The book Barnum’s Angel was a mixture of history, fiction, and fantasy. I would say that he delivered more than I expected, and I am looking forward to reading book two in the Pale Chronicles. I hope to see more in this Chronicle.
How long does it take you to write a book?
It varies a bit by book. Each book in my Simon Grave Mysteries takes three months for a first draft and an additional 30 days of editing and rewriting. My historical fantasy series, The Pale Chronicles, on the other hand, requires a lot more research than a mystery. The first book in the series, Barnum’s Angel, required six months of research before I was able to put pen to paper and another six months to write.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I begin writing at 6:00 a.m. every day, seven days a week and finish up around 8:30 a.m. each day. My goal is to write an average of 1,000 words a day. Then the next day, I review the previous day’s writing and then write another thousand words. Limiting my word count has helped me write richer text. When I try to write more, I tend to rush through it, focusing only on the plot. Slowing down helps me “smell the roses” and describe them.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
When I’m working on a writing project, I don’t read the books of other authors. I’ve found that when I read another author’s book, I tend to take on their voice in my own writing, at least partially corrupting my own voice.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
New ideas usually come to me as I’m reading other books or watching television. For example, I was watching a locked room mystery on television and suddenly had a funny thought to write a book that would stand that trope on its head. Instead of the victim being locked in a room with no apparent entry or exit, I put all the likely suspects in the locked room and had the victim outside the room. That idea became A Grave Misunderstanding, the first book in my Simon Grave Mystery series.
What does your family think of your writing?
For the most part, they don’t tell me whether they like my books or not. And I think that on the whole, they’re reluctant to even read them, fearing that they might not like them and then would be faced with possibly offending me with their criticisms. My wife has only read one of my books. I don’t write in her favorite genres, she says.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve written twenty books, including eighteen in print and two more in production. All have been written since I retired eight years ago at age 72. I like all of my books (of course), but the one that’s my current favorite is Barnum’s Angel, the first book in my historical fantasy series, The Pale Chronicles. It was the most challenging book to write. Historical fiction requires that everything be just right. You have to know what people wore, what they ate, what they thought about things back then, and so on. The book is getting great reviews, and the reviews I like best are the ones that laud my historical accuracy.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Writers telling other writers what to do usually comes down to dogma, if you ask me. They’ve had success writing one way and think other writers should follow their lead. Never do this and always do that; it just doesn’t work for me. I do what works best for me, and I think you should do the same. Find your voice and keep at it.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I wanted to be Flash Gordon and spend my days fighting bad guys in space. Now I write about such characters and fight adverbs in my manuscript.
I hope to read more of Len Boswell’s books in his mystery section. I read another one of his, which has a paranormal slant. The reasoning for the conclusion I did not see coming – which is a delight to me because I have always taken on authors and read their outputs and found I knew where they were heading. I refer more to the conventional house outputs in the past, but I still find some mavericks in the big time. However, I look for the jewels in the Indies – just like the movies of the Indies are outstanding, so are the books.
Flicker is another story that held my interest and curiosity up to the end. Yes, you get that the storyline is not just an on-the-ground tale. Yes, the secret ingredient is magic; it is more, but how. And why the distraction of the sign. Sort of a Rod Sterling story, but not. Both these books earned an Above the Cut 5-star rating from me.
Below are two links to his page – he has won numerous awards in the eight years he has been writing. All of his social links are on Amazon under the About the Author. Just keep clicking.
paulandpaulasbooks 