I sit down at my desk, and I start working. The first thing I do every morning is check my metrics. Did any books sell last night? Do I have any social media comments I need to answer? Once I get done with all that paperwork, I make breakfast. After breakfast, I start writing and I write and research until I go to bed. Obviously, I heat some stuff up to eat and grab more coffee and drink a few Cokes. If I hit my goals for the day, I may watch a movie or do something else. If I’m lazy and I don’t accomplish my goals, I don’t get to do anything else.
6. How does your creative process work?
I always start off with a sentence. For the Blooddoll Factory, that sentence was – An unemployed male nurse gets a job at a reproductive clinic and learns it’s run by vampires. Once I have that sentence complete, I may write a 1 paragraph overview of the plot. Then, I name the main characters and give them jobs. After that, I start writing. It’s a very minimal writing process. Once the big things are known, I simply start writing the book and update my paragraph and character list as needed.
7. What was the most inspiring thing that somebody has said about your work?
I’ve never met characters like this. In fact, any version of that is perfect. I don’t want you to read my work and think – I’ve read this 60 times. This is the same type of character I read last week. That’s horrible. It means I didn’t do my job as an author.
8. What was the most unpleasant comment somebody has written in a book review or an Amazon comment?
I don’t know, and I don’t care. Most criticisms aren’t productive. It’s just someone spouting off negativity because they’re miserable. Someone else's misery isn’t my problem, and I don’t get involved. And that's usually what I think when I read a bad review. This guy's day was so bad, not even reading one of my books could cheer them up. I'm sorry dude, I've done all I can.
9. Does personal criticism bother or inspire you?
This falls in line with the above question. I just don’t care. If someone doesn’t like me or doesn't like what I write, that’s fine. Don’t read me. Don’t look at me. We never have to talk. It’s not a problem. And if they’re filled with negativity, I can’t help them. Nothing I say, do or write is going to make a difference in their life. They need to do some deep introspection to figure out what they need to do to make their life better so they can be a less negative person and move forward with their own goals and dreams.
10. What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
I don’t think I’ve met that challenge yet, but it doesn’t really matter. The minute you start calling something the greatest challenge, you’re building a mountain you can’t climb and setting yourself up for failure. And the minute you start saying I can’t or this is too hard, you’ll never get past it. Challenges should be met head-on. If it looks too big, break it down into pieces you can handle. Then, accomplish each of those pieces. If you find a path that is completely blocked, build a new one. The trick here is to just keep going.
12. When did you first feel a glimmer of success as a writer?
There are stages of success as an author. The first success is finishing a book. The second success is publishing that book. The third success is selling that book to people who aren’t your friends and family. The next success is being able to live off your book royalties. Of course, this is just my opinion. Everyone defines success differently. For concrete successes, The Blooddoll Factory was a bestseller when it was released. I won an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock’s magazine.
14. What or who has been your biggest influence as a writer?
Myself. It sounds egotistical, but you have to believe in yourself and your ability first. You also have to be willing to learn and adapt. Your craft should always be evolving. If you find someone with an idea or knowledge that you like, use that. Just remember to make it your own.
15. If you could meet any author, past or present, what questions would you ask them?
I wouldn’t. What works for one author may not work for another. It’s really all about being true to yourself and your work. This means finding what works for you. You can listen to other authors and try their techniques. You can even try mine. I have a very minimalist way of starting novels, and I have a very minimalist way of writing novels. This means that beyond that sentence and plot paragraph, I just write. It also means that I include very little description in my books. If it’s important, it gets described. If it’s a random chair, it’s just a chair. It doesn’t need a description. Everyone knows what a chair is.
