A Life Through Books

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

There are two major challenges to writing my books, which I define as Horror/action/adventure stories.

The first is developing relatable central characters, because without them the terrifying experiences are meaningless to the reader. You don’t want to feel like a 1950’s B monster movie which always had the tough, pragmatic, military “Brick Squarejaw,” character, interacting with an overly intellectual scientist and an attractive lady scientist who falls in love with him. I think that ensemble started with the movie THEM (one of my favorites) but devolved into a trope after that. The readers don’t live in that world, so the characters must straddle the line between being capable of surviving while being relatable.

In Primeval Waters I envisioned Dr. Micah Clark as a very intelligent but flawed hero who’s squandered his reputation by starring on a marginal cable television show. But he only did that to support his ten-year old daughter, and I think that professional sacrifice humanizes him. His counterpart is an attractive, intelligent woman with secrets of her own—I’m dancing around a major spoiler here. But Catalina Abril is a very dynamic character who could carry her own book.

The second challenge is creating a compelling “Threat Vector.” Superstar action/adventure author Matthew Reilly (Ice Station) taught me that danger should always come from two different sources—three if I’m feeling ambitious. Hence my characters in Primeval Waters must not only survive against resurrected prehistoric creatures but also escape modern pirates and the heavily armed paramilitary team that kidnapped them. The danger never lets up and the stakes are always life and death. That approach appeals to a generation of readers that grew up playing video games, where the danger is always fast and furious.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I have very eclectic (that really means weird) taste in music, leaning towards things like Tom Waits, old punk and 1960’s psychedelic garage bands like Davie Allan and the Arrows. But while writing, I lean towards film soundtracks from composers like James Horner or Ennio Morricone. Another interesting form of ambient music for writers is video game soundtracks. These tend to be hours of atmospheric electronica that can put you in the right mood.  

Since it’s Halloween I’ve just published a list of my favorite holiday songs in the article 13 Forgotten Halloween Classics, which is now on horrornews.net—and it ain’t a normal list. All those songs can be found on YouTube and Spotify, so check it out and get your ghoulish groove on!

https://horrornews.net/169708/13-forgotten-halloween-classics/

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

Not so much. I think having partners is a great idea, but, my being kind of a recent interloper in the writing community makes that a challenge. It’s also hard to find someone willing to read hundreds of pages as a favor. Fortunately, I have my publisher, Severed Press, who I submit detailed pitch documents to. Those pitch documents are really pared down versions of my own neurotically detailed outlines. So, if the story misses the mark Severed Press will tell me. So far, I’ve been lucky, mostly because I’m a pretty tough self-critic. Using my initial 20K outline and the truncated pitch document as a compass I can’t stray too far from true north.

But… I’m starting to branch into different genres now, where I’m virtually clueless, so if anybody wants to jump in as a beta reader the door’s wide open. Any volunteers?

What book are you reading now?

A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais. But that won’t last long because it’s impossible to put any Crais book down. He’s a brilliant writer. I’ve also been rereading some old favorites, like George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman novels, which are hilarious historical fiction. But, reader beware, the Flashman novels are structured as the diaries of a British Victorian era military officer—a liar, coward, cad and misogynist who categorizes humanity as British or… other. Very politically incorrect, but rip-roaring comedic adventures.

How did you start your writing career?

I started out in television and film production. Back in the early 2000’s I created a paranormal series called Creepy Canada, which ran in the USA as Hauntings and Horrors. I was constantly writing material for that series. From there I produced and often cowrote racy After-Dark shows for Cinemax/HBO, such as Forbidden Science and Lingerie. When HBO cancelled their After Dark shows I was left at a creative crossroads. I wrote and directed one last feature film for them, then switched to fiction writing. Creating a novel, without broadcaster guidelines or budget limitations was intoxicating. I hope to keep writing fiction until my fingers fall off.

Tell us about your next release.

I just signed a publishing agreement with Severed Press for my next book, Dominant Species. This follow-up to Scorpius Rex, was inspired by an article about scientists placing human brain stem cells into monkeys, and the moral issues that creates.

This time, military contractor Dave Brank and his crew are in the New Mexico desert tracking down escaped, genetically engineered creatures. These seven-foot, dinosaur like creatures are virtually bulletproof and, due to the use of human stem cells, highly intelligent. But those human stem cells have also made them self-aware. They’ve been horribly mistreated by their human creators and only want to be free to raise their young. The downside is that they see humans as the enemy, and an easy food source. My hope is that readers are torn between seeing them as monsters, or cheering them on.

After that I may try writing one of those Blushing Books style, racy paranormal romances. After years of writing Cinemax’s After Dark shows along with three horror novels, I think I’m qualified.

I’ll entertain any offers… wouldn’t it be great if book deals were that easy! 

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

I am a discovery writer so it is hard to trust in myself that I will get from point A to B and be able to come out with a story worth reading.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

Well, my favorite band is the Beatles, but I listen to a wide range of music depending on my mood. R.E.M, Pink Floyd, Flogging Molly, or The Smiths come to mind.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

I am a member of a local Mythopoeic Society group that has been wonderful when it comes to beta readers.

What book are you reading now?

I just finished reading EarthCore by Scott Sigler for our Mythopoeic group’s monthly meeting and recently finished discussing Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin with another local book club.

How did you start your writing career?

After coming back from a WorldCon and not finding something that interested me, I decided to write what I was looking for. Once I began writing, I took a couple classes from Brandon Sanderson & Neil Gaiman. Both were instrumental in developing my craft.

Tell us about your next release.

I have a lot of partial books that I am starting and stopping working on. I have two in particular that I am trying to decide between for my next novel. One is about a girl during the Victorian era - the story follows her as she is forced into child labor. The other is about my grandfathers who were crazy and unique individuals. I combined the two of them into one character who takes me on one bizarre, magical journey before he passes away.

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

I think writing a 230k novel with 18 points-of-view was challenging in itself. I had to make sure each character had their own voice, background, and unique story. Likewise, ensuring all of the timing, pacing, scene transitions, and everything else made sense and lined up with one another took a lot of work and effort (not to mention ensuring that the plotlines converged at the end with no plot holes). 

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I listen to a lot of early American Folk music as well as contemporary indie. The top 5 songs on my list at the moment are:

Doc Watson’s Little Omie Wise

Radiohead’s Reckoner

Benjamin Tod’s Long Gone

Daniel Martin Moore’s It Works Itself Out

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

I was originally part of an online group of critique partners which was super helpful. Afterward I would give my manuscript to different friends (about a dozen total) who would go through the story and give me their feedback. There insights were priceless and my novel likely would have never been finished if it wasn’t for them.

What book are you reading now?

At the moment I’m reading an arc copy of Kesley Josund’s Pretty Deadly and I’m also re-reading The Lord of the Rings.

How did you start your writing career?

I’ve always wanted to write a fantasy novel since I was a young teenager. Then one evening, about 10 years ago, I was talking to a friend who had encouraged me to write one, and so we sat down, talked about ideas, and that night I wrote the first couple of pages. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

Tell us about your next release.

This particular novel, which is my first, took me a decade to write. And it’s a standalone. So, I’ve taken the past few months to step away from writing to really learn about marketing and creating an author platform. However, now that it’s release is coming up, I will be focusing on writing again. I’ve got two works I’ve started on recently. One is a collection of short stories set in the same world as Haelend’s Ballad, and the other is a low-fantasy/southern gothic story which is strongly influenced by Native American mythology.

What is the hardest part of writing your books?
For me, the hardest part is resisting my desire to get things “just right” the first time around. I obsess over the rhythm and flow of each sentence, even on a first draft, when conventional wisdom is to just let the words flow. As a result, I tend to be s**l**o**w writer. But the music of words, the beauty of the English language, is a big part of what motivates me to write. So, at the end of the day, I just have to be me, and take my time!

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I don’t have an iPod, but while I was writing Hearts Set Free, the music of my friend Joel Stamoolis—a worship minister in Alaska who is an extraordinary composer of worship music—was a frequent inspiration. You can listen to him on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLskR0Nz6-SHTDUsehuk9SjFOvh7Jemupm

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
Thank the Lord above that I do, else writing would be an even longer and lonelier road than it is. Once a month I meet online with a critique group headed by the award-winning writer Randy Ingermanson, who shares his insights on the craft in a series of books subtitled the “Snowflake Method.” When I was writing Hearts Set Free, I was helped enormously by four generous souls who read chapters and gave feedback all along the way. And some of the fans of that novel are also serving as early readers of my work-in-progress.

What book are you reading now?

I just finished an absolutely magnificent novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Anthony Doerr. Anyone who loves literary fiction and lyrical writing will be thrilled by this book. It’s 622 pages long, but you’ll wish it were far longer.

How did you start your writing career?

One night, when I was around ten or eleven, my older sister came into my room and read me a passage by John Dos Passos (she doesn’t remember the incident, so I don’t know from which book). It was the first lyrical, adult fiction I’d ever heard, and though it was over my head, I was enchanted and thrilled and it forever changed my life. From that time on I wrote poetry and short stories, and pretty much never stopped.

Tell us about your next release.
The working title for my novel-in-progress is The Ballad of Henry Midnight. Here’s the opening of Chapter One:
My father was one of the last great lawmen of the Wild West.

His name was Caleb McRae. He was born in 1876, a fair-haired child with eyes the clear cold blue of a mountain lake. The son of a Broad Street banker, he grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut on a sprawling estate, yet cared nothing for money or the shiny things it can buy.

Justice was his only passion.

He thrilled to read of Revelation’s hundred-pound hailstones raining down on sinners and devoured dime novels that told tales of the Texas Rangers. In his imagination it was he who collared John Wesley Hardin, the murderous outlaw, and Sam Bass, robber of coaches and trains.

As a young boy he learned to ride. He bought a six shooter when he turned thirteen and taught himself to blast tin cans off fence posts at fifty paces. He chopped cords of wood to build the muscles in his arms, and by fifteen was broad-shouldered and an inch over six feet tall. At seventeen he left his family’s Presbyterian church and became a Baptist, blithely ignoring his father’s stern warnings not to evangelize on the streets of downtown Greenwich.

In his eighteenth year he set out for the Lone Star State, delighted that his parents had cut him off without a dime. How much easier it would be to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

He made his way to Austin, convinced the Rangers to let him sign on, and two years later was sent to the brawling boomtown of El Paso. The railroad had brought prosperity, and with it came gunfighters, gamblers, con artists, and thieves. Few lawmen lasted long.

For my father, it was perfect.  

I keep a newspaper clipping on my writing desk, a black-and-white photograph that appeared in the El Paso Herald in December of 1898.  Though its ostensible subject is a certain Mayor Magoffin, my father’s hulking image dominates the frame. He’s the only clean-shaven man in the picture, and his hair, while not long, is a leonine mass of what must have been golden curls. There’s a broad-brimmed Stetson in his left hand and a Winchester rifle in his right. He’s wearing an oilskin duster and has an air of regal authority that utterly belies his twenty-two years.

Caleb McRae was fierce and fair and never backed down, and in a few short years led the taming of El Paso. By the turn of the century, his life had become routine. He put away garden-variety bad guys, became the youngest Elder of the First Baptist Church, and prayed for the chance to do something great for the glory of God.

While it might seem to be a conventional Western, the story soon enough takes a highly unconventional twist. And while is begins in the last days of the Wild West, it ends in Las Vegas in 1955, the year of my birth.