Interviewing You

Ok. I'd like to try something a little different today. Though it has probably been done before, I haven't seen it. I enjoy reading interviews with people, but sometimes I get a tad bored with long-winded answers. Yes, I realize that my interview answers are often long-winded, but I'm trying to ignore that for today. What I would like to do is the following. I am going to ask a series of light-hearted questions for you all to answer. Everyone is welcome to join in on this, not just authors. If you are an author, this is a chance to expose your work to new readers. If you are a reader, this is a chance to find new authors to try out. If you don't care about either, hopefully, the interview will simply be fun to read.

So, here is what you do: send me an email at epertase@gmail.com (do not post your answers in the comments of this blog as I want to put the questions and answers together and present them all at once in a week or so. Again, I will not be approving the answers in the comments. Comments about the blog, however, are welcomed and appreciated.)

In you email, answer each question with a single sentence. (And I don't mean a 300-word run-on either.) if your answer is so great ( and I mean the world is truly missing out by it being only 1 sentence) then I suppose two sentences would be alright. And yes, I realize I have probably just opened the door to every answer being 2 sentences long, but I hope not. With your answers, you are welcome to be as clever as you'd like or simply answer straight up. It is truly up to you. Just a heads up, we love witty answers here on this blog. Just please don't go blue (unless the question is about your favorite color and it happens to be blue, of course).

Also, in your email, include your name and the name of the work you would like to promote. At the end of the email, provide 1 link to any one site that you would like to promote (FB like page, blog, Amazon, etc.). If someone likes your stuff, they can find out more from there. If you have nothing to promote, then just leave it blank and enjoy yourself.

Do not worry about typing the questions as the question number will suffice. In a week or so, I will repost the questions with everyone's answers and links. I'd like for this interview to be fun, so I am asking you to not only participate, but to share this blog with your friends so they can join in. The more the merrier. Also, be a sport and follow my blog if you don't already. I'd love to have you as a guest.

Now, here's the questions.

1.) What book would you say is your biggest influence?

2.) Who is your favorite author?

3.) How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?

4.) What is your biggest goal in life at this moment?

5.) What type of books to you write or read?

6.) Team Jacob or Team Edward or Team _______? (I don't like Twilight, but I look forward to the different answers I'll get)

7.) What is your favorite movie?

8.) What is your favorite band?

9.) Authors- What do you think works best when promoting your product? Readers- What type of promotions get you to try a product?

10.) If you had a million dollars, what would you do first?

11.) Firefighters or police officers? Remember, I'm a firefighter before you answer.

Alright, that is my first series of questions. If I get a good response, I'll do it again with new questions. Remember, email your answers to epertase@gmail.com and come back in a week or so for the answers. Come on, everyone. Let's make this fun. (Yes, I am especially looking at you, fellow Rhemalda authors ;)

Ever Talk to Three-hundred Sixteen-year-olds?

A few weeks ago I was asked if I would speak to seven classes of sophomores at a local high school about writing. I agreed and two weeks ago Friday was the day. For the weeks leading up to it, I spent most of my free time putting together what I had hoped was an interesting presentation. I felt pretty prepared. I used a mix of writing tips, stories about why I write, and a fire department tale or two in hopes of having something that everyone in the class could enjoy.

I'm not going to lie to you--I was pretty nervous about the whole situation. OK, so I wasn't as bad as the kid in the video, but you get my point. After all, I'm a firefighter/paramedic/author and nowhere does that say public speaker. Not to mention, I wasn't given any direction as to what the teachers wanted me to cover. All I knew was I had 45 minutes to fill.

The first class was for about 60 kids. In hindsight, I think I prefer the bigger classes because there seems to be more participation. That first class went pretty smooth and I thought, This is going to go better than I thought.

And then the second class of about 25 students entered. One kid put his head on his desk before I even started and slept through my entire presentation. None of the other kids participated and I was stuck on an island. About half way through my spiel, I was ready to quit. I was stammering my way through while they could care less. At the end I asked for questions and heard crickets instead. I was ready to run screaming for the door. With five more classes I was a wreck. But I stuck with it and started building confidence with each class.

By the last few classes, I was joking and interacting with the kids and felt a lot better, if not slightly fatigued. The teachers repeatedly complemented my presentation and thanked me for discussing topics that they struggle to get through to their students. You know, show, don't tell and revise, revise, revise--those kinds of things.

So, the question becomes, would I do this again? My short answer is yes. (It has to be, since I am scheduled to give my presentation to one-hundred and fifty thirteen-year-olds next month.) I guess you'd like to know if it was worth my time and effort. I suppose I'd have to say yes. First of all, anytime you do something out of your comfort zone, I think you grow as a person. And second, there are now 300+ teen-agers who have met me and have been exposed to my work.

Financially, I only sold six books, but my Amazons sales spiked a bit in the days after, so who knows if that was the reason. Overall, six books after speaking to 300 kids was a bit of a disappointment, but it quickly became obvious that my presentation wasn't the problem. If I had to put my finger on why I did poorly in sales, I'd point to three reasons. For one, they are teen-agers. Money is a rare commodity and at 16 years old, I doubt their parents were shelling out much cash for their teen-agers' entertainment. At sixteen if my parents gave me fifteen bucks for a book, I'd probably put it into my gas tank or something else. My second guess is that fantasy has a very particular and specific fanbase and doesn't appeal to everyone. In fact, a lot of kids showed more interest in my coming werewolf story than the fantasy I was there promoting. And the third reason for poor sales would be peer pressure. If several kids lined up, I think it would have been contagious.

I have heard that children's book authors do extremely well with school presentations, but it didn't seem to translate to the older kids. I'm hoping my presentation next month to the thirteen-year-olds produce better results since those kids might be more likely to be excited about meeting an author.

We shall see. I've got my fingers crossed.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving. Try to enjoy your families and leave all of your stresses behind for this one day. (Unless you're a turkey, of course. In that case I say, "Ruuuuunn.) To all of my firefighter friends working today, stay safe and enjoy Turkey Day with your second family.

Reacting to Negative Reviews

(Yeah, I know. The video is more about editing than it is about reviews, but I'm invoking creative licensing here. You get the point, right?)

If you write or paint or do anything creative, and you put your work out for people to see, you are bound to get a poor review or two. My first book has received many good reviews but it has also received bad ones here and there. Let's talk about the bad ones today and how you handle them.

Let me start by giving you the advice my publisher and my friends Michelle Davidson Argyle and J.S. Chancellor gave me. DON'T READ REVIEWS. That's great advice. And if you are one of those people who can take that advice, you can stop reading now. But if you are like me and just can't go on not knowing what people think of your work, continue reading.

I used to read every review I could find. Now that my book has been out for awhile and my next book is coming soon, I don't seek them out as much anymore. I'll still read them if I see them, but they're not on my mind as much anymore. That's because I have learned what other more experienced writers have learned already. Two different people like two very different things. Simple as that. For example, some people complain about how I jump from one character to another throughout my book while others remark at how much they like that very element. Some people complain about my style while others say they love it. I have found that when it comes to books, if an author's voice doesn't jive with the voice in the reader's head, it doesn't matter how good the book is, it'll be hard for that reader to enjoy. There is nothing I can do as an author to change that.

But, back to why I started this blog. I really want to know how you handle negative reviews. Before you answer, here are a couple potential reactions and why such a reaction is or isn't a good idea.

The first is anger. "That person just doesn't get it. How dare they?" That's a natural reaction and I'm not going to say you are wrong in feeling this way. Where this reaction causes irreversible consequences is if you express it in any public way, especially on the web. You might remember not too long ago when a blog review site went viral because an author lashed out at the blogger's negative review of her work. I felt bad for the author and her subsequent verbal beating on that site, but I also knew she brought it on herself. You should never argue with someone about why they don't like what you've created or why they don't get it. It is simply unprofessional.

Another reaction, which I'm sure everyone who has been criticized has had at some point is sadness. Again, that is a normal reaction, but one I don't think should be expressed to the reviewer. If you feel you must say something, I guess you could tell them you are sorry they didn't like your work, but even that probably isn't a very good idea.

Now, I'm going to say something that creative people might not like at first. Bear with me for a moment and I'll explain myself. Those negative reviews, the ones that tear out your soul and stomp on it, for the most part, are right. OK, OK, don't come down on me yet and just hear me out. What I mean is it is right for that person. If a reviewer doesn't have a personal vendetta against you and their review is that they didn't like what you've created for one reason or another, it is their feelings therefore they can't be wrong. I hated the movie "300." Some people think I'm crazy, but I'm not wrong because they it is my opinion. If the reviewer didn't get my book or your art, then they didn't get it. So, take it with a grain of salt and move on.

This brings me to my next reaction and the one I think you, the artist, should consider. If you insist on reading the reviews, like I do on occasion, you should try to put equal weight in the bad ones as you do in the good ones. I know it is easier said than done, but you have to try. Read the negative reviews, set them aside and mope around for a bit if you must, and then forget them and move on. You shouldn't contact the reviewer or trash them on your blog or god-forbid allow their words to steer you away from your own vision in the future. Just take their words, tell yourself that they have their own opinions, and get back to creating. That's what I've learned.

Everyone gets bad reviews. It's what happens when you open yourself up to strangers in the form of art. My most brutal review was given to my book on its actual launch day. Talk about letting the air out of someone's sails. But I got past it and have went on to create more work that I am proud to have created. I can guarantee the person who gave me such a negative review will hate my next book, because I haven't changed my style in any way. There are no hard feelings and I'm actually sorry the reviewer didn't like my story. After all, I create to give enjoyment.

So, what do you all think? How do you respond when your hard work is decimated by a critic? And what is the harshest comment you have received? I'll start. The harshest comment I've received is when a reviewer said that my two years of hard work could have been thrown together in a weekend by any other author. Yikes.

(Quick note. If you have tried to comment in the past and have been unable, I think I have fixed that problem. I've heard from a lot of people who wanted to comment and couldn't so I've changed a setting. I hope that helps. Send me an email if you are still having trouble commenting and I will try again to fix the issue again. I want to hear from you. epertase@gmail.com )

Mid Ohio Comic con 2011

Here is my booth at comic con this weekend. Fun time, met lots of great people, and sold a few books.

Today is a special day

As a teenager, I worked with a girl who was three years older than me and way too pretty to be in my league. I was rather shy and focused more on getting my work done and keeping to myself than talking with someone who I had no chance of realistically pursuing. In fact, I didn't talk to her at all. That is, other than her daily harassing of me about not wearing a hairnet when my hair was almost as long as hers, if you could call that talking.

Hey, she was a cook and I was just a dishes guy anyway.

Fast forward to a couple of years later. I had graduated from high school, cut my hair, and started working as the facility's night watchman. In the evenings, as I was coming into work, she was leaving and we began talking a bit more often. Over a few months, we became pretty good friend and shared our problems with each other like good friends often do. Well, actually, she usually shared and I usually listened. ;)

I no longer looked at her as just some pretty girl who I was too shy to approach, but started seeing her more and more as a friend. She began coming over to the building where I worked and talked with me for a couple of hours as I did my night-watch duties.

As we talked, I never once considered someone so pretty could ever be remotely interested in me in any way other than the friendship we already had. No, really, that was how lacking in confidence I was. I'd had girlfriends in the past, but something about this girl tied me in knots.

One evening before she left, while I was on the telephone, she did it. She strutted up to me, pressed her lips against mine for a moment, and then left with a sly grin that said, "What do you think about that?"

I was floored. I truly had no idea that she saw me in any way other than a friend. I'm sure the signs were there, but as we have already established, I was far from Casanova. In hindsight, I'm actually glad to have been so clueless, because I probably would have tried too hard in my "wooing" and blown my chances before anything ever materialized.

You see, the reason I tell you this story is because five years later, I married that girl. And, today, I celebrate my 15th wedding anniversary with the most beautiful woman I have ever known.

Angie Brown, I love you now as much as ever. Happy anniversary and thank you for being my soulmate.

...that is, until Beetlejuice stole her away from me. Curse you, Beetlejuice.

Cover Unveiling

A few weeks ago on this blog I asked if you have ever wanted to own a werewolf. Today, I am excited to announce why I asked that question. A couple of years ago I wondered, if werewolves were real and could be tamed, would people own them. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that people actually would. After all, Mike Tyson owned a tiger. If I could somehow convince the wealthy public that a werewolf was just a seven-foot tall, perfectly docile, cousin to the wolf, I had no doubt that people would consider the prospect.

With that idea, I started writing "Tamed" in between working on my Epertase trilogy. My goal with "Tamed" was to take what is cool about werewolves and give the reader a unique spin on the creatures. I hoped to do for the werewolf genre what True Blood did for vampires in telling a story about familiar creatures in a way that isn't so familiar. I think I have accomplished that goal.

In May of this year, I finished "Tamed" and, shortly thereafter, submitted it to Rhemalda. They offered a contract and we started working on getting my werewolf-novel-with-a-twist ready for a winter release.

And now I get to unveil the cover and the working back synopsis for the first time. I am so excited.

I can't wait for you to read my story.

Feedback would be phenomenal.




Werewolves are real.

And they make loyal pets.

Christine doesn't care that owning one of the docile creatures is the newest fad, or that the WereHouse insists their product is 100% safe, she hates them just the same. But her job as a firefighter/paramedic and the increasing popularity of werepets make encounters unavoidable.

While on a routine EMS call, she and her partner stumble onto the scene of a rabid werepet massacre of its owners. The wounded creature attacks Christine, infecting her with his blood before she narrowly escapes with her life.

Over the coming weeks, something changes within her. During emergency calls to werepet-heavy neighborhoods, the male only creatures become aggressive when she is near and some of them break their tames.

The WereHouse takes notice.

Christine's very existence threatens to expose long hidden secrets about the company. If the hunters sent by the WereHouse find her, they will kill her. But if she escapes, she will bring down the entire werepet industry and change the world in the process.

Barnes and Noble PA announcement. Sweet

Here is the announcement that Barnes and Noble made at the start of my signing. That's cover artist Steve Murphy in the video. Barnes and Noble said 8 books sold is what they considered successful. I sold 14. Woo-hoo.

Next stop, Mid Ohio Comic Con on Oct. 22-23.

Firefighters are the Enemy in Ohio

I have been in the fire service for 20 years now and what is going on here in Ohio shocks and hurts me in ways I can't explain in words. And I'm an author. I have dedicated my life to helping people and risking my own life in the process.

Unfortunately, my career has come under attack this year. Let me take a second to explain what has happened for those of you who don't live in Ohio and then I'll tell you why it is hurting firefighters along with teachers, police, and all of Ohio's public servants. I will speak mostly about how it affects firefighters since that is what I know best.

Here in Ohio, Governor John Kasich passed a bill in the spring called Senate Bill 5. By all opinions within the fire service, it is a terrible bill for our future safety and for our future in protecting the public. The initial backlash to this bill was incredible with 1.3 million Ohioans signing a petition to have the bill go up for vote in November. Voting no on Issue 2 (as Senate Bill 5 is now known) will repeal the bill.

Because the governor has a high political stake in this bill, he and his wealthy supporters have poured millions of dollars into getting the support of the voters on Issue 2 in November. It is unfortunate that their constant barrage of ads on TV have started swaying some of the public into disliking their local firefighters (along with police and teachers). For example, Issue 2 supporters have ads showing how public employees pay less than the general public for their insurance in hopes that the voter will want us to pay more. People seeing that ad might think, "Hey, that's reasonable," and so they decide to vote for the bill. But that's the problem. Insurance and pension contributions are only one aspect of this flawed bill and it ignores all of the points that the majority of firefighters are against.

With that said, let me get to the point of this blog. Here is why I am so shocked and disheartened by what is going on in these months leading up to the vote. Supporters of this bill have campaigned to make firefighters and police and teachers look like overpaid mooches on society. Their ad campaigns and public speeches have portrayed us as the reason the country is having such economic woes. To people struggling, they are giving a face to their misery. The opposition's rhetoric of blame and anger at public employees has created a hostile environment toward us, which is something I never thought a politician could or would do.

In the last few months, I have been called a parasite and an idiot because I'm a firefighter. Other firefighters have been followed and video-taped while working so that our opposition can "catch" them making mistakes. We have been confronted by people hoping to get us to respond negatively so they can portray us as being rude, or angry, or whatever helps them prove that we are, in fact, your enemy.

Never in my career could anyone have convinced me that people would be so against us as many people are right now. But here we are. Now, you might say that I'm exaggerating and that people can't hate firefighters and cops and teachers here in Ohio. Well, all I can say is that Issue 2 has a good chance of passing despite our pleas that it makes us a lot less safe and efficient.

Most people who support the bill like a few of the key points and I understand that. The problem is that Governor Kasich and his supporters have included several articles within the bill that endanger firefighters and the public in general in the long run. Things like stacking the deck against the firefighters during negotiations by giving final say to the politicians in every aspect of the contract. Most people don't realize that our safety is part of our contract negotiations and, yes, increased safety sometimes means increased cost. For more on how the bill affects our safety, I have included links to two of my previous editorials if you want to learn more.



In the meantime, the point of this blog is to, yes, vent a little, but also to give readers a small glimpse into how the demonizing of firefighters affects us personally. I go back to work tomorrow. At any moment, my life could be at stake. In saying that, I can't believe that I am involved in a situation where I am trying to convince the general public that firefighters aren't the enemy. I can't believe that so many people are trusting a member of Wall Street-turned-politician over the very people who teach their kids and save their lives.

As an added note, the governor has excluded his own office and politicians in general from the bill. If it is a good bill, and he is a public servant, why do you think that is?

I'm sorry if you are for Issue two and are offended by my comments, but I ask you to look at everything this bill does and vote with what you think is right. I have never felt so attacked by politicians and I hope Ohioans come to firefighters' defense in November.

If you live in Ohio, please vote NO on Issue 2. Thank you.