*A couple months ago I asked a couple friends to send me any question and I would answer them in an interview on my blog. Below are these questions. I mixed all of them up to add to the chaos. In a case of me over thinking everything I thought about answering each one with a meme but in the end decided against that because that's a lot of cut and pasting.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My first book Stereo which was renamed Stereo 2.0 and now is considered Tin Universe Monthly #1. Well, it was written as my attempt to try and capture the feel of a 1980’s comic book company crossover events such as Atlantis Attacks or Mutant Massacre. The only problem was I wasn’t good enough at the time to move the pieces together in a way that fit. I’m proud of it because I learned so much but my ideas of what I wanted from it where bigger than my abilities at the time. I wanted it to be a big crossover type event that was also the introduction to the Tin Universe.
What is your biggest failure?
As a writer? Yes. I want to be totally honest answering these so I would probably say the first time I attempted a monthly Tin Universe series. I just tried to write everything from scratch each month. This time I spend two years writing the zero and 1st drafts of a number of future projects and among those writings was the zero drafts of three years’ worth of Tin Universe Monthly.
Do you have a writing style?
No. Not unless you think dumping every thoughts that’s in you head at the time of writing on a page and then trying to clean that up and make sense of it is a writing style…. Wait, that’s more of a writing process.
My writing style as I’ve said before is tangential writing.
Do you have any recurring dreams/nightmares?
I only have nightmares. Let me think??? One recurring of late has me finding a job that pays ok. This is a case of a good dream being a tortures nightmare because it’s not reality; which is pretty much how all my dreams go.
Is there a message in your stories that you want readers to grasp?
Think.
What is the biggest lie you've ever told?
Telling myself for a long time that I shouldn't call myself a writer was very harmful to me in many way as a writer and outside of writing.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Good question. So this doesn’t become a favorite books list I just say three. The X-Men comics, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, and Frankenstein.
Have you ever been in trouble with the police?
As an adult beside a couple tickets, no.
What book are you reading now?
Captain America And The Falcon: The Swine, Attack On Titan: Vol.1, Doctor Who: The Wheel Of Ice, and Lemony Snicket File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents.
Have you ever gotten into a bar fight?
I would tell a story here but I’ve forgotten what is fact and what is fiction in the story so I’ll just not answer in answering.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Depends on what is meant by new authors. I’m just now getting into the writing of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marjorie Liu.
What is your biggest fear in writing?
I guess because I edit my own work there is a fear that people won’t see how much effort I’m putting in. I don’t mind putting my work out there is a sort of raw sate but as I’ve told people even writing shit takes a lot of work.
Name people that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Damon, Neka, Courtney, and so many others because most people might be complete shit but there are also good people.
What do you want your tombstone to say?
I said this on my Facebook once. When I die I want my tombstone to read: HAD STORIES, TOLD THEM.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
From being a sick kid who spent a lot of time in hospital bed reading and thinking.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Teleportation.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I found I wasn’t improving any in my writing until I decided I was going to purposely challenge myself with everything I write. Now if you mean what challenging for those reading my writing I’d say understanding it. Believe me it’s hard for me to understand what I write too.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
My favorite writer is Douglas Adams. I think what attracts me to his writing is this sense of him being a smart ass telling the story to the reader.
What literary character is most like you?
Mar has said I’m a cross between Charlie from Perks Of Being A Wallflower and Fry from Futurama with bits of Bobbie Hill from King Of The Hill and Randal from Clerks thrown in.
Who designs the covers to Tin Universe Monthly?
I do. I’ve loved doing the covers this year as the theme for the main series being that of propaganda posters and the ads being the posters posted in different places. I would like to hire artists for the covers or hire cosplayers for photo covers in the future but mainly my covers are by me using my own photos or public domain images. I’ve also been lucky this year that some friends helped me by modeling or using some of their photos. I have some really good ones coming up soon. I think I’ve improved a lot doing covers and using programs like Gimp, and have had a lot of fun doing them of late even if its extra work for me, it’s also one of the biggest reasons for self-publishing in that you get to control the images that go with your stories.
What secret talents do you have?
I’m pretty good at finding the sweet spot of as Mar says “That got real quick.” This sort of thing always reminds me of how people from time to time say they like that I’m totally open on the internet. No I’m not. If you think I’m offensive and stupid on the net there is another level I’m on offline and then even another when I’m just with Mar.
Where is one place you want to visit that you haven't been before?
I would love to go to London because I know how happy us going there would make Mar.
What were the challenges in bringing Tin Universe Monthly to life?
The challenge every month is trying to make a vignette or flash fiction story something that people find interesting even if they aren’t always complete stories. Sometimes I succeed sometimes I fall flat on my face but have to get right back up to fight again doesn’t give you time to swim in your own bullshit.. The smaller a story is, the harder it is to get a point or idea across. Short Stories are way harder to write than a book, that’s a lesson learned. That’s the challenge in doing these. The series is to world build in laying down layer upon layer so when the next book comes out if you have read the series you will get even more from the book, though I’m also working hard on the next full Tin Universe adult book to be a story that you can enjoy without reading any of the monthly single issues.
Do you have any strange writing habits?
I don’t think so. I know I hate writing in silence, even though editing in quite is best. When I’m writing I need noise to cancel out my back brain so to speak. My back brain being every mistake I’ve ever made in my life in chorus form.
Do you have any scars?
Yes. Some from self-harm and others from stupidity. And others I was just born with.
What authors have inspired you to write?
Douglas Adams, Robert Holmes, Nova Ren Suma, Grant Morrison, Gail Simone, Courtney Summers, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, and Margaret Atwood to name a few.
What is something you want to accomplish before you die?
Get a new job. Have a day without a lot of pain. Write something with one of my favorite writers.
How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?
I really don’t think much about character names. Normally I just pick first and last names at random and match them together. Usually when I try to think much about them I choose things I later regret when I have to write it over and over and over and over again.
Do you read your reviews?
No.
Do you drink?
Yes.
Smoke?
No. I have asthma and even I’m not that self-destructive.
What is your best marketing tip?
I suck at marketing. I know it’s something I need to work on to get word out there in more places about my releases. That’s why I started doing ad images for Tin Universe Monthly releases. Give people each time something different to see as almost teasers to what’s coming and it keeps people from getting a spamming feeling when I promote something. I want to do flyers and such also in the future but it’s all about balancing things because the stories must remain the main focus.
Do you write naked?
Nope. Though I did read once of a writer who masturbated before writing to clear his mind. But no. I actually have taken up the habit of taking a shower and dressing as if going to work before writing, sets my mind in the right direction.
What were you like as a child?
A sickly self-absorbed pain in the ass who thought he had all of the answers.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
In college I wrote two books that I’ve never let anyone read but I do plan to publish one day. One was as I rewrote the Bible and the other was a pro serial killer first person book.
Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others?
Action scenes I find really hard but I’m trying to find a way to give a feeling of action through the words but I’m starting to think over described action scenes are as bad as anything else over described.
What are you working on now?
Tin Universe Monthly, Generation Of A God, Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #2, and another book project are what I work on every day, every week, every month.
you might want to check out,
This poster is in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Created from poetry written in 2010 by me to draw attention to the issue, it has been paired up with a photo from Stainless Photography. Any profits made from sales of the poster will be donated to a local Melbourne Florida charity that helps people who are dealing with sexual violence issues.
Someone is zombifying athletes at Clear Cut High School in Utah. Lucky the school has its own young superhero in the person of Mildred Betbeze to try and figure out what's going on. Pep rallies, cheerleaders, new kids in the neighborhood are just some of things our hero and her sidekick slash best friend Aisha have to deal with in the first book in Tin Universe's new middle grade series.
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