Write what you know and would like to read.
When did you start writing?
I began writing shortly after I graduated from high school in 1997.
What made you decide to publish your first book?
I saw Lindy Zart had self-published her first book and began plans to do so.
What motivates you to write?
I believe the more someone writes the better writer the person will be.
Do you ever feel frustrated with your work?
Yes, whenever I get like that, I just put it aside. Then, I'll return to it after thinking the story through.
What makes you keep writing when you get frustrated?
When writing my first book, I kept telling myself that I can do it. With the first book now done and published, I tell myself “I've done it once, and I can do it again.”
How do you get over writer's block?
I either work on another WIP, read, or play video games.
How do you handle negative reviews of your books?
So far, I've only received one negative review for my first book. I was angry at first, but I'm using it for motivation. I believe all authors should do so. I've also learned that you can't make everyone happy.
There's a lot of distractions around, especially with social media, how do you block it all out and write?
I believe social media is the biggest distraction for most writers especially if they are self published authors like myself. I try to keep away from my smartphone and tablet. I try to do most of my writing late at night when most people are sleeping.
What do you enjoy, outside of writing?
I collect baseball cards. At the time of this interview, I own 61,807 baseball cards. Also at the time of this interview, I've been copying the paper inventory into computer files. I also am a DVD collector owning hundreds of DVD's of movies, television shows, miniseries, and sporting events.
What's something about you that most people don't know?
I am a fan of professional wrestling. I have an interesting(maybe disturbing) item on my bucket list. I want to visit as many graves of US Presidents as possible. Somehow, if I were to win the lottery, one of the first things I would do would be go on a road trip doing this.
Have you ever had to rewrite portions of a book because the characters decided to be someone else than you intended?
I've rewrote the beginnings of both of my first two books, not because of the characters, but because the I didn't like how the beginnings were written.
Where do you come up with the names for your stories?
I try to think outside of the box when thinking of story names. When it came to naming my first book Emergence, I used a thesaurus until I saw the word Emergence and liked how it sounded.
Did you ever think you'd be a published author?
Until I discovered self-publishing, I never thought I would be a published author. Publishing a book is something I can say I had on my bucket list, and now, I have crossed off that list.
What are you working on currently? -Title -Date of Release –
Adjudication(Book #2 of The Machine Chronicles) Release Date: Spring 2016
Where did you get the idea for it?
With nearly half of Emergence dealing with baseball, I wanted to stay from baseball as much as possible with Adjudication. I decided to turn to politics as a main topic of the story. There is some baseball in the story especially at the end to set up Book #3 of the series.
When is the cover reveal?
I've talk to a couple cover artist, but I don't know when I'll have a cover reveal.
Do you ever write characters you hate?
In Emergence, there are two characters I wrote with the clear intent to have the reader hate them. Jade Harper(Ryne McIntyre's girlfriend when he pitched for the Chicago Cougars) was intended to be set up as a bitch, someone who was attracted to fame. I want readers to despise her. The other is Julian Machiavellian(one of Dr. Emilie McIntyre's assistants thrust upon on her by her boss, Dr. Harold Gant) is a person that most people know who gets away with doing whatever he/she wants to do. Trust me. We all know someone like this.
Dr. Harold Gant is a character that didn't turn out like how I wanted him to be. (I'm surprised no one got the joke about his name: Harry Gant=arrogant)
Who is your favorite character that you've written?
That would would be Christopher Richman, Ryne McIntyre's best friend introduced in the first part of Emergence. I believe every superhero needs a best friend. This was a character that wasn't originally planned to be in Emergence. The original plan was to be introduced at the beginning of Adjudication. I thought I would set him up to meet Ryne as kids and then have him come back into his life near the end of Emergence.
What was your first published book?
Emergence, the first book of The Machine Chronicles.
How do you feel about it now?
Sometimes, I wish I can go back and rewrite parts of it.
Where did you get the idea for your books?
Real life events, TV shows and movies.
Were there any scenes in it that were difficult for you to write?
It was the ending chapters of Emergence. I knew what the final scenes would be, but it was difficult for me to get there.
Do you have a favorite genre to write?
I plan on writing in a couple different genres before I decide which one is my favorite.
Is there a type of genre you refuse to write?
Anything that involves gay characters. It's not because of the lifestyle; it's just something I'm not familiar with.
Do you prefer your books in print or e-book format?
Both have their advantages. E-books are relatively cheap and more convenient. Sometimes, I like the feel of a book in my hands, flipping through the pages, seeing them on a bookshelf.
What are you currently reading?
I do my reading in spurts. Right now, I'm 37% into Mountains Climbed by Phoebe Alexander.
What is your favorite book?
I really don't have one at the moment.
Who is your favorite author?
I take inspiration from CM Wright for how she writes characters who have real problems.
Do you have any excerpts from any of your books (published and WIPs) that you'd like to share with us?
This is my favorite scene from Emergence. It is also the first scene I imagined for the book. Although, I did not originally have Wendi killed in this scene.
The siblings were about a block away from Ryne's apartment when it happened. Three individuals came out of the shadows of the surrounding buildings. They attacked both Ryne and Wendi. Ryne did his best to protect his sister, but Wendi was pushed aside as the attackers focused their assault on Ryne. His fighting skills were a bit rusty, so the three attackers were too much for him to fight off. They had him down, and once he was beaten unconscious, they went after his left arm trying to cause major damage to his pitching arm and nearly guaranteeing he would never pitch again. When they were satisfied with the damage they had done, they were going to leave but noticed Wendi had watched them beat her brother and caused sufficient damage to his pitching arm. The ruthless attackers approached her. Wendi got off the cold ground and tried to make her getaway. However, she was chased into a nearby alley. As this was occurring, Ryne was starting to regain consciousness; he heard two gunshots and one of the attackers say, “Let's get outta here. We did our job.”
Adjudication will not have a prologue. I decided to begin the book with something I call Emergence Aftermath(this is take place immediately after the last chapter of Emergence)(The following has not been edited):
Crews dug through the debris of the warehouse and discovered an unexpected surprise.
“There's a body in this mess. Well, I think it's a body.”
Other members of the crew helped to dig out the supposed body. Completely uncovered, one of the crew recognized it.
“I think it's him...it. Whatever it was,” exclaimed the crew member.
“What?” asked another crew member.
“The Machine. You know. That thing that helped rescued those hostages at that grocery store.”
The crew's foreman came over to see what the commotion was all about.
“What do we have here?”
He looked at the discovery and recognized it himself.
“The Machine. It's The Machine. I've heard that it was rumored to be involved in this warehouse collapse.”
The men removed the helmet to see who or what was in the suit.
“Well, I'll be a... There is a person in this thing. I wonder who he is. More important, is he still alive?”
The rest of the crew came over to see what the excitement was about.
“Does he look familiar to anyone?” asked the foreman.
Everyone shook their heads until someone blurted out a name.
“Looney, Dylan Looney. Yeah, I'm sure of it. It's Dylan Looney. He was implicated in that baseball scandal where some of the Chicago Cougars team threw that playoff series. He was one of the players who were given lifetime suspensions as punishment. Hmm, I wonder why he was in this suit.”
Police detectives were brought in to investigate. Crime scene investigators took photos of both the scene and the body, which was not disturbed any further after the police was contacted. Also, physical evidence was gathered. The coroner was then called in to pick up the body, so an autopsy could be performed to determine the cause of death. With no identification found at the scene, dental records were used to confirm the body as Dylan's.
With a back-load of work, the coroner put Dylan's body in cold storage after it was positively identified, and he would perform the autopsy first thing in the morning. That following morning, the coroner reported to work and discovered Dylan's body was missing. There were no signs of whom or why the body was taken. This disappearance added to the mystery, a mystery that may or may not be ever solved.
I'm considering to use a platypire in a future WIP.