1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
I find that the best time for me is mid-morning to early afternoon, but since those hours conflict with my work schedule, I purchased a miniature voice recorder to capture any ideas I might have as they come up. Then after work I’ll sit down and write based on what has been recorded.
2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
All of my writing projects are done electronically, including outlines, drafts, and reference spreadsheets. For me, it just makes more sense to have everything available on a single medium.
3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Like every other writer, I draw from real life, but to completely immerse myself into a scene, I love to look for pictures on the internet that represent what I have in my mind’s eye. Visual cues help to stimulate my imagination and allow me to accurately describe what I envision for that particular setting.
4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
Stephen King says it best in his book “On Writing”, when he states that as writers; we need to force ourselves to write every day. Whether our goal is to reach a specific word count or to write for a certain amount of time really doesn’t matter, as long as you write.
5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
Currently I am only self-published, although I have high hopes that the novel I’m working on now will appeal to an agent and eventually be published in the traditional fashion. As far as my cover art is concerned, again I go back to visual representation. I want to convey as much information as I can with the pictures or artwork I select for the cover. To accomplish this, I summarize the story into a few short words, and then from there it’s just a matter of finding or creating the images that accurately depict those words.
6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
The lofty dream of making a million isn’t why I write. It’s about losing myself in my own stories as if I’m reading someone else’s book; flipping the pages as quickly as I can read to find out what happens next and when I’m finished with it, wanting to share it with everyone I know.
7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
Not yet, but I will by Christmas. I’ll be buying my wife a Kindle very shortly for her Christmas present.
8: Who are some of your favorite authors and what are you reading now?
Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, Robert Harris and Mario Puzo are the first that come to mind. There are plenty of other authors that I enjoy reading, but these four always seem to capture my attention. I’m currently reading “Tutankhamun, the book of shadows” by Nick Drake.
9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
Quite honestly, I haven’t thought much about them before, so I don’t have an opinion of whether I like them or not. I do not have any plans right now on creating any.
10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
Grey Skies Ahead” just seemed to fit the overall storyline. It was the first title I came up with and it just stuck. “Humanoids”, my current project, is still a working title, so it may yet be changed, but it too seems to encapsulate what the book is about. During the outlining process I was calling it “Mortal Lives”.
11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
Grey Skies Ahead” just seemed to fit the overall storyline. It was the first title I came up with and it just stuck. “Humanoids”, my current project, is still a working title, so it may yet be changed, but it too seems to encapsulate what the book is about. During the outlining process I was calling it “Mortal Lives”.
11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
“Humanoids” is my current project. It’s a Sci-Fi thriller set in the 22nd century and currently at around 46,000 words, or about halfway through the first draft. The synopsis is: “For generations, scientists fought to create artificial life. In 2020, they do just that. A century later, the craft has nearly been perfected. Humanoids are now common-place, walking among us in our day-to-day lives. They work, play and seek out the same thrills and success as we do. But who among us is human and who exactly is humanoid. Technology has blurred the lines between the two. Ethan Stawls, the notorious Body Shredder, somehow escapes from prison and is on the hunt for the reclusive, retired judge who sent him away. Lieutenant, Brian Stone and his team have been assigned the case. When they begin plucking at some loose strands they unravel a nightmarish mystery, hidden deep within the city government.”
My literary website has been moved to: http://home.comcast.net/~tommwiseman/
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