Your path to becoming a successful author was a bit unusual. Would you please share how you went from a blog on woodworking to writing mysteries, satire, fantasy, and non-fiction?

Well, the first four books were all in the Henry Wood Detective series and while I was working on that, I had an idea for a YA, which I wrote during the same time. After that I did another book, A Touch To Die For, which was a thriller.

So, I’d written 5 books as blog posts.

The day I finished A Touch To Die For, someone on Twitter asked me when I was going to use my snarky humor that was often on display in my other blog posts, to write satire. That led to Underwood, Scotch, and Wry.

It was about this time that I began messing with Amazon Ads and that was the turning point. I’d had some Bookbub promotions and made a little money, but the ads let me grow my readership and sales on a more consistent basis.

Your stories often have a unique twist or plot device. How do you arrive at these unique plot devices?

I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s because of how my brain works. I play speed chess for 1 – 2 hours per day online.

Often, the difference between a win and a loss, is taking a moment when it appears the opponent just made a move that will win them the game, and ask, “Is there anything unusual that I’m not considering?”

I do that while writing the book.

Would you share which authors have inspired and influenced you?

In non-fiction, Eli Goldratt, who wrote the massively successful The Goal. In fiction, the biggest influence has been Elmore Leonard. His dialog is so crisp and real it makes me a better writer with each book I read. (I believe I’ve read 18 of his 44)

What challenges as an author have you faced writing series that are so varied in the genre of the story?

For me, one of the reasons I switch between genres is because I want to try to stretch my writing brain. With each story I have a goal.

I wrote a short story once, because I wanted to try my hand at unreliable narrator.

For my satires, I always have an underlying theme about something which is important to me. In the first book it was social media and the second one was indie publishing. So, I layer in bits of education on the subject within the confines of the story.

It’s a challenge because I’m always trying something different.

In addition to your multiple fiction series, you are the author of several non-fiction books. How does writing non-fiction differ from writing fiction?

I have to be more careful with non-fiction, because I often forget that not everyone has a background in math and analytics. So, I go to great lengths to try to explain the topics in ways that will be easily understood, while causing the fewest tears possible.

Math makes many authors weep.

How do you generate the ideas for your stories?

I don’t really. I’m a panster. Each story begins with a kernel of an idea and I start writing. Once I’m in the flow, my brain doesn’t think of much else and so it’s like an antenna listening for things that I might find interesting.

If something strikes me, then I’ll figure out a way to translate that into the fiction project I’m working on.

If you had to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently as an author?

I would have focused on learning the art of copywriting right out of the gate. When I finally did start studying it, and I went back and looked at my data, I had left $60,000 on the table in the previous 12-months just because of the better conversion rate I was getting.

In other words, if I had fixed my descriptions one year earlier, I would have made the extra 60K.

What advice would you share with any individual considering taking the leap and becoming an author?

Try not to become overwhelmed and don’t panic.

There isn’t a shot clock on this business. It isn’t helpful to go out of your way to find authors who are doing better, just so you can beat yourself up. Their lives are yours.

As I said at the Superstars 2020 conference, “Pessimism is NOT a Super Power!”