Writer to Writer: Spring has Sprung Like a M@*#$@*%$#@cker and an Interview With Nathaniel Danes (science fiction author)

Writing to Live the Writer's Life

The one thing about writing (about any art, actually) is that you have to do it. You have to sit down and hammer it out and fill pages with words, canvases with paints, sketchbooks with sketches, air with notes. Every second you spend actively doing your art makes you exponentially better. The rest is just patience, fortitude and an unwavering belief in unseen ports in consistently stormy seas.

The book launch for Anchors No More was a success and I thank all of you who took the time to like posts and share pages and write reviews and buy books. Each one means a lot to me and I notice each and every little thing even if I do not take the time to acknowledge it sometimes.

I am working on three projects right now and

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 a couple "freelance" writing jobs. So keeping busy. 
Project One is (and has been) Swill, a novel about drug-addicted robots. It is pretty fun to write. Project Two is the introductory book to a sprawling multi-format urban/mystical/action/crime story about a pair of hit men/thief brothers named Omar and Theodore Blood.

More details to follow and as a groovy thing, you can get an exciting sneak peak at the first book if (and only if) you are officially registered on my mailing list. The sneak peak will be released on a newsletter (the first one ever) sometime in 2016. See, the ultimate mailing list experience. I will not send them often and when I do there will be cool things just for you. Well, just for you and the friends you share this with and who then join as well.

Therefore, in the take a second department:

All of that reminds me to remind you to follow the advice it took a lot of trial and error to learn. That advice, speaking Writer to Writer is this: hire an editor. I don't care if you are an indy author and self-publisher, you need to save your pennies and hire a solid editor (within your price range). You need some one with experience and eyes that do not belong to you or to a friend. Self-edit, yes, do that a lot, but after that, slap down a couple hundred bucks and hire a professional to do it. You will sleep better and your books will sell better.

And now 'cause he's a pretty upstanding guy...

An Interview With Nathaniel Danes (science fiction author)

SO who is Nathaniel Danes?
Well, Nathaniel Danes is a self-diagnosed sci-fi junkie and, according to
his wife, has an over active imagination.
Mostly blind, he writes to create universes where he has no limitations.
He lives with his wife and daughter in the Washington, DC area.

What is The Last Revenge About? 
Blood demands blood. 
Driven by grief to the darkest recesses of his soul, Trent Maxwell lives and fights for one reason, revenge.
As hidden agendas plot, Trent embarks on an unholy quest to marshal the forces he needs to exact the heavy toll his broken heart demands. The largest fleets and armies ever assembled in space collide.
A river of blood soaks the galaxy, but when is enough, enough?

And now a few words with author Nathaniel Danes.

DWM:  Hi Nathaniel, to get the ball rolling, tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been writing? What kind of interests do you have? Anything like that to give us a little picture of you?

ND: I’ve always had an overactive imagination and wanted to share my stories but I’m also dyslexic so my writing skills lagged far behind. College, grad school, and a day job that demands a lot of writing sharpened by skills over the years. Now I can finally start to share my universes. I like to create worlds where I don’t have any limitations. I’m losing my sight to a genetic disorder and my mind can be a great escape. 

DWM:  It sounds like you have a lot of passion behind your work. What genre do you usually write in?

ND: Military science fiction. Before my condition came to light, I always planned on a military career and studied military history extensively. I like to imagine what could’ve been if I was born in a time when my eyes could’ve been fixed from the start.

DWM: What is the title of your latest work. What is it about? 

ND: The Last Revenge. It’s the second book in my The Last Hero trilogy and was released on April 30. This novel takes a darker tone as the main character wages a new breed of war on those responsible for taking his family away from him. Massive fleets and armies collide as he deals with the lesser regions of his soul.

DWM: What is the most challenging part of writing this kind of book?

ND: Military SciFi can be difficult because many of my readers have actual military experience. They can be unforgiving in how combat situations are written. Thankfully, my editors are vets and they make sure I’m in line with what my readers expect.

DWM: What about writing in general? What do you find to be the most challenging part of writing and being a writer? 

ND: Writing is the easy part. Getting noticed and self-promotion is what makes being an author hard. I guess I shouldn’t complain as the modern ebook era at least gives guys like me a chance. Who knows if I would’ve ever been published 15 years ago. Now, there isn’t a lot of expense in publishing a book so folks like my publisher, Solstice Publishing, can take a chance on me.  

DWM: What do you find to be the best parts of writing and being a writer?
ND: Freedom. I get to create universes where anything goes and playing “what if” has almost no limits. 

DWM: What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your subject/genre, that isn't so?
ND:  Most people think military SciFi is about war. Ii’s not. It’s about people, relationships, and loss. For example, if you read the reviews for my first novel, The Last Hero, you will see a ton of references to emotion and being driven to tears. There is a lot of fighting, but that is a backdrop for the core of the book, which is love.

DWM: What is the most important thing that people DON'T know about your subject/genre, that they need to know?

ND: Just that they should give it a chance. Good military scifi is so much more than lasers and killing aliens.

DWM: What inspires you or ideas do you like to explore in your writing?

ND: My daughter has been my biggest inspiration. I love my wife, parents, God, and country but I wasn’t prepared for the raw emotional gut punch I got the first time I held my daughter in my arms. My experience as a father has added great depth to my writing, it has given it a heart.

DWM: What are you working on next?

ND: With Book Two out, I am knee deep in writing the first draft of Book Three. I hope to have that out by December or January. It is titled, The Last Stand of the 1st Legion.

DWM: Great. Now, to switch things up a little, tell us how you deal with writer’s block?

ND: I find the best way to deal with it is to put the book down and do something else. Sometimes you have to let inspiration come to you. Having a few drinks and just writing through the problem can work to. I recommend you go back through those scenes before getting too far away from them though.

DWM: If you have any advice to give someone just starting out with their career as a professional writer, what is it?

ND: Just to keep writing and to write something you’d want to read yourself. Don’t force something to fit a current trend.

Author Links:
Book One of Nathaniel's The Last Hero trilogy is FREE for a quick little spell. Get your copy here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NI5UGPI

And all other Author Links here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nathaniel-Danes/1528587637363979
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nathanieldanes
Blog: http://nathanieldanes.blogspot.com/
Website: www.nathanieldanes.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/nathanieldanes
Book Links:
Amazon: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00WKZ2F6A

And finally, in the "I wonder..." Department:

I wonder if it makes me a nerd, geek, or something other to have both a favorite chess player and a favorite chess commentator?