Just recently I got a review for Covenant on Amazon that said it was simple, that the language was very simple. It bothered me, because I think the themes of the book and the story are very mature, but I do have a very simple writing style so I understand the criticism. As a reader I get bored reading those twelve sentence, two paragraph descriptions that describe how something looks. I’m more interested in exploring the characters and their journeys.
The best compliment I’ve ever gotten was just recently, a friend of mine who moved to North Carolina messaged me that her thirteen year old son picked up her Kindle and read one of my books during a blackout. Even after the power came back on he kept reading, and a few days later she messaged me again to let me know that she told him he couldn’t read Covenant until he cleaned his room, which he promptly did!
The best compliment I’ve ever gotten was just recently, a friend of mine who moved to North Carolina messaged me that her thirteen year old son picked up her Kindle and read one of my books during a blackout. Even after the power came back on he kept reading, and a few days later she messaged me again to let me know that she told him he couldn’t read Covenant until he cleaned his room, which he promptly did!
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
So far everything in my books has come mostly from my imagination. Sometimes the characters are loosely based off of people I know, most of the times the characters react in ways I imagine myself reacting in the same situations. My next book will be a pretty healthy mix of fantasy and autobiography.
Can you tell us about your upcoming releases?If you have any.
My next book is called At The Wolf’s Door and that should be out in December. As I said, it will be kind of autobiographical as in the main characters are living a heightened, fantastical version of my childhood. After that, probably next summer, I have a more adult thriller about roommates and then I plan to finally hunker down and write this science-fiction book I’ve been talking about for years.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I read quite a bit. Lately I’ve been catching up on some movies I’ve missed. Those are really the two main things I like to do in between writing.
You have multiple personalities, describe some of them.
I wouldn’t say I have multiple personalities, just different versions of me. When I’m writing I’m not worried about anything. I’m very devil-may-care about what people think and just want to get my vision out to the world. When I’m not writing and alone, I get really worried that nobody is going to want to read what I’m working on, and if they do they won’t like it. Then when I’m around people I tend to be very funny and sometimes sarcastically self-depreciating. Those don’t really feel like separate people to me, but maybe from the outside looking in…
What made you decide to write your first book?
I was having one of those bouts of self-depreciation, where I didn’t think anyone would ever buy one of my screenplays and even if they did it would be so different I wouldn’t recognize it. I was getting ready to give up on writing when a friend suggested I try turning one of my scripts into a book. So I gave it a try and was pretty happy with the results. I went back to screenwriting after that initial book, but returned to books not long after and have been doing it ever since.
Do you have any strange writing habits?
In between the first and second drafts of a book I have to do the second draft of another book and write the first draft of a whole other book. It keeps me from getting bored with a project and gives me time to see each book with fresh eyes when I return to it.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play what characters?
I get asked that quite often and I never know what to say. I really like Jessica Chastain and think she would make a killer Claire Correa from Covenant. I always pictured Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Richard Jenkins as the leads in Snipe Hunt, even when I started writing it. For Terrorizing Jude I’ve said a couple of different people in different interviews but I think, at this point in time, I would want Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black. But then if I were casting a movie of one of my books and she was interested I would rewrite just about any character if Tatiana Maslany was interested enough.
Who are the authors that inspire you?
Richard Matheson is my first great love. His books are milestones in my development as a writer. I’m also a big fan of Richard Laymon and am constantly in awe at the magic and imagination of Neil Gaiman’s books. Recently I’ve discovered and fallen in love with Gillian Flynn. I cannot get enough of her books. She only has three but they are the most intelligent, absorbing, and suspenseful novels I’ve ever read.
Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
Thank you for being one of my readers! I can’t promise you’ll like everything I’ll ever write but I promise I will constantly challenge myself to do something a little bit different so that each book will be the best I can produce and hopefully be worth your time.
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