1. When and where (or how) did your journey as an author begin?

My writing journey began as one door closed and another opened. I’ve played and written rock and roll my entire life. When the gigs dropped off, I had to redirect the creative energy. I’d tried writing long stories before, but never thought I had the patience to write a novel-length piece. One day, I locked myself in the basement with my laptop and wrote something that had been bouncing around in my head. After a few hours, I had the beginnings of a story that became the second novel I self-published. Reading it now, I can see all the reasons why it didn’t work, but the journey had begun.

2. What is (or has been) your proudest moment (or accomplishment) as a writer? 

My proudest moment came when Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine published one of my short stories. This magazine is filled with brilliant writers, and for that moment, I stood among them. 

3. Who or what is your greatest inspiration? 

My goal is to get a traditional book deal. I didn’t come all this way to sell 200 books and pat myself on the back. My Arthur Blade spy-fi books will remain self-published, but I’ve got two manuscripts that I’m trying to sell.

4. What is (has been) your toughest challenge and how do you (have you) tackle(d) it? 

Question four = see question three. Getting an agent and getting published are the tallest mountains I’ve ever tried to climb. Let’s face it, the market is saturated, and we already have Baldacci, King, and Patterson. So who needs another novelist? To be noticed, you have to write something that these other great writers haven’t. It can be done, and new writers are popping up every year. It takes the right storyline and the right skills. Maybe my current book is the one to get me there. Maybe it’s the next. It doesn’t matter. I write every day, and every day I get better.

5. What is next for you – what are you (or will you be) working on?

I am currently overhauling my latest novel. The storyline is strong, and the feedback has been good, but I believe I’ve identified a few key missing pieces. The biggest one is changing the protagonist to a woman. A lot more changes are required than just flipping he/him to she/her. A woman reacts to situations very differently. Having raised three daughters offered me a little insight into our differences.

6. What would you advise someone wanting to write in your genre? Or, what would you advise writers still on the journey toward publication?

My advice to any writer is to write every day and read constantly. Don’t wait for someone to call you an author: become one now. Every novel is a textbook. Read some editing books from authors like Stephen King (On Writing) and Sol Stein (How To Grow A Novel). Watch videos by your favorite authors on how they achieved success. Every one of them knew failure, every one of them received stacks of rejections. What made these people successful was their refusal to give up. They just kept honing their craft. If you are driven to write, you will find the time. Most importantly, don’t write for the success. Write because you love to write. If you don’t embrace the journey, you will never make it over the mountain.

It has been my experience that writers’ groups can accelerate the learning of any writer. Learn to take constructive feedback from others on the same road, and it will be easier to survive what waits around the next bend.