The Chattering of Scattered Authors
It's so nice to be able to talk with like-minded people and when you're a writer who is unable to attend writer's workshops and groups, due to distance, it's always a treat to find people with your level of crazy on social media to collaborate with.
This is a series of blogs introducing Authors of Tomorrow - these are the ones to keep an eye on. Each week I will deliver a blog with an interview from an author of a different genre.
I met G Russell Gaynor through a FaceBook group and sensing boundless craziness in him we hit it off. His creative well seems endless as his ideas flood into over twenty books.
I asked him a few questions, quite different to the usual author questions. Enjoy!
.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
My Writer’s Block – another story. I can be working on a project and well into the flow of things… and then BAM! Here comes a totally unrelated idea and my mind wants to dive into that RIGHT NOW. Of course, it happens when I’m reading or watching something on the big or small screen. I was turning the page in The Da Vinci Code when I came up for an idea for a Western script.
What are common traps for aspiring writers?
One of the most common things I’ve seen is when the author insists on too much control. I’m with W. Faulkner on this one:
“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.”
I’ve seen a number of authors who are impacted by the latest thing and what they wind up with is something along the lines of fan-fiction with a few changed names. If you as a writer are not surprised by what’s happening, you are truly rolling the dice that your reader will be.
The Basics! If you want to write, you need to read! One of Prince’s biggest recent hits is a song called Musicology. Check the lyrics… the man was listening… to A LOT OF PEOPLE. If someone like Prince can take the time to listen to music, who are we to say we don’t have time to read before we delve into writing?
Does a big ego help or hurt writers?
Now see, you’ve got me going to a comic book on this one. Scene opens on Captain America in a one-handed handstand, dodging robotic archaic weapons and energy bolts firing around him. He says something to the tune of, “You’re gonna have to do better than that!” and the captions go on to explain that he’s not bragging – he means it! What’s more, he’s going to prove it! In answering your question, it’s not the size of the ego that’s ever the issue, IMO… it’s what the writer does with it or because of it.
I’ve been called arrogant more times than I care to count and I can see where some might have a justification for the label assignment. But oft times I see more of me having a clear vision of what I’m going to do along with a list of the things I’m willing to allow distraction time. When they are not on that list, they can get their feelings hurt. But I’ve got worlds to build while I’m trying to shout-out to this one!
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
Top of the list is Madolyn Locke. Like me, she is a self-published author. Unlike me, she is an awesome writer! I’m okay with what I do, but I am FLOORED by what she puts out. She’s only written two books, but get this – they’re in genres I’m not drawn to (Romantic-Fantasy and Young Adult) and she makes me love the stories. She’s also written a number of short stories in the SylverMoon Chronicles and I adore each and every one of them.
Then there’s E. M. Swift-Hook. I think I met her about a year ago on Facebook when I joined a group called the SciFi Roundtable. It was just getting started when she and I joined but now it’s up over 1,000 members. It’s a pretty close and supportive community. E. M.’s got a sweet style and a smooth voice that lowers your guard… which is just about the time she hits you over the head with the hook of the story. It’s really not fair; you HAVE TO turn the page.
Eric Michael Craig and Ducky Smith are pretty much the Ramses and Cleopatra of the scene. Eric writes sharp, thought-provoking science-fiction that always makes you stop and think… and wonder. Once that start, it won’t be long before you hear my keyboard taking a pounding.
Then there’s this character that I really JUST met even though it feels like we’ve been friends a long, long time. It’s almost as if we could finish each other’s sentences.
Melissa North is a wonder to read. I love her delivery and her intermittent waves of darkness and depth. She lives in the wrong country, but I’m willing to overlook that. (LOL)
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Never take the time-travel challenge! Even if it’s to kill Hitler. Who is to say that if I tweak something back then that I would have the stories I do today? I know, the immediate argument is that they could be better, but I’m very happy with the material coming out today. Now, I do have a message for the FUTURE ME: don’t you dare stop. No matter what happens… don’t you dare stop!
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
Oh my goodness, I LOVE WRITING WOMEN!!! There aren’t enough female leads! There just aren’t! I could be a bit biased… my current work has a female lead. She is a pirate, an ace pilot, and the last lass you want to cross. Of the 8 different series I’ve got going (yeah, but that’s another story), 2.5 of them have female leads.
What is your favourite childhood book?
My grandmother read to me The Three Musketeers. I’ve had a thing for Alexandre Dumas and heroes (the more colourful and/or dark the better) ever since. But I was in grade school when I picked up The Lord of the Rings. BLEW MY MIND!
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Yes. But wouldn’t telling you about them not have them be secrets any longer?
How many hours a day do you write?
Unfair question. When I can get time away from bill-paying work, I have to be reminded to eat and sleep. Most recently, I put away a 27-hour span at the keyboard. Kick-ass story too!
Tell us about your latest projects and where we can find them?
Well, I’ve got two veins one might want to mine. There’s the works of G. Russell Gaynor and then there’s the work I am doing under the pen name Reiter.
You see, remember that question about my Kryptonite? Well, I’ve got a number of series with either one or two books to them. But in 2014, I made a promise to my editor to finish a series before moving to the next one. I’ve kept my promise enough to where we put out at least one book per year. It’s called Beyond the Outer Rim.
The Prelude, Star Chaser: The Traveler, came out in October 2014 and every October 13th we add to that series.
In 2015, we put out the Bridge Novel Pieces of the Dark Eight and Book One, Starblazer: Through the Black Gate.
In 2016, we delivered the Bridge Novel Rising Gods and Falling Crowns and Book Two, Starflight: The Prism Baronies.
This year, we have the last of the Bridge Novels called Birth of the Strides and Book Three, Starborne: The Freedom Road… at least.
You can catch up on the series at the website we put together just for those books.
Aside from that, everything that we’ve got coming out will be on my website
