Meet the Writer
Q. What got you into writing?
A. Not to sound like a sob story, but much of that began with the divorce of my parents when I was in first grade. Up to that point I had always been an "outdoorsy" kid who spent all his time playing sports and being a rambunctous little boy. But following that life-altering change, I found myself drawn inwards more and more and I turned to more intellectual and creative pursuits. When I was young I really wanted to be a comic book artist. I had always enjoyed comics going back to a very young age - particularly the superhero genre. I used to create my own characters and draw homemade comic books (many of which were a kid's knock-offs of Marvel or D.C. properties). As I grew older, I realized that I didn't have the artistic skills necessary to pursue my dreams on that front, but I desired to still tell my creative stories and so I turned to writing. As early as elementary school I had been somewhat prolific in drafting my creative writing assignments - with the earliest effort that I can remember being a task to create an "American Tall Tale" story. I wrote a story about how George Brett (my sports hero at the time) of the Kansas City Royals had hit a homerun ball so hard that it carved out the Grand Canyon (I don't recall the rest of the details of that story). In highschool I created several very interesting stories in my various English classes and a senior creative writing class, further expanding that interest. My first true effort at writing a novel began in 1992 with a story that I called at the time, "The Lord of the North." I would begin but never finish many other stories before finally completing my first novel, "Portal to the Gods" in 2005. I have since dusted off that first old story and rolled it into my "Portal to the Gods" series as book number six, retitling it "Emperor of the West."
Q. Why Fantasy and Science Fiction?
A. I really don't recall how I was drawn to those two genres. As I stated earlier, I had always been drawn from my earliest youth to superhero fiction, which really draws much from both fantasy and science fiction. The first novel that I ever read was Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars." To this day, that is still perhaps my favorite series. My grandmother would take me to Pamida (kind of like a K-Mart or Walmart) in Atchison, Kansas, in the early 80s, where I would spend the money that I had made mowing yards on comic books and in purchasing the next book in the "Mars" series. Upon finishing that series, I dove into Robert E. Howard's "Conan" and then subsequently "The Lord of the Rings" - the latter being the blueprint for nearly every epic fantasy to follow. Add to that, the fact that the late seventies had been a breeding ground for some of the best science fiction movies - "Star Wars", "Star Trek", "Battlestar Galactica", "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century".
Q. What led you to writing your first novel?
A. I mentioned earlier that I didn't have the artistic talent to draw comic books and so in my early twenties I decided to become a writer. I had no training to speak of and - in the days before the internet - very few references to help and zero personal guidance. I started my first effort at a novel in 1992, titling it "The Lord of the North." I scribbled a few chapters and then abandoned it for what I thought at the time was a more enlightened fantasy project in 1993 that I called "The Falcon and the Phoenix." But once again after a few chapters that work was also abandoned. I spent the rest of the 1990s working, going to school and playing rugby in almost all of my free time and doing very little writing. It wasn't until I was sitting in an airport waiting for a flight as I traveled the country for work in 1999 that I began scribbling a few pages of a story about a siege and thus igniting the writing fire once again. Sadly, once again my writing to a backseat to work and life's pursuits. But then in 2003 I experienced what I like to call my "Creative Enlightment." For whatever reason, I suddenly found myself overcome with inspiration, creating "Portal to the Gods", "Birth of a Supervillain", "Tears of the Immortal", "Token", and several other titles. I wrote here and there on each one, but never came close to finishing anything. It wasn't until I was challenged to concentrate upon only one story and finish it that I finally managed to actually complete my first novel in 2005.
Q. Tell us about that first novel.
A. "Portal to the Gods" was my third attempt at writing a fantasy novel. Admittedly, thoughout the process of writing that story I really had no idea where I was going with it. All I knew (at the time) was that I wanted to write a very "cliche" fantasy story that had every single fantasy element contained within - I wanted to throw in the fantasy kitchen sink. I wanted goblins and orcs and paladins and knights and wizards and trolls, etc. etc. etc. But what was different was that I wanted to show parts of the story from the perspective of the beasts - particularly the orcs and goblins. In that, I think I was very successful. I completed the first incarnation of the story in 2005, self-publishing it through a vanity publisher called AuthorHouse. It was admittedly very disjointed and much of the writing was amateur and crude, but it was a tremendous learning experience for me. In the time since, I have edited and rewritten much of that first "Portal" book to make it a lot more readable. And for books 2 and 3, I really zeroed in on the plot elements and vastly improved the writing, creating something of which I am very proud. I published book 2, "The Other Side of Existence" in 2011 and book 3, "Dark Reign" in 2014. As of 2025, I am currently working on finishing book 4, "The Last Paladin."
Q. What works have you published in the time since?
A. Following the completion of my first novel, "Portal to the Gods", in 2005, I immediately dove into my second book, "The Demon Hunter: 21 Days", completing it in about six months and publishing it through Amazon in 2006. I published "Portal" books 2 and 3 in 2011 and 2014 respectively, and it wasn't until 2023 that I finally finished and published "Birth of a Supervillain", which has been my best selling novel to date. The next year I published two novels - "The Dying Worlds" of the "Archeron" series (my first sci-fi) and "PerfectTown" (a post-apocalyptic story). I'm hoping for a September or October 2025 finish for Portal book 4, "The Last Paladin." Waiting in the wings after that, I'm hoping to finish Supervillain book 2, "Supervillain Inc." and Archeron book 2, "The Korodor Remnant" in 2026, before circling back to Portal book 5, "The Dwarf's Tale."
Q. How are your sales revenues?
A. Ha. That's funny. My writing has made a few hundred dollars, but I haven't nearly recouped what I've spent on book covers and advertising, which is well over $1500. I always say i'm the best writer that nobody reads. "Birth of a Supervillain" has been my best selling novel, but we're talking 487 copies - not thousands (I wish). And many (if not most) of those were given away for free. But I keep banging away and hoping that sooner or later someone will take notice.
Q. Lastly, do you have any advice for budding writers?
A. Write what's in your heart. Don't go chasing "sales" or "audiences." And try not to let the bad reviews crush your aspirations. People like what they like and dislike what they dislike. You can't please everyone. Tell a good story and try to do it well and you will be fine. My top selling story, "Birth of a Supervillain" has been met with glowing reviews by those who liked it and something bordering on contempt by those who didn't. Much of that revolves around left vs. right political perceptions in the story (which was NOT my intention). And because of that people (particularly those more left-leaning readers) have harshly criticized it and in my opinion have missed the entire point of the thing. Also, be on the lookout for scammers. The Indie writer scene seems to be inundated with scammers trying to make a buck off of budding writers by promising reviews, marketing, sales, etc. etc. Many of these seem to originate from Nigeria, where there seems to be whole university areas of study on it. I literally receive dozens of emails and Facebook chats daily with people trying to sell their services - and it is almost always verbatim the same tactics. Beware.
A. Not to sound like a sob story, but much of that began with the divorce of my parents when I was in first grade. Up to that point I had always been an "outdoorsy" kid who spent all his time playing sports and being a rambunctous little boy. But following that life-altering change, I found myself drawn inwards more and more and I turned to more intellectual and creative pursuits. When I was young I really wanted to be a comic book artist. I had always enjoyed comics going back to a very young age - particularly the superhero genre. I used to create my own characters and draw homemade comic books (many of which were a kid's knock-offs of Marvel or D.C. properties). As I grew older, I realized that I didn't have the artistic skills necessary to pursue my dreams on that front, but I desired to still tell my creative stories and so I turned to writing. As early as elementary school I had been somewhat prolific in drafting my creative writing assignments - with the earliest effort that I can remember being a task to create an "American Tall Tale" story. I wrote a story about how George Brett (my sports hero at the time) of the Kansas City Royals had hit a homerun ball so hard that it carved out the Grand Canyon (I don't recall the rest of the details of that story). In highschool I created several very interesting stories in my various English classes and a senior creative writing class, further expanding that interest. My first true effort at writing a novel began in 1992 with a story that I called at the time, "The Lord of the North." I would begin but never finish many other stories before finally completing my first novel, "Portal to the Gods" in 2005. I have since dusted off that first old story and rolled it into my "Portal to the Gods" series as book number six, retitling it "Emperor of the West."
Q. Why Fantasy and Science Fiction?
A. I really don't recall how I was drawn to those two genres. As I stated earlier, I had always been drawn from my earliest youth to superhero fiction, which really draws much from both fantasy and science fiction. The first novel that I ever read was Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars." To this day, that is still perhaps my favorite series. My grandmother would take me to Pamida (kind of like a K-Mart or Walmart) in Atchison, Kansas, in the early 80s, where I would spend the money that I had made mowing yards on comic books and in purchasing the next book in the "Mars" series. Upon finishing that series, I dove into Robert E. Howard's "Conan" and then subsequently "The Lord of the Rings" - the latter being the blueprint for nearly every epic fantasy to follow. Add to that, the fact that the late seventies had been a breeding ground for some of the best science fiction movies - "Star Wars", "Star Trek", "Battlestar Galactica", "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century".
Q. What led you to writing your first novel?
A. I mentioned earlier that I didn't have the artistic talent to draw comic books and so in my early twenties I decided to become a writer. I had no training to speak of and - in the days before the internet - very few references to help and zero personal guidance. I started my first effort at a novel in 1992, titling it "The Lord of the North." I scribbled a few chapters and then abandoned it for what I thought at the time was a more enlightened fantasy project in 1993 that I called "The Falcon and the Phoenix." But once again after a few chapters that work was also abandoned. I spent the rest of the 1990s working, going to school and playing rugby in almost all of my free time and doing very little writing. It wasn't until I was sitting in an airport waiting for a flight as I traveled the country for work in 1999 that I began scribbling a few pages of a story about a siege and thus igniting the writing fire once again. Sadly, once again my writing to a backseat to work and life's pursuits. But then in 2003 I experienced what I like to call my "Creative Enlightment." For whatever reason, I suddenly found myself overcome with inspiration, creating "Portal to the Gods", "Birth of a Supervillain", "Tears of the Immortal", "Token", and several other titles. I wrote here and there on each one, but never came close to finishing anything. It wasn't until I was challenged to concentrate upon only one story and finish it that I finally managed to actually complete my first novel in 2005.
Q. Tell us about that first novel.
A. "Portal to the Gods" was my third attempt at writing a fantasy novel. Admittedly, thoughout the process of writing that story I really had no idea where I was going with it. All I knew (at the time) was that I wanted to write a very "cliche" fantasy story that had every single fantasy element contained within - I wanted to throw in the fantasy kitchen sink. I wanted goblins and orcs and paladins and knights and wizards and trolls, etc. etc. etc. But what was different was that I wanted to show parts of the story from the perspective of the beasts - particularly the orcs and goblins. In that, I think I was very successful. I completed the first incarnation of the story in 2005, self-publishing it through a vanity publisher called AuthorHouse. It was admittedly very disjointed and much of the writing was amateur and crude, but it was a tremendous learning experience for me. In the time since, I have edited and rewritten much of that first "Portal" book to make it a lot more readable. And for books 2 and 3, I really zeroed in on the plot elements and vastly improved the writing, creating something of which I am very proud. I published book 2, "The Other Side of Existence" in 2011 and book 3, "Dark Reign" in 2014. As of 2025, I am currently working on finishing book 4, "The Last Paladin."
Q. What works have you published in the time since?
A. Following the completion of my first novel, "Portal to the Gods", in 2005, I immediately dove into my second book, "The Demon Hunter: 21 Days", completing it in about six months and publishing it through Amazon in 2006. I published "Portal" books 2 and 3 in 2011 and 2014 respectively, and it wasn't until 2023 that I finally finished and published "Birth of a Supervillain", which has been my best selling novel to date. The next year I published two novels - "The Dying Worlds" of the "Archeron" series (my first sci-fi) and "PerfectTown" (a post-apocalyptic story). I'm hoping for a September or October 2025 finish for Portal book 4, "The Last Paladin." Waiting in the wings after that, I'm hoping to finish Supervillain book 2, "Supervillain Inc." and Archeron book 2, "The Korodor Remnant" in 2026, before circling back to Portal book 5, "The Dwarf's Tale."
Q. How are your sales revenues?
A. Ha. That's funny. My writing has made a few hundred dollars, but I haven't nearly recouped what I've spent on book covers and advertising, which is well over $1500. I always say i'm the best writer that nobody reads. "Birth of a Supervillain" has been my best selling novel, but we're talking 487 copies - not thousands (I wish). And many (if not most) of those were given away for free. But I keep banging away and hoping that sooner or later someone will take notice.
Q. Lastly, do you have any advice for budding writers?
A. Write what's in your heart. Don't go chasing "sales" or "audiences." And try not to let the bad reviews crush your aspirations. People like what they like and dislike what they dislike. You can't please everyone. Tell a good story and try to do it well and you will be fine. My top selling story, "Birth of a Supervillain" has been met with glowing reviews by those who liked it and something bordering on contempt by those who didn't. Much of that revolves around left vs. right political perceptions in the story (which was NOT my intention). And because of that people (particularly those more left-leaning readers) have harshly criticized it and in my opinion have missed the entire point of the thing. Also, be on the lookout for scammers. The Indie writer scene seems to be inundated with scammers trying to make a buck off of budding writers by promising reviews, marketing, sales, etc. etc. Many of these seem to originate from Nigeria, where there seems to be whole university areas of study on it. I literally receive dozens of emails and Facebook chats daily with people trying to sell their services - and it is almost always verbatim the same tactics. Beware.
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