As part of the blog tour, I was interviewed by blogger Lisa Haselton.
 
Please share a little bit about your current release:
An Unproven Concept is what would happen if you put Battlestar Galactica, Robotech, and Space Battleship Yamato into a cloning vat then had George R.R. Martin raise the baby.  The book centers on three vessels, the battlecruiser Constitution, the destroyer Shigure, and the starliner Titanic, as they deal with Humanity’s first encounter with aliens.  Without giving away too much, the Titanic is not where she’s supposed to be, and thus gets caught up in the conflict between the two naval vessels and the hostile craft.
If you like capital ship combat, it’s in here.  Flawed characters without “hero shields?”  If this was a list of ingredients, it’d be number two.  Mecha and starfighters?  In abundance.  It has received positive reviews from Amazing Stories, Reader’s Choice, and Pop Cults, with a solid 4-star rating on Amazon.
What inspired you to write this book?
Back in 2006, I entered a short story contest with a novella entitled “On Their Behalf…”  Several of the judges stated the original storyline was simply too broad to shoe horn into 15,000 pages, but that it sounded like a great concept for a novel.  Six years later, I wrote another novella entitled “Ride of the Late Rain.”  Again—great concept, but the judges felt I was trying to compress too much into one storyline.  So, after I had success with “Ride of the Late Rain” as a novella via Kindle, I decided to go ahead and do An Unproven Concept as a full novel.  The Kraken Edition combines both “Ride of the Late Rain” and An Unproven Concept.  You can read an excerpt on my blog here.
What exciting story are you working on next?
In between trying to chop down my dissertation, I’m working on Though Our Hulls Burn…, the sequel to An Unproven Concept.  It will basically explain some of the prior events referenced in Concept, specifically how the Spartans came to be part of the Confederation of Man.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When as a 14-year-old I tried to submit a bunch of long hand story parts to a New York publisher.  I cannot remember how, but I’d acquired one of those “Writer’s Guide” that had every publisher listed and the address for their slush pile.  I figured of course they had people to type things up—that’s why they were a publisher!  I don’t think I tell many people that story—because I think my younger self was a wholly optimistic ignoramus knowing what I know now.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
On top of my day job, I have a commute that’s over an hour long each way, plus am finishing off a dissertation.  How do I find time to write?  I have a patient, understanding spouse who is also an author.  I also belong to an active writing group that is really good about trying to get together to get some words down.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Friends and family point out that I really don’t have a “writing” versus “speaking” voice.  I never really thought of the two of them necessarily needing to be separate.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I actually wanted to be a fighter pilot until my eyes went bad in the 5th grade.  I was heartbroken, and it took a couple years for me to truly accept that dream was pretty much finished when I couldn’t read the blackboard from the front row.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
On my FB page is a sign up for my mailing newsletter.  Also, my novellas Pandora’s Memories and A Midwinter’s Ski are available as “perma free” offerings from Amazon.  

 
 

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