The Reb Riley Files

   

Tales from the Rook's
Branch Tavern

   

The Dread Naughts

   

The Honey Hunters

*Which genres do you prefer to write in?
Science fiction is my favorite, fantasy, and horror (in that order).

*Why should anybody read your books when there are so many others written by famous authors?
Most people enjoy books and stories that transport them to a place they've never been before. They enjoy clever characters overcoming great challenges with satisfying endings. Many people have told me that my writing is as good as anything they've read. If you begin to read anything I've written, I believe you'll see what I mean.

*Many authors believe they have original ideas that no one else has used. Can you give us an example of one of your original ideas?
In a story called "Vineland Too" in my Rook's Branch Tavern novel, I have a man trapped on the back of a gigantic worm that bites into the top of a towering quarter-mile-high vine; the creature glows with blinding fluorescent light, and the skin on its back splits open. Creatures looking like fairies split in half crawl along the worm's back as a single wing unfurls. Hundreds launch themselves into the air for a long plunge. If a right and left half make contact during the fall, they form into one fairy-like creature and take flight on gossamer wings. Things don't go well for those who don't connect.

*Why did you become a writer?
I hope that my writing is enjoyed by readers alive today and readers who aren't born yet. I like to think of it as a gift that will outlive me.
       I'm a storyteller by nature. If I don't write them down, no one will ever hear them.

*If you come up with a new idea to write about, what do you do?
When it first happened, I thought I'd write down my amazing idea in the morning, but the next morning it was gone. Now, I keep a notepad nearby. If I get an idea, I force myself to get up and write it down. I've even written down entire stories when I've had a cluster of ideas.

*What is your preferred writing environment? For example, while writing, do you prefer silence or music, do you prefer a blank wall or a picture in front of you, and so forth?
I do most of my critiquing by day and my creative writing by night. I enjoy music, but being an audio learner, it's hard for me to tune it out during the creative process. Music may inspire me to write something. I don't mind writing while the TV is on if it's a program that relies on dialogue to sell itself. That's easier for me to tune in and out.

*What do you prefer to eat and/or drink, if anything, while writing?
At night, a caffeinated diet cola helps to keep me awake.

*If you have a favorite character from your novels or stories, how did that individual come to be a favorite?
My favorite character in my stories and novels is Reb Riley, a young vice cop who disguises herself as a working girl on the streets of mid-century Hollywood. She and her vice squad partners bust johns and janes soliciting her during a worldwide pandemic. She's been featured in over forty stories dealing with unusual and paranormal crimes.
       Years ago, there was a TV program called Kolchak: The Night Stalker about an investigative reporter who had supernatural encounters that he bumbled his way through. I enjoyed the show and asked myself if someone heroic, competent, and clever could investigate unusual and paranormal events. Reb Riley was my answer.

*If, throughout all of history, you could have anyone co-write a book with you, who would you choose?
Even though I admire many authors, I think Dan Simmons would be my first choice. I believe his first horror novel won the Bram Stoker Award. His first fantasy novel won the World Fantasy Award. His first science fiction novel, Hyperion, won either the Hugo or the Nebula Award. Go ahead, name another author who's created the world's best novel in three different genres?

*Mention a life experience that has influenced your writing.
Only one? I could list a hundred.
       When I was in college, I tore the cartilage in my knee in a volleyball tournament. I ended up having knee surgery that nearly cost me my life when a blood clot was released and passed through my heart and lodged in my lung, cutting off the blood supply and causing a portion of my lung to die. It was the gauge by which I measure all pain. I learned years later that the doctor gave me a 50% chance of survival. That experience gave me a lot of time to pray to God and prepare for death. It strengthened my faith as a Christian. It convinced me to take a more active role in my future. My roommates threw me a party when I returned to school two months later. That's where I met the woman who would become my wife. I was taking a more active role in my future, and the same applies to my writing.

*What's the most memorable thing anyone said about your writing?
Several people have told me that my writing reminds them of different authors, but being told that it was better than anything they've ever read is pretty memorable.

*If I could only read one thing that you'd written, what would you suggest?
The Honey Hunters is my favorite story that was made into a book. I entered the original in the Writers of the Future Contest. It made it to the quarter finals of the selection process without being published. I learned later that this meant it was in the top 30 of 3,000 entries. Since that time, I corrected some missing commas, and I think I added an extra f to of. I wonder if that kept it from being published.