1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
It varies day-to-day. Some mornings I'll wake up with an idea kicking around in my head and I'll write until my brain starts to fizzle. Other days it's a struggle and words don't start revving up until later in the day. On rare occasions (and my favorite) three o'clock in the morning is best - no distractions.
2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
99+ percent is done on my computer. If i'm not around my computer I'll certainly jot ideas down on paper, but for writing I'm most comfortable in my office. That's where I have the least amount of distractions - and I do get distracted easily.
3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Anything and everything. I've got a very active, and warped, imagination. A breeze can feel like a ghost's touch, a squirrel dodging a car can be a contest, pretty much anywhere my mind takes me can be an inspiration. I saw a crack in a wall once and wrote a story about a good wall vs. an evil wall. It was so bad it's one of a very few stories I deleted all traces of, but still, that wall inspired me.
4: Do you set yourself goals when you sit down to write such as word count?
Not anymore. I used to set a goal of 3000 words per day, but I found I was getting too caught up in meeting that goal and became less concerned with quality. It was a bit self-defeating because I spent more time deleting and rewriting than if I had just written less words. I just have to make sure I write everyday (Monday through Friday) which isn't a problem most of the time.
5: Being a self published author how do you come up with your cover art?
"Silent Kill" is published by L&L Dreamspell, a POD but traditional publisher. One day I got an email with an attachment saying here's your cover. I loved it. It was better than the visions I had. I'm guessing that if I had a problem with it we could have talked it out. They're a very approachable and author friendly publisher. I feel very fortunate to have stumbled upon them.
6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
I can't not write. A writer is something I've wanted to be for a lot of years. When I worked in the court system, things fell into place where I could walk away. I jumped at the chance and have been writing full time ever since.
7: Do you own an ebook reading devise?
Not yet. I'm still old school. I love the feel of a book in my hands and want to manually turn the pages. I've gotten to the point where I see a lot of advantages to an ereader and it's just a matter of time before I buckle. So far I've read three ebooks on my computer and I found it very annoying and uncomfortable.
8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
Right now I'm reading "The Given Day" by Dennis Lehane - I highly recommend it. Some of my favorite authors are Harlan Ellison, Andrew Vachss, Stephen King, Neil Geiman, Walter Mosely to name just a very few.
9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I'm beginning to be swayed toward them. I've seen some really good ones and some really schlocky ones. But even some of the good ones haven't gotten a lot of hits. I think what's holding me back is that I've never heard about a person buying a book because they saw a trailer. I see you make trailers - convince me.
10: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
I'm working on the third Louise Miller novel (the second has been accepted by L&L Dreamspell and will be released next year), I'm also playing with two horror novels, and dabbling in a couple of short stories.
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