Q: What the hell is wrong with you?

A: Where do I begin?

 

Q: So, what are these books about?

A: The Shores of Utopia is a romantic science-fiction thriller. The story begins in the near future just as terrorism is gripping the city in fear. Cathryn is a young woman from the future visiting New York City to collect data for a possible first contact event. Her foreknowledge of certain events arouses the suspicion of a relentless FBI agent, Vivian Wu. She needs to avoid Agent Wu in order to escape before an atomic detonation destroys New York City.

The Utopian Arena continues the story. Thomas Finn is a power-hungry narcissist. He’s never accomplished anything on his own, and is jealous of Professor Pryce because he has accomplished many great things. He orchestrates a political maneuver that puts him in the council chief’s office, unfortunately, that gives him control of the time traveling device. What could be more dangerous than a vindictive time traveler?  

  

Q: How did you come with the idea for The Shores of Utopia?

A: The idea for The Shores of Utopia originated from a dream I had about Nicole Kidman, just after I saw her in the film, To Die For. Calm yourselves; the dream was G-rated.

In my dream, Nic and I were leaving a movie theater together when some dude pulled out a knife and demanded money. Me, being a badass ironworker manly man, instinctively sought to protect her, but she chuckled and extracted a tiny device from her purse. She waved it at him, and the thief turned into a bloody puddle of steaming entails and burnt organs on the cobblestone alley floor. It was the most realistic dream I’ve ever had. I woke up at 3:00am, made a sandwich, and began typing.

When I originally wrote dialogue for Cathryn, I imagined NK speaking her lines. Since then, Cathryn has evolved considerably, and my mind sees someone different. 

 

Q: What happened to The Colony Mission?

A: The working title for book two was The Colony Mission. I had originally intended for Cathryn Delaney, my protagonist from the first book, to continue her growth in the story. She still does, but the other character’s story arcs were more interesting. The first book had an impossible situation to overcome, but for the second book, I decided to bring Finn to the foreground, and make him an all out bad guy. Simply put, I changed the focus completely. The Utopian Arena perfectly describes the plot on many levels, just like The Shores of Utopia did for the first book.

 

Q: How do you deal with writer’s block?

A: First rule is to stay off social media! All writers need to allocate some time building their base, and it forces us to deal with the internet riffraff to some degree. Other than that, it’s best to avoid the socials altogether. They’re a colossal waste of time.

Force yourself. just write. If I dedicate distraction-free time for writing, the words flow. I have several stories in the works, so regardless of my mood, I’ll write something accordingly. For instance, reading the news these past few years inspired me to write an assassination story. Sometimes it’s garbage, sometimes it’s gold. The trick is to keep writing – and stay off social media!

 

Q: How do you handle negative book reviews?

A: At the moment, my reviews have been positive. I’m not delusional; I have no doubt I’ll have some negativity to look forward to, especially in this judgmental world. I’ll take them with a grain of salt. I need to remember that what makes for an enjoyable book will differ from person to person, and it’s subjective.

 

Q: Do you write for the market?  Do you try to please the reader?

A: I have no idea what the market is, was, or will be. I write what I want; I write what moves me. As far as giving the reader a payoff, absolutely! Satisfying readers is foremost on my mind. I do write for myself first, especially with The Shores of Utopia, but I work hard to please the reader, yes. Someone pointed out that my books read like movies. I’ll take that as a compliment. 

 

Q: Do you plot your stories, or are you a panster?

A: I started out as a panster, mostly because I didn’t know how to frame a story properly. I let my imagination run wild. I’d start with an idea, and  see where it led. Eventually, I’d have enough story to cut the tangents that slowed the action down. I learned that it wastes time. It’s fun, sure, and it creates genuine surprises, but I’ve changed my approach. Now, I plot my stories carefully. It saves time, and I find it easier overall. Sometimes, I’ll intentionally take a story to left field, just to see what happens. Sometimes, I’ll write something crazy and unexpected, then force myself to make it work. Other times, I’ll have a basic outline in my head before I even begin, and I’ll plot the entire book out; I’ll write a one paragraph synopsis for every chapter. For me, the point is to have fun. I have no deadlines to meet, and no one to impress—except you, the reader. 

 

Q: Can you give me an example of left field?

A: After my first draft of The Shores of Utopia was completed, I wrote a synopsis, just for practice, and realized my story was lacking. I rewrote my synopsis, but added plots that weren’t in my book, just to make the synopsis itself interesting—something I’d want to read. I basically wrote a synopsis for a book that didn’t yet exist. Shores was originally a straight up romantic thriller, but after I added the subplot about terrorism, and especially the FBI’s involvement, the tension pushed the book to a new level. When I created Special Agent Vivian Wu, the story took off. She’s an important part of the feel of the book. She became my favorite character and the most fun to write.

 

Q: What’s your favorite part about the writing process.

A: Revision. After the first draft is completed, there are usually boring spots, things that drag, things that may not fit, and plots that may meander to oblivion, and mistakes galore. Revisions are the fun part. After the second pass, I go through the story again to fix the mechanics and improve the flow. If I have to revise again, I do so. I literally go sentence by sentence, and cut the unnecessary bits. After I come to a point where I feel my story is as good as I can get it, I throw it to my pack of beta readers to tear apart. They usually find things I missed, and their suggestions are often adopted. I’ll revise it again. I’ll self-edit again. After it’s at the point where I cannot find fault with it, I send it off to a professional editor I adore so she could see how poorly written my crap is. She’ll point out where my story is lacking, what needs to be fixed, and ultimately, polish it until it’s shiny and new.

 

Q: Who is your editor?

A: Kristen Hamilton. You can reach her through her website, Kristen Corrects. Her site if full of writing tips and common mistakes to avoid. Kristen’s site is a wonderful resource for writers of all levels.

 

Q: Do you listen to music when you write?

A: All the time. Typically, I put a classical or jazz playlist on—usually instrumental. Sometimes, I’ll put my favorite albums on, but I wind up listening to it and ignoring my work. Sometimes, it pays off. I tend to type in time if something up tempo comes on.

There’s a point in the book, one of my left field moments, where Cathryn is taking Michael somewhere special in Australia. As I was writing it, I had no idea where they were headed. Kate Bush’s The Dreaming came on, and it clicked. The resort became the Dreaming, an underwater getaway where there’s nothing to do but dive, eat and boink. The Utopian Arena, my second book in the series, has a scene where Cathryn works out to Emerson, Lake & Powell’s version of Mars, the Bringer of War, solely because it was on when I wrote the scene.

 

Q: What’s your favorite and least favorite aspect of publishing?

A: Aside from the writing process itself, my favorite part of the business end is meeting and conversing with readers. My least favorite part is self-marketing. I’m tempted to partner up with a slick business-minded marketing guru, but I don’t know any, and I have trust issues that prevents me from throwing money at unknown marketers.

 

Q: How many readers have you connected with?

A: Not many. As my sales start to creep up, I’m anticipating a little more engagement. At one point I’ll do a blog tour. Creative folks are my tribe.

 

Q: Is this an FAQ section, or an imaginary interview?

A: I’ve been asked every one of these questions (mostly). And yes, they are pretty much in order of frequency. Well, actually not, although the first question gets asked the most—by far.

 

Q: Are there types of scenes you find difficult to write?

A: Love scenes do not come naturally—especially written from the woman’s POV. One of my alpha readers complained that there were no love scenes in my romantic thriller. I countered that they were implied, and showed her where they were. “A girl wants to read about sex, Charlie!”      I relented and added a few scenes where I felt they needed to be. I tried to make them tasteful and refused to include graphic language. There’s no throbbing or thrusting in my books, and nothing is moist, flowery, or girthy. Oddly, on the very first page, the story begins in the shower, right after a love-making session. Washing the gunk off is assumed. Compromise. There are a few more in The Utopian Arena.

 

Q: Who are your dream actors in the film version?

A: The film version! I wish. I’m guessing that casting directors would know a tad more than I do about the film racket and who to cast, etc. Having stated that, the cast in my head is constantly changing. As noted earlier, when I started the book, I imagined Nicole Kidman as Cathryn, Samuel L Jackson as Pryce, Jodie Foster as Denise. It’s been three decades since I began the book, so the dream cast has obviously evolved to actors better suited.  I’ll leave it to the readers to form their own opinions. 

I’d be more concerned that the screenwriter(s) would change the story to make it more marketable. It seems like every damn movie has to climax with a fight scene. To be honest, action scenes, while sometimes necessary, and the most boring. It’s lazy writing. The Shores of Utopia, filmed properly, would be six to ten hours long. I’m not naive, I know that’s not happening in the world where my movie would need to compete with billion-dollar weekends of Marvel blockbusters. (My movie – ha)  For some reason, I think a female director would understand the layers of my story more.

 

Q: What’s your biggest fear?

A: A determined seven-foot spider, driving in an ice storm with an impatient teamster behind me, and pissing off Gina Carano.

Also. I’m afraid that the vast world I’ve created will disappear the moment I check out. The characters I’ve created exist only in my head. When I die, they die. If enough people read about them, they’ll live on. It sounds weird, but it’s the truth.

I’m further motivated by my sense of mortality. I’m not afraid to die, in fact, there’s been so little joy in my life that I don’t care. Seriously. I’m more afraid that I won’t have enough time to finish all of my projects. It’s something I’ve been aware of more consistently since friends began dying of old age. So, ready or not, I’m putting my books out there. Be kind.

 

Q: Do you still write music?

A: Not as much as I’d like, but yes. I’ll be releasing three albums as soon as they’re properly mixed and mastered. In 2019, the hearing in my right ear became muddled—just like that. It sounds like my head is underwater. And for a little extra fun, the tinnitus kicked in. Imagine hearing a Bb sine wave blaring in one ear, and another Bb sine wave in the other, but 5 octaves higher. Let’s not stop there, let’s add some scratchy white noise to the mix. Yeah, that’s it, that’s my new reality. All day, all night, until the end of time. Fun fun fun.

Regardless, I still maintain a modest project studio where I record my own music, or the music of any other artist that’s unfortunate enough to find themselves in my secret musical lair. I’ve written tons of songs with lyricist and singer Marcus Simeone. I’ve unofficially named my studio Deaf Charlie’s Doghouse. I thought it’d be funny to run a studio as a semi-deaf audio engineer with tinnitus. I do it for free. I do it for fun. I do it for love.

 

Q: Will The Utopian Arena finish the series, or are there more books planned?

A: The third and final book of the series will be called Beyond the Veil. It’s about 2/3 finished, and I absolutely love how it’s turning out. Yes, I plotted the entire story out.

 

Q: Are there any planned novels outside of the Utopia universe?

A: I have several. I will tell you about them when I release them. I also write lots of shorter stuff. You can read some of them on the Stories page.

 

Q: Why did you decide to self-publish instead of going the traditional route?

A: I would’ve loved to have had my book published traditionally. I’d be lying to claim otherwise. I queried The Shores of Utopia to a handful of dream agents, but they passed. It wasn’t the rejections that deterred me. In my case, time was more of a factor. Issues in my life forced me to get my story out there sooner, so I self-published.

Honestly, I’m not the least bit concerned with advances. I much prefer freedom over money, so I do what I want when I want. I’ve carefully designed my stories to build, whereas agents insist on hooking the reader on the first page. I also don’t concern myself with established guidelines or word count. If an agent instructed me to cut 20,000 words to make my book more appealing for a publisher, I’d immediately drop them. (To be fair, it would be a sensible request for an agent to make, because Shores has almost 117,000 words, which is normally too high for a debut author in my genre.) Listen, if good folks are reading my stories, then I’m happy. It’s all I want. The old joke where the broke writer tells the rich guy at a dinner party that he has something the rich man doesn’t, namely, enough, applies to me.

Naturally, all of that previous bullshit changes if an agent shows some interest.

*** I’d like to add that the three sci-fi books are the only books I wanted to self publish. I wanted the stories told exactly so. I have my reasons; savvy readers will get it. The other planned books are not sci-fi, they’re more mainstream thrillers. I’ll query agents for those.

 

Q: Can you offer any advice to new writers?

A: Yeah, ask someone who knows what the hell they’re talking about. The tips I’d offer are obvious and often repeated elsewhere by folks smarter than me. The most important advice I could give is to have a space dedicated to writing, free from distractions. Read as many books as you can in your genre, and then read books not in your genre. Know what your fellow authors are up to, but don’t copy them. It’s crucial to develop your own voice. Learn the rules, then break them. Write something you’d love to read. If you have the urge to write, write. Never, as in not once, should you ever use A.I. in your writing. (The cover for The Utopian Arena currently has an A.I. character. I didn’t realize how frowned upon it is, and I’m currently arranging for a human model to portray Finn.) Read Stephen King’s book on writing called… I forget what it’s called, but it’s the best book on writing I’ve read.  

 

Q: On Writing?

A: Yes, his book on writing.

 

Q: Your comedy needs work.

A: Your questions suck.

 

Q: Do you give interviews?

A: Never. I have trust issues, apparently.