Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in France, and raised in various parts. As of the time of writing, I live just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve been writing since I was seven. School, and excellent mentors, helped me get better at it. One of the most excellent, impressive, and kind people I know, Judith Ortiz-Cofer, gave me the confidence to pursue my passion. Without her guidance, I’d still be a writer, but she put it in my head that it’s all possible.
I’ve written about ten books, the majority of which will (I hope) never see the light of day, haha. My published works include: Bag Men, Birds Are Not For the Cat, and on the landslide catwalk. Usually, I have trouble specifying the genre of an individual work. They tend to get a bit muddled, as I write how I think it should go. I respect genre fiction a great deal, having started out as a high fantasy writer (my biggest influence as a kid was the inimitable Tolkien). That being said, for my own work, I find the confines of genre to be more restrictive than helpful. For better or worse, I prefer to allow a story to weave in and out of (and between) boxes as it sees fit.
A lot of the drive behind me actually getting around to publishing my own, personal work over the past couple of years I owe to my great friend and colleague, Silas Jackson. Despite being separated by over a thousand miles of physical distance, he and I have written several novellas, dozens of poems, and various other projects together. Ridiculous understatement: I greatly enjoy our co-authoring ventures.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest blasphemy against fiction is entitled “Bag Men.” Silas and I belched up this idea after his girlfriend asked the question, “What if the zombie virus evolved over time?” It was Silas who suggested we take a fresh look at the zombie genre, introducing what we call “Sleepers” (zombies that can talk, act, and think almost like humans).
Beginning in the year 2069, Bag Men is a series of short (and “longer” short) episodes that, collectively, tell the story of the Republic of Sacramento, its citizens, and any other colorful characters we feel like shining a spotlight on. The Republic is under constant siege by hostile human territories (including the Kingdom of Yuma) and, of course, the Sleepers. In response to the growing number of threats against the city, the government created a super agency–think Homeland Security on crack–called the Bureau of Public Health. This rather innocuously-named entity fields Agents who wield supreme authority in times of crisis (read: all the time). Colloquially named “Bag Men,” the representatives of the Bureau are who decide whether or not you’re a threat to society, whether you live or die.
As a writer, I find this setting incredibly freeing for several reasons, one of the biggest being that I can create new and interesting cultures and societies, much like I would in a fantasy world. Except, these characters have the added benefit of all of our own world’s history, legacy, biases, and so on. Populating this place with what I imagine people would look like, given decades of survivalism, has been refreshing, to say the least. Silas and I can thus ask any number of questions about human nature, as we like to do, while keeping the focus squarely on the life and times of these three-dimensional characters.
We can only hope that we did the vision justice, and that our readers will let us know what they think.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sit at my computer in the nude, often enough, bum right on the mesh of the rolling office chair.
(Is he joking?)
I guess I don’t have any unusual habits. I write whenever I can (early morning, late at night) and however I can (keyboard, notebook, Best Buy receipts..).
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is phenomenal. Humorous, light, yet somehow deep and thoughtful. There is no one quite like him. He was gone too soon. But I’ll blab about him until the day I croak, so he’s not forgotten.
Otherwise, Neil Gaiman is always good. H.P. Lovecraft is the godfather of horror (the Internet has popularized his Old One, Cthulhu). Ursula K. Le Guin’s Wizard of Earthsea is beautiful. Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (the first book of which Hollywood turned into a sub-mediocre disaster).
As a fantasy author, this last one goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: J.R.R. Tolkien. My favorite poem comes from The Lord of the Rings. “All that is gold does not glitter…” (Bonus: we share most of our initials!)
I could keep going, but those are the big ones.
What are you working on now?
Bag Men, always Bag Men. It’s consuming every facet of my life. In a good way. Really.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still working on that front, so I’ll plead the Fifth, here. Don’t want to muddy anyone’s mind with bad advice.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m not about to say anything you haven’t already heard, probably, but this advice is universally appropriate, I think. You just need to find a way to apply it to your particular circumstances. Easier said than done right?
Disclaimer: what the hell do I know, anyway? Alright, here we go.
Be real with yourself, but don’t allow anyone to discourage you. In other words, know your own limitations, know what drives you, know what pitfalls lie ahead, and work to bust through those ceilings. You can’t cure or even treat a disease that’s been left undiagnosed. Observe. Learn.
Be brave: go to writer meetings, and get your work workshopped. Bend where you can in an effort to improve your work, but don’t break. Never sacrifice your unique flavor; instead, pick up useful techniques to enhance it.
Blog, post some stuff online. Dabble in Twitter, Facebook, and other services to help you tune into what your readership wants. Listen to constructive comments. Ignore the hurtful, stupid garbage thrown your way. Remember, your writing is both a piece of yourself and something external to yourself. If you want to be seen for who you are, as a human and a professional, you can’t be afraid to face an incredible amount of rejection.
The best advice is to find where your target audience hangs out and ask questions, of them and of the people providing them with their current entertainment. You can always learn something from everyone.
Find a good mentor. This will be someone you can truly identify with, and respect beyond most others. Usually someone a bit older than you, this person can give you some guidance as you jump through the limitless number of fiery hoops set between you and success. A mentor, by the way, doesn’t have to be someone in your field. They should know where you’re coming from, though, or else they won’t be *your* mentor. Again, listen, learn.
But don’t give up. Never give up. If you believe in yourself, do it. Keep going.
Finally, the litmus test is the surest way to know you’re a writer: ask yourself, “Would I write, even if I knew no one would ever buy my work, even if no one (except for my mother/brother/grandma) would ever read my stuff?”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Build a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life.” Terry Pratchett wrote that.
What are you reading now?
“Sun of Suns,” a unique fantasy story with hints of weird sci-fi, by Karl Schroeder. I’ve never read a world even remotely resembling this one. It’s almost like the world itself is the main character. Would definitely recommend.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More Bag Men. It’s an epic project, believe me.
Beyond that, I’m working on a horror novella, with accompanying short stories. And I’ve got a fantasy satire novel in the works, working title “The Britches of War.”
After? Eh, I dunno. Waiting to see if half the fun.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett: my favorite
2. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson, mostly because it’s a huge book, and I could probably spend years dissecting it in detail
3. A Wizard of Earthsea, so I could be motivated to build a boat and get the hell off of that island, and so I’d feel okay about failing in the attempt
4. An H.P. Lovecraft compilation, to scare myself to sleep at night
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