thriller | Ellwyn Autumn

By way of introduction, here is William’s bio:

William has been writing for more than thirty years and enjoys the cathartic release of diving into a good story with a flawed hero.

He began his military service in the US Army, retired in 1993, and took a job teaching high school in inner-city Baltimore, Maryland for the next thirteen years.

He is happily married to a true southern belle. They have been married fifty-one years. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren. William lives with his wife in a beautiful small home on a quiet waterfront in northeast Florida.

Hello, William, welcome to Angel Kiss Publications. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.

Thank you for having me.

When did the writing bug ensnare you?

I started writing fiction in middle school, but I didn’t become serious about it until I deployed overseas. We worked twelve-hour shifts, 12 on and 12 off. So, when I got a few hours to myself, I wrote my first book.

While researching and interviewing subject-matter experts for the story, many of them told me they had always wanted to write a novel, or they had started writing, but had not finished it.

I decided during that period in my life that I would not be one of those people who never wrote or never finished their books. So, I wrote furiously and finished my third draft one year later.

Is writing your full-time profession?

No. I am a retired military officer and high school teacher.

I have a lot more time to write now than I did during my career, so I am enjoying the experience of retirement and hobby writing. Not that I don’t take it seriously.

I try to spend several hours on my computer each day. But my full-time work now is taking care of my disabled wife.

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing since 1989, so that would be over 35 years.

How many published books have you written?

I have self-published seven books but haven’t broken into the traditional publishing arena.

Which genres do you write?

My first book was a Men’s Military action/adventure novel. I wanted to write using my experience and wrote about men in combat and their lives afterwards.

My second book was an Espionage thriller. In the early 2000s, a friend with spina bifida inspired me to write a series of books about a young boy born with spina bifida who got suckedinto an adventure game on his computer.

I recently rewrote the three books and published the first one called The Farnsworth Chronicles. Each time he goes inside the computer, he has to give up something in order to walk. It is a Middle Grade Modern Day Fantasy.

My current genre is really narrow because I wanted to write the stories which were in my heart. That genre is Christian/LDS Action/Adventure Thrillers.

What are you working on now?

A series in which the hero/protagonist is like an Indiana Jones and also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.

Somewhere along the line, he is going to meet up with my hero from my current series and they will have a major impact on the life decisions and life goals of each other.

Where do you find inspiration for your characters?

I watched the first several seasons of Ancient Aliens and similar shows with mysteries to get ideas for my books.

I watch for shows, magazines, and books that deal with little-known pieces of information I can use to create fictional stories based on fact and involve characters of strength, faith, and love.

What has been your most rewarding experience since publishing your work?

I’ve done the voiceovers for each of my books, so they are now available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook formats.

I enjoy taking my own stories and giving voice with my interpretation of how they sound. I am not very good at accents, but I enjoy the work and find it the most rewarding.

What advice would you give to authors just starting out?

Write your first book until it is finished before you decide to go back and edit it. It is more important to finish it than it is to make it perfect when you finish. If you try to edit as you go, it may take you many years to finish, and you may eventually give up trying.

Is there anything else you’d like your readers to know about you?

I am a very strong believer in God, Jesus Christ, and in modern-day prophets. I am trying to write my books in a way to help readers understand how God intervenes in our lives without taking away our free will/free agency to make our own decisions.

What message are you sharing in your books?

God allows us to make our own decisions. However, when we appeal to him for help and subsequently decide to do what is not the will of God, he will arrange things in our life to bring us back to the right path.

The trick is to live the way God wants us to live all the time, and not just when it is most convenient for us.

Who has influenced your writing the most?

I started with Tom Clancy (Jack Ryan), moved to Vince Flynn (Mitch Rapp), then to Lee Child (Jack Reacher), and now Mark Greaney (Cort Gentry), and the many characters of David Baldacci.

Can you see a trend? These authors write about characters I find appealing, and their books align with my writing interests, but with a Christian influence.

Can you picture Jack Reacher as a man with strong Christian principles, caught in situations where violence is necessary for survival and protection? Meet Orson Kincaid, the protagonist of my story.

When you’re not writing, where can we find you?

I am a family man. Now that I am retired, I try to spend all my time with or doing things for my family.

An elf named 12-25 approaches you. He’s sneezing, wheezing, coughing and there’s a strange tattoo of a snoring dog on his cheek. What do you do?

I would immediately step back and search for the animal control representative, known as 24-7, to report a stray and ill dog.

What are your most effective marketing strategies?

I have a cover designer who is a genius and a marketing manager who gets my books and audiobooks out there very effectively.

I try to write regularly for my blog, and let my readers know what kind of books they will get if they select my books to read.

Do you have a website/Facebook page, etc?

Yes. I have a blog I write at author-william-staub.com. I also have a Facebook and an Instagram page on which I make appearances.

Where can we find your books?

All my books are print-on-demand. Amazon is the main printer.

Thank you, William, for spending time with us and sharing your story. We wish you continued success and lots of luck.

John Coon lives for adventure whether it be through writing or hiking through his favorite mountainside. John is a sports journalist who has turned his pen to fiction novels. His first novel, Pandora Reborn, debuted in 2018.

A native of Utah, John finds peace in nature and believes “life without creativity and imagination is hollow.”

Now that I’ve introduced you to John let’s get to know him a little better.

Hello, John, welcome to Angel Kiss Publications. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.

Thank you for having me.

What inspired you to be a writer?

I’ve loved creating stories ever since I was a kid. I always had an active imagination. When I was in elementary school, for example, I daydreamed about being an actor starring in my own movies.

I had movie titles figured out and knew what each movie was about. Some characters and fictional worlds I’ve created as an adult author can trace their roots back to this early time in my life.

Is writing your full-time profession?

Only if you include journalism into the mix. Reporting on pro sports and college sports remains my day job at the moment.

Fiction writing is a part-time pursuit for now. I hope to change that in the not-too-distant future.

Photo courtesy of: Devanath; courtesy of: Pixabay

How long have you been writing?

My first novel was published in June 2018, but I’ve been writing for three decades. I started writing my earliest stories when I was 12 years old. My parents owned an old manual typewriter and had set it up on a table in the back of the kitchen.

An older sister of mine wrote some short stories, and I decided one day I could write stories too. I grabbed some orange typing paper and started typing up stories on the typewriter.

Those early stories were about a litter of mischievous kittens based on some pet cats our family owned at the time. I eventually wrote nine connected stories about the kittens by the time I got into high school. Since that time, I have continued to write fiction and poetry.

Can you tell us about your experiences as a sports reporter?

When someone finds out I work as a sports reporter, their reaction is something like: “That must be so exciting getting paid to watch sports! You have a dream job.”

It surprises them when I reply it’s like any other job. Some days you enjoy it. Other days you can’t stand it. I’ve had tons of fun experiences in my 15 years of writing about sports.

I’ve ridden in a race car at 160 miles per hour. I’ve been able to witness athletes set world records. I’ve covered March Madness (the NCAA men’s basketball tournament) on several occasions.

I’ve also endured more stressful deadlines and sleepless nights than I care to remember. It can take a toll. Covering sports such as football or basketball creates a demanding day-to-day schedule, especially with social media basically demanding fresh content around the clock.

How has being a sports reporter influenced your work?

Being a reporter has helped me strengthen my observation skills. I see how people act, talk, and react in a wide variety of situations. I see how different personalities mesh with one another.

It has proven useful in crafting characters and dialogue that feel drawn from the real world. One of my primary goals in creating stories is to build a world populated with characters and settings that feel authentic. What I’ve observed and learned as a reporter helps me to better achieve such a goal.

How many books have you written?

I’ve published one novel so far and I’m currently working on my second one. Pandora Reborn, my debut novel, was released in June 2018.

Which genres do you write?

I write in multiple genres because I have ideas for stories and characters I want to develop that fit into different genres. Sometimes, I blend multiple genres within the same story.

Pandora Reborn is primarily a young adult horror story that also blends elements from fantasy, mystery, and thriller genres. My upcoming novel will primarily be a science fiction thriller, but could also include a few horror elements because of the characters and the setting.

Honestly, it’s fun to not limit yourself to a single genre as a writer. It allows more flexibility and creativity in telling the story you want told.

What do you find most challenging writing for these genres?

For me, the one challenge in every story is making sure it feels authentic. I want to make these fictional worlds feel real, even when fantastic elements are involved.

Every fictional world is the real world to the characters who live in it. For that reason, I want their actions, reactions, and interactions to feel true to life.

Nothing bothers me more in genre fiction than plot armor. Forcing characters to say and do things simply because the plot tells them that’s what they’re supposed to do. It makes for uninteresting stories.

Drama and suspense build organically when characters feel like real people. You become emotionally invested in their journey and their fate ultimately matters to you.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently writing my second novel, the aforementioned science fiction thriller. I plan to publish it later this spring.

The story will follow four college students who are confronted with the results of alien genetic experimentation after being trapped in an isolated Texas town during a spring break road trip. It’s a re-imagining of a short story I wrote in college.

I expanded the narrative and added some characters and subplots to help flesh it out to novel length. Beyond that story, I have other science fiction novels in the works and a pair of sequels to Pandora Reborn in development.

Where do you find inspiration for your characters?

My characters are a melting pot of various personalities I’ve encountered and interacted with throughout my life. Like I mentioned earlier, I always pay attention to how other people act, interact, and react in situations, so my characters feel like real people.

Still, I don’t intentionally base any character on a single individual for obvious reasons. Many people would not react favorably to encountering a fictionalized version of themselves within a story.

What has been your most rewarding experience since publishing your work?

Honestly, it has been a thrill to see so many people enjoy Pandora Reborn. I’ve received more favorable reviews and positive feedback than I ever anticipated. I love seeing other people embrace characters and stories that kicked around in my head for years. It has given me tons of confidence while working on my second novel.

What advice would you give to authors just starting out?

Find your own voice. I often see advice to new authors that tells them to mimic what popular authors are doing or tells them to figure out which genre sells and dive in head first. That’s terrible advice, in my opinion.

The best thing you can do as an author is be true to yourself. Tell a story you want to tell. Then take plenty of time to craft it so that it is told in the best way possible. You will find an audience eventually and they will appreciate something that is authentic and well-written.

What readers don’t appreciate are slapdash by-the-numbers stories that are transparently designed to make a quick buck.

Is there anything else you’d like your readers to know about you?

I’m the type of person who tries to make the world around me a better place. Life is so much better when we all choose to be good people.

We can bring happiness into our lives and other people’s lives by being kind, honest, and caring. I strive to live each day with this philosophy guiding me.

What message are you sharing in your books?

It really depends on the book. I don’t set out to impose a specific message on a novel. It just evolves organically as the story unfolds.

With Pandora Reborn, for example, a key message that emerges is the danger of being isolated. You look at all the major characters and they are all isolated to one degree or another when the story begins.

Ron Olson illustrates this perfectly. He is in a new town cut off from his old friends and his dad. Ron wants nothing to do with Deer Falls. As the story progresses, he learns in a real way that he can’t live isolated.

He is forced to find allies when a terrifying ancient witch begins wreaking havoc. It also forces Ron to repair his relationship with his mother to ensure her survival. The overall message, in a way, is that life’s battles are not meant to be fought alone and cannot be won alone.

What are your favorite books/authors?

Growing up, my favorite authors were Jack London, C.S. Lewis, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe. I love the way they could build a world and make each character feel so real and alive — even in the most extreme or fantastic circumstances.

As an adult, I have also enjoyed fiction from authors like Michael Crichton, Stephen King, John Grisham, and Phillip K. Dick. My all-time favorite books are The Chronicles of Narnia. I’ve read every book in that series cover to cover multiple times.

What are your favorite movies, TV shows?

I have always loved Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s the perfect adventure movie with so many fun, iconic moments and memorable characters.

The original Star Wars trilogy ranks among my all-time favorites as well. My brother and I watched Star Wars so much as kids, we had memorized the dialogue from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi word-for-word at one point.

The Simpsons is my no. 1 favorite TV show. Anyone who is around me long enough will hear me start dropping random quotes from episodes of The Simpsons into conversations. Sometimes, on Twitter, I’ll tweet out a quote of the day when I’m catching a first-run episode or a rerun.

When you’re not writing where can we find you?

If I’m not in front of my laptop, I’m most likely on a mountain conquering a new hiking trail or off finding something fun or interesting to capture in a photograph.

I grew up in a rural part of Utah, so I love the outdoors. I feel at peace when I can get away from the noise and lights of the city.

Do you have a website/Facebook page, etc?

My main author website can be found at johncoon.net. I have a blog up there where I share my experiences, offer useful writing tips, and spotlight books I’ve enjoyed from other indie authors.

Readers can also connect with me in the following places:

Facebook (www.facebook.com/jcoon)

Instagram (www.instagram.com/jcoon312)

Twitter (www.twitter.com/johncoonsports)

Goodreads (www.goodreads.com/author/show/18159853.John_Coon)

Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/johncoon)