Q: In one sentence, tell me something that describes you as a person?
A: I love to structure my time around to-do lists, and my favorite to-do items are usually something like ‘finish Daredevil Season 2 on Netflix.’
Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?
A: So far I’ve officially published two novels and novelette.
Q: Do you have an upcoming release? If yes, tell me the title and impending release date.
A: On June 21, 2016, I’m releasing Book 2 of my space-western trilogy. Book 1 is called ‘Idyll’ and Book 2 is called ‘The Wilds.’
Q: If you could “create” your own genre of what you write, what would you call your books?
A: ‘Here Come the Feels’ Speculative Fiction. With my novels and short stories, I have hopped from one ‘speculative’ genre to the next—Paranormal/Horror to Near-Future Sci-Fi to Post-Apocalyptic to Dystopian. The common threads to all of these stories seems to be: I get inspired by what I consider to be a ‘cool idea;’ then I get interested in trying to flesh out intriguing characters with genuine emotions revolving around these unlikely circumstances.
Q: Without quoting your back cover synopsis, tell me about the last book you published.
A: That would be Idyll, which is about two space-rancher brothers who find themselves on a planet that might be completely deserted. Eventually they meet two sisters, and things get complicated. At the same time, all four of them are trying to figure out what exactly decimated their home world.
Q: What is the last book that you read? (Not counting anything you wrote)
A: I just finished Supernormal by Stuart Kenyon, it’s a sort of near-future thriller with two main characters who have Asperger’s syndrome and autism. Very well written and exciting! I’m also working my way through the audio book of Reamde by Neal Stephenson.
Q: When writing, do you have a system or something you plan, or do you just write?
A: I’m a big proponent of outlining, at least loosely. I do a first draft that is very ‘sketchy,’ with lots of incomplete sentences, to see if the story makes sense from beginning to end. Then I go back and rework characters or patch-up plot holes before I put a lot of time in making sure the wording is right.
Q: Why do you write?
A: It’s fun! I’ve been making up stories since I was a five-year-old playing in a dirt hole with G.I. Joes. It’s great that we live in an era where storytellers can put their stories out there to find an audience who will appreciate them.