Today author John Hansen has been so gracious as to drop by and chat with us about his writing experience.
John is the author of the wonderful flash fiction The Reason and also Lobotomy.
Ok, so onto the questions
What genre of books do you write? Can you tell us a little more about yourself?
I have always loved reading murder mysteries, especially Riordan’s Tres Navarre series, so when it would come time to write, I would always write crime fiction – both hardboiled and noir.
I am John Hansen, teenage author of a crime novel, some poetry, and several flash fiction stories including the Lobotomy trilogy. I have always loved to write, especially reading and writing crime fiction novels. Obviously, my passion lies with writing and I hope to become published in the coming years; it is more blind hope but hope nonetheless.
I also own and operate a book blog, so if you need a book reviewed, an author interview, or if you want to guest post, go to http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com . Feel free to follow even if you care nothing about the blog to make this poor author happy. :)
Of the books that you've written, which one is your favourite and why?
I would have to say that my favorite book is my flash fiction (stories below 1,000 words) story, “The Reason”. It’s one of those things that you aren’t sure why you love it so much, you just do. “The Reason” has this easy yet dramatic vibe to it; it really captures and expresses my sarcastic writing style in its flowing sentences. Full of detailed descriptions, rich prose and drama, I find myself constantly re-reading it because I love it so much.
When did you begin writing? Can you tell us a bit about your journey into writing as well as publishing?
I have always loved to write, like most authors will say about themselves. But it was not until this summer that I really took action in writing. I wrote my first crime novel which is undergoing querying right now, created my blog, guest posted on blogs, wrote some poetry and experimented with flash fiction which, by the way, I am very fond of. I self published my poetry and flash fiction to Smashwords, because I didn’t really want to wait months for a response from a magazine and I thought that it would be easier to get my name out there if my work was a standalone, not just another stories amid hundreds of others.
What do you find the easiest part about writing, as well as the hardest?
The easiest part about writing for me is writing dramatic scenes that I have anticipated writing for days. I always love it when I have the chance to write the long awaited scene of the detective realizing that his friend is a murderer. Since I had thought about it so far in advance, when it came to write that particular dramatic scene, my words just danced off the page.
The hardest part about writing is remembering that darn word! I always find myself writing smoothly and happily, until suddenly, though I have a definition in mind, I can’t remember the stupid word that I was about to use. It is always difficult to choose the perfect, evocative word and when I forget the one that I was about to use… believe me, I get angry. I probably forget the particular word so often because I have a tendency to write in my mind much faster than I type and while my brain rambles away, my fingers just can’t keep up.
Which format of book do you prefer, ebook, hardback, or paperback?
This is a very difficult question. I used to be one of those skeptics of ebooks and Kindle reading who stuck with physical copies – though I didn’t care if it was hardback or paperback – but I have to admit that after publishing my first ebook, I am really beginning to like reading ebooks. It is a tough decision, but I think that I prefer ebooks.
What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew?
There are so many rumors floating around about how useless self-publishing is and I will admit that I refrained from self-publishing for awhile under that influence. I wish I knew then what I know now: how bogus those rumors are. In my mind, self-publishing is great! It’s a great way to get your name out there, to become comfortable with promoting your book and in some cases can be used as a platform.
Describe your book in 20 words or less. Help readers connect with your work!
A sadistic father. A dead mother. And a knife…
What’s your writing schedule?
It’s about to be very, very tight. It was already difficult to balance out writing, reading and promoting, but now I have to throw school, homework and sports into that mess. I will, sadly, have little time to write but I will try to fit it in.
What’s your favorite thing about your book/s?
Brace yourself for bragging! My favorite thing about my book is probably my unique writing style. As Jennifer Oberth says, “There is little dialogue but the characters speak to us with every line.” I feel as though I always find a way to write with next to no dialogue but at the same time keep the pace steady and not congested with too much description. I don’t know what it is about my writing style, but I can always re-read my books because it renews my interest each time.
What was the hardest scene to write? and what was your favorite scene to write?
The hardest scene for me to write is always the opening scene. Something within me always urges me to make it perfect. After all, it is what the agent sees, what the reader first sees and sets the tone of the book. The opening scene has to be perfect and I constantly go back and rewrite it. Despite the importance of it, the opening scene is my favorite scene to write as well as it being the most difficult. I am not certain why, but I think that it is because I pour all of my excitement, my ardor, my ideas into that scene because it is the opening of a fresh, new book that I have anticipated writing for so long.
Thank you so much John for dropping by and taking the time to complete this questions. I for one will definitely be on the look out for more of your work!
Ok everyone, I'm sure we can all agree this has been a fab interview and the books sound intriguing!!
Here is are the links to connect with John and check some of this authors amazing work:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MysteryRiter
And also dont forget to add yourself to John's blog:
http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/
