1 – What’s your latest book about?
My latest novel, The Shuddering, is a play on the classic horror trope--a group of friends are having a final hurrah at a cabin in the woods... only to have things go horribly, fatally wrong.
2 – Who’s your favorite author and/or what’s your favorite book?
I try to keep the stuff I read pretty diverse, but I do love Stephen King. Full Dark No Stars is the first 'favorite' that comes to mind.
3 – What’s your favorite aspect of writing?
The ability to create something from nothing is pretty incredible. You start out with a blank screen and end up with characters who have in-depth histories, who have hopes and desires as real as any person you'd meet on the street. If that isn't magic, then I fail to see how magic can exist.
4 – Any good anecdotes about being a writer?
There's a line in Fight Club that pretty much sums up how I became a professional writer: "It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything." I spent a decade trying to break into the industry with work I thought would sell. I was writing for the market, not for myself, and I was continuously rejected. And then, one day, I discovered that I could self-publish the novel I was currently working on (Seed), via Amazon and B&N, etc. For me, that was liberation; liberation from query letters and crossing my fingers for acceptance. I said "screw it" and wrote what I wanted to write... and suddenly there it was, the career I'd wanted for so long.
5 – What was the most helpful writing advice you've ever received?
Write what you want to read. If you aren't passionate about what you're writing, readers won't be excited to read it.
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