Welcome to Jagged Edge!
Would you like to tell us a little about yourself?
I am a father, grandfather, husband and have worked in the computer business since roughly 1984, which makes me approximately 29 years of age, I think. My math may be a bit off.
I'm originally from New Jersey. I moved to Hawaii and lived there for 19 years, and used to scuba dive every weekend. As a child I was an obsessive fisherman, and could disappear for many hours to go fishing, which once prompted my mother to call the police because at age 6 I was out past 10:00 PM. I finally came home because I was out of bait. I built 2 hydroponics systems when I lived in Hawaii, as I became interested in gardening, particularly growing fruits and vegetables, but am curious about medicinal plants too. I used to roller skate when I was a teen, and I worked at a skating rink for five years, and still keep in touch with my skating friends on Facebook. I never had really good grades, but I did manage to graduate from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Computer Science. After a year of grad school, I got my teaching certificate, and became a tenured science teacher in the state of Hawaii (see my 'Favorite Quote' below).
I'm originally from New Jersey. I moved to Hawaii and lived there for 19 years, and used to scuba dive every weekend. As a child I was an obsessive fisherman, and could disappear for many hours to go fishing, which once prompted my mother to call the police because at age 6 I was out past 10:00 PM. I finally came home because I was out of bait. I built 2 hydroponics systems when I lived in Hawaii, as I became interested in gardening, particularly growing fruits and vegetables, but am curious about medicinal plants too. I used to roller skate when I was a teen, and I worked at a skating rink for five years, and still keep in touch with my skating friends on Facebook. I never had really good grades, but I did manage to graduate from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Computer Science. After a year of grad school, I got my teaching certificate, and became a tenured science teacher in the state of Hawaii (see my 'Favorite Quote' below).
What inspired you to write?
I have always thought about writing, making up stories to be specific, but I never thought I could write an entire book. I had to fool myself to get AngelFall going. I started the story as a small, background tale for a video game I wanted to create, thinking I would end up with maybe 10 pages at most, and it blossomed into a giant book. Then, the game got side tracked and the book became the project. Seriously, it was a dream come true! I would have never began a book on purpose back then (2007).
What authors influenced you as a writer?
So many, but to start: Dante Alighieri, J.K Rowling, J.R.R Tolkien, Stephen King, Louis Sachar, Dr. Seuss, and a few more I can't quite remember at the moment. Really, any good author is an influence. I will say that Louis Sachar, author of Holes, really opened the door with his variable length chapters. I love how he did that!
What is your favorite Quote? Why is it your favorite?
My favorite quote (so far) is by Mark Twain:
"Don't let schooling interfere with your education. "
I used to work in the public school system in the state of Hawaii, and have seen how 'schooling' can disrupt education. Funny, I actually flunked first and seventh grade. First grade because I just did not always want to go to school. So I didn't.
If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be?
Definitely the Lord of the Rings world. The rich forests, mountains, beings, and creatures are very compelling; I love being in nature quite a bit.
What is at least one thing that every writer needs to have or do?
Courage! And imagination. But I don't know if I speak for everyone; I am very self critical, so I fought a lot of my own demons (shameless plug) to get AngelFall written. I am finally at a place where writing feels good!
Are your books different to your personal favorite books by other authors?
Yes they are. I have had this adventure in Dante's Inferno brewing for a very long time.
What lead you to writing in this genre?
It's one of my favorites, so it was a natural choice. Creativity of this fashion seriously sucks me in!
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
The initial write is my favorite part, especially since it is becoming better and better as I get more experience, and have much less fear.
Least favorite part of the writing process?
Editing!!! It's very cumbersome, and I'm not always able to catch my own mistakes. My wife helps me a great deal with the editing, to my advantage. She's so good she should actually do it for a living.
What are you currently working on?
I am editing AngelFall Book III right now and will be heading for my initial write of Book IV in January; I am looking forward to finishing off my series, and I may try to find some comic book artists to convert the whole AngelFall Series to graphic novel format. This is very exciting since I was quite an avid reader of comic books in my early 20's.
Where readers can find you?
Readers can find me on my blog at http://TheAngelFallSeries.com, where they can feel free to leave a message with a question or their thoughts if they so desire. I try to respond to all emails, but I won't tell them what happens later in the series. My wife keeps trying to find out, and I won't tell her either.
LAST QUESTION:
Was their a question you wish I would have asked but didn't?
Yes, but it will probably come up as soon as I send this to you, so I won't worry about it!
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