When I dusted off my collection in early ’07 the first thing I noticed about the stories was the subject matter. The characters all come from my belief that everyone has a darker side to their personality that troubles those who witness it. For most it’s nothing serious; perhaps anger management or jealousy. The key to triumphing over this darkness is to recognize it, and to turn a light against it. This became the theme and title of the book.
Q: What would you like readers to take away from reading your book?
A: I would like readers to find themselves unready to leave the lives of the characters, thinking about the stories later on, wondering about Dwayne and Dee-Dee or James and Ashley and wishing that the stories would go on a little longer.
Q: You mention in your biography that you have had an active imagination since childhood and started writing early. What else do you attribute your love of writing to?
A: I love creating characters and worlds, and being able to take an idea from my mind and put it on paper. But the part that makes writing addictive for me is the feedback. When a reader says, “That part in your book where this or that happens, I laughed my head off—I cried—I was so angry at you!”
Q: Do you write by schedule, like a job, or do you write when you feel like it?
A: Any chance I get to write I grab. I have a full-time job and my wife works evenings—throw in two kids under six and you can see how my writing time is very limited.
Q: Do you have any quirks or rituals for writing?
A: Not sure if you would call it a quirk or insanity. I get up at 5:00 in the morning most weekends and fuel myself with a few quarts of coffee and then type away on my laptop until the kids wake up three or four hours later.
Q: Do you plan on publishing more in the future?
A: Definitely. I’m currently in the rewrite stage of a sequel to the short story “Prominent Couple Slain” from Lighting the Dark Side called DEAD of KNIGHT—A Jack Staal Mystery. It should be available by Christmas 2009—fingers crossed. I enjoy the Detective Jack Staal character and already have two sequels outlined.
Another completed novel manuscript is about an average family man and how he and his wife deal with his depression and addiction following the sudden tragic loss of his eyesight. Falling Down the Hole is my 2010 project and I dream about it becoming my first book published by a traditional publisher.
