Down the Owlhoot Trail<\/em>\u00a0is a collection of thirteen tales about Devon Day and the Sweetwater Kid (aka Kye Devon and Chance Knight) \u2013 everything from the traditional gun battle, to a fight with hostile Indians, to an antique treasure map that actually leads to a chest of gold. The lads even go on a cattle drive. Down the Owlhoot Trail is available in both print editions and e-book format, and can be ordered either through your favorite online bookstore or directly from JMS Books.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve signed on with an agent for the first book. It\u2019s a full-length adventure starring Kye and Chance (aka Devon Day and the Sweetwater Kid) as adults. They\u2019re blackmailed into going straight by the government, and end up solving cases that can\u2019t be solved by strictly legal means. I\u2019m alternating chapters by Chance with chapters by the (slightly eccentric) Miss Emily Sharp, who is looking for something exciting to do with her life.<\/p>\n
Right now I\u2019m working on Book 2 while I wait for a publishing house to sign me on. The second adventure involves stolen artifacts and the King of Hawai\u2019i \u2013 and the gang ends up traveling clear across the country to New York.<\/p>\n
Why do you call yourself a gender-non-specific cyberbeing?<\/b><\/p>\n
I love the anonymity of the internet. I like that nobody has to know if you are a man or a woman, how old you are, where you live \u2014 they just have to take you as you are, as a mind or a soul. None of that physical stuff ought to matter anyway. We\u2019re all just people, all the same species living in the same place. We don\u2019t have time to hate each other or fight \u2014 there\u2019s not enough time to enjoy the life you have as it is, and wasting it by hating just makes no sense. Being anonymous means there are less chances for someone to make up some silly reason to fight.<\/p>\n
What do you do when you\u2019re not writing?<\/b><\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a lot of time \u2013 I almost always have writing tools near to hand! My other hobbies include photography, travel, and supervising the Creative Writing and Learning Tips categories at WikiAnswers.com. I like teaching people who actually want to learn, so WikiAnswers is a great way to have fun with that. I also like most anything to do with water, especially sailing and SCUBA diving.<\/p>\n
Do you have a day job as well?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes, my writing doesn\u2019t make enough money for me to do it full-time. I have a very intense job, with long hours and a variable schedule, so I have some weeks where I only have a couple of days off, but others where I have three or four days to write.<\/p>\n
When and why did you begin writing?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been telling stories all my life. When I was about four, I discovered that it was a great way to become the center of attention. My first written work \u00a0is a very short story entitled \u201cSilly Mouse.\u201d Stories just fascinate me. I don\u2019t just tell them \u2014 I love listening to family stories and memories of how things were. I\u2019ve always wanted to pass these things along to the next generation. I love having an audience, whether in person or through a book or short story. I guess I mostly just enjoy being the center of attention. I like provoking emotion in people: laughter, tears, wonder.<\/p>\n
How did you choose the genre you write in?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t choose a genre. I write what seems to need writing, and then try to figure out what genre it might fit into. I have a lot of trouble doing that sometimes. I\u2019ve always loved several things in a story: adventure, humor, and a sense of mystery. I try to include those things in my own writing as much as possible, so I suppose my genre is more the adventure story than anything else.<\/p>\n
When did you first consider yourself a writer?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
When I published my first piece in our local newspaper in high school. I entered a local poetry contest, supposedly for adults, and actually won third place. I\u2019d considered myself a writer until then, because I wrote all the time, but at that point I thought of myself as a published author.<\/p>\n
Because I was a science nerd, though, I put the writing on the back burner and considered it \u201cjust a hobby\u201d for many years while I pursued my love of nature and science.<\/p>\n
What is your writing space like?<\/b><\/p>\n
I write wherever I happen to be, so my writing space looks like everywhere. I carry either a paper journal or my iPad with me everywhere I go, so I\u2019m always ready to work. I have an entire shelf of journals, each one fitting a different mood and each one partly filled with scribbled handwriting \u2013 notes and outlines, scraps of chapters, nonfiction pieces, even some crude drawings.<\/p>\n
My desk at home is quite cluttered. I have two corkboards, covered with anything and everything pertaining to whatever I\u2019m writing at the moment. You\u2019re likely to find old maps, photos of places the lads might have been, questions to answer, a pertinent cartoon or two, diagrams of the lads\u2019 house, and whatever information I might need for the website (ftp information, passwords, ISBN numbers of the books, etc). I have artwork done by a friend, depicting several of my characters, above the desk. The bookshelf part of the desk has an assortment of informational books that I mostly use for WikiAnswers \u2014 the books I\u2019m using for my most current research usually take up a whole shelf on one of the three bookcases in the office. As I am a slob, the workspace is usually cluttered with whatever books or magazines I\u2019m consulting at the moment, my ever-present caffeine source (either a Coke or a latte), often a stack of mail that needs dealing with, and whatever won\u2019t fit on the bookcases.<\/p>\n
What inspired you to write your first stories?<\/b><\/p>\n
I was reading mostly science fiction at that time, and I\u2019d invented this race of aliens, some of which get stranded here on Earth. I wanted to write about how different they are and what we humans look like through their eyes. I\u2019ve published a few of those tales, in some very small anthologies and magazines, and I\u2019d like to get back to writing those at some point.<\/p>\n
What inspired you to write your first book?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always been drawn to the Old West, and I\u2019d been writing short stories about a pair of young outlaws during the late 1800\u2019s. One of my best friends challenged me to actually get those stories out to a publisher, and to write a novel about the lads. I accepted the challenge and started out with NaNoWriMo\u2019s Summer Camp so I could get 50,000 words down immediately.<\/p>\n
Do you have a specific writing style?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I like to think that I have a humorous style, with enough emotion and action to tell an interesting tale. I\u2019ve tried to write serious pieces, and once in a while, I do manage to carry it off. But usually, my sense of humor comes through. My favorite characters mostly seem to be fun-loving tricksters who get into one mess after another. I\u2019d like to hope that my writing is a cross between Louis L\u2019Amour and Robert B. Parker.<\/p>\n
Where do you get your ideas?<\/b><\/p>\n
From Ideas.com. People always ask this question. They think writers have some mystical Source of Ideas that average people are not privy to.<\/p>\n
Writers get ideas from the same place everyone else gets them \u2014 inside their head. Writers just ask a lot more nosy questions than average people \u2014 what if that person suddenly did this thing? What would happen if this occurred? What if this person said that thing to that other person? Why did that person do that thing? \u2014 that\u2019s why they get ideas that need to be put into books.<\/p>\n
Do you ever experience writer\u2019s block?<\/b><\/p>\n
I experience days where I am willing to do almost anything to avoid having to write. I don\u2019t call that writer\u2019s block \u2014 I call it procrastination! I\u2019ve always got some idea somewhere in the back of my mind that I can turn into some sort of story if I want to plant my butt in a chair and get to work. So, no, I don\u2019t get writer\u2019s block, but I do get writer\u2019s laziness.<\/p>\n
Do you work with an outline or just write?<\/b><\/p>\n
I like at least a rough outline. I tend to throw lots of things into the book when I\u2019m working \u2014 new characters, settings, trivia \u2014 and I like to try to keep track of them on an outline or \u201cSeries Bible.\u201d This way, hopefully, Cousin Charles won\u2019t suddenly become Cousin Charlene in Book Three.<\/p>\n
Would you say your writing is character- or plot-driven?<\/b><\/p>\n
My writing is definitely character-driven. I come up with intriguing characters first, and then decide which plot is going to suit that character.<\/p>\n
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t set out to send a definite message, but if there\u2019s one thread that runs through everything I write, it\u2019s that hatred and bigotry are stupid. People waste far too much time thinking of excuses to fight when they could be enjoying their own lives instead. All of my main characters are very open-minded, very tolerant of other cultures and other ideas.<\/p>\n
Are the characters or experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes and no. Writers incorporate their lives into their writing. Every experience, every emotion, works its way into your books. I don\u2019t have any one character based on a real person, but everyone I know or have encountered has had some impact on the way my characters act and interact. Everything that\u2019s ever happened to me, or that I\u2019ve heard about or read about \u2014 every part of my life colors what you read in my books.<\/p>\n
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
There are always things you want to change \u2013 a word choice here, a line of dialogue that could be improved. I always think I could have written better \u2014 done something in a more exciting fashion, used more vivid images. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d really change anything however, because that would result in a different book. I\u2019ve seen cases where authors had a chance to go back, do something differently, and it\u2019s always turned out to be totally changed instead of just improved.<\/p>\n
How did you come up with the title\u00a0Outlaw Security<\/em>?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\nI did basically what Kye and Chance do in the book \u2013 that scene was pretty much my own inner dialogue. I was thinking, what would a couple of outlaws do if they tried to go straight? You hear lots of stories of people doing this, but you almost never hear about what they do afterward. There are a couple of cases where an outlaw became a lawman, but what about the rest of the fellows? I figured, why wouldn\u2019t they just keep doing what they\u2019ve always done, only on the other side of the law? Instead of robbing the bank, they would figure out a scheme to keep the bank from getting robbed. They\u2019ve actually invented the security agency in my world, so calling it Outlaw Security makes sense. It\u2019s security\u00a0from\u00a0outlaws, but also\u00a0by\u00a0outlaws. And security is something the lads desire, even if they haven\u2019t fully realized that fact.<\/p>\n
How did you come up with the title\u00a0Down the Owlhoot Trail<\/em>?<\/b><\/p>\nThis title was a natural choice. The owlhoot trail was what people in the Old West called the outlaw life, because many outlaws rode after dark to pull off their illegal activities. Outlaws were sometimes called owl-hoots, too. Once Kye and Chance decide to take that pathway to their goals, they head off down the owlhoot trail.<\/p>\n
What was your favorite chapter of\u00a0Outlaw Security<\/em>\u00a0to write and why?<\/b><\/p>\nI always enjoy the chapters that tell how they committed a crime. I like figuring out how they\u2019re going to get away with these grand schemes. The first chapter, the robbery of the Pacific Express, literally came to me in a dream. I woke up around 3am one morning with the idea full-blown in my head. I\u2019ve tweaked the plot of it around a bit, but it\u2019s still pretty much the same as my dream.<\/p>\n
What was your favorite story from\u00a0Down the Owlhoot Trail<\/em>\u00a0to write and why?<\/b><\/p>\nI think my favorite was the first one, the one where you meet them and they meet each other. I like Chance a lot, especially as a young teen. He\u2019s so cocky and sure of himself, thinking he\u2019s so grown up and prepared for anything. I like how he pretends he\u2019s such a man of the world to Kye, who\u2019s actually the older of the two, though Chance will never admit this.<\/p>\n
Your main characters are robbers\u2013 how did you come up with this idea and how much research did you have to do?<\/b><\/p>\n
I watch and read way too much Western fiction! I\u2019ve always loved the wise-cracking rogue, and putting a trickster into the Old West just has to mean robbing banks and trains. The outlaws of that time were the rock stars of their culture \u2014 Jesse James, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid \u2014 people loved reading about their exploits. I think it\u2019s natural that I would invent a couple of robbers for my protagonists. I\u2019ve done a good bit of research to make certain that their shenanigans come across as realistic. I\u2019ve looked at train routes of the period, researched the sort of security you\u2019d be likely to encounter at the time, checked out safe companies to see what existed then, found out what sorts of guns they\u2019d have used, and even traveled to San Francisco to get the full flavor of the city.<\/p>\n
How much of the book and stories are realistic?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
I like to think most of my books are realistic. The science and history are researched, are solid. Both Outlaw Security and Owlhoot Trail are set in the Old West, and I\u2019ve done a lot of work learning the facts about that period, and about San Francisco in particular.<\/p>\n
You never actually give a date for your stories. Is there a reason for this?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes. I don\u2019t want the stories to have a specific date, because then you could date the lads and calculate how much time has passed. I want the stories to be timeless, as though they could have happened most any time in the latter half of the century. There are hints and clues in the stories, if you pay attention, but I\u2019m not going to give any firm dates. I don\u2019t want one of my readers thinking, \u201cThere\u2019s no way they could have had this adventure because X months have gone by since the last one and it\u2019s still Autumn!\u201d<\/p>\n
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
I have a hard time buckling down to work sometimes. I get distracted very easily, and it\u2019s easy for me to get bored going over the same material day after day. I have to force myself to sit down and get it done sometimes. I have days where everything seems trite and boring, and I have to just slog my way through.<\/p>\n
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
I can\u2019t narrow that down to one favorite \u2014 it\u2019s like picking your favorite child. I like Andre Norton\u2019s originality. I like Robert Parker\u2019s \u00a0and Craig Johnson\u2019s characterization. I like Louis L\u2019Amour\u2019s descriptions. I like Tony Hillerman\u2019s and Dana Stabenow\u2019s inside looks at Native Americans.<\/p>\n
I read a lot, and my favorite author depends on what month and year it is.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
So far, I have not needed to travel to publicize anything. I\u2019m hoping that in the future, I\u2019ll be asked to do some signings and maybe speak to some groups in different places. I do love to travel, and I\u2019ve made several trips out to San Francisco to get the feel of the city and the area, and to do some research that wasn\u2019t via the internet. It\u2019s a great city and I\u2019ll probably be back someday soon.<\/p>\n
How do you market your work? What avenues have you found that work best for your genre?<\/b><\/p>\n
You\u2019re starting on the ground floor here with me. I\u2019ve relied mostly on social media so far, advertising on my Facebook author page and Twitter account, plus this website and a couple of other ones I hang out on. Once I get a print book, I plan to start selling those at various events such as gun shows and Old West reenactments.<\/p>\n
What was the hardest part of writing your books?<\/b><\/p>\n
The hardest part was hanging in there and finishing it. I knew where I wanted to go with the book, but actually sitting down and grinding away at it day after day was tough. I get bored and distracted easily, so making myself work at the same thing over and over is hard for me.<\/p>\n
I also had some problems ramping up the tension. I tend to look at the lighter side of things. Some of the people who looked at the manuscript said that the lads seemed to find things too easy, without a lot of challenge. I have to work harder to think of plot complications and conflict. I\u2019m hoping that will improve once I get more writing under my belt and learn more about the mechanics of the craft.<\/p>\n
What are some challenges you faced writing and publishing your work?<\/b><\/p>\n
The biggest challenge is my day job! I work very long hours, and it\u2019s hard to get any writing done on top of that. Sometimes I come home and crawl straight into bed, but I usually try to get at least a page or two written either at night or in the morning before I leave for work.<\/p>\n
The second biggest challenge is getting the book to the point where I\u2019m satisfied with it. I\u2019ve revised it once, and now I\u2019m thinking up new angles and new ways of making it better, and am headed for at least one more major rewrite before I send it to a professional for editing.<\/p>\n
The short stories are easier for me, maybe because of my limited attention span. I had about half of what I wanted already written, and just had to edit them into shape for the anthology. The rest, I did in a few months. I suppose a third challenge is making myself read as an editor instead of just falling back into the story. It\u2019s hard for me to look for repeated words and phrases, punctuation and grammar, and continuity.<\/p>\n
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
I learned a lot. I learned that if you hang in there and do a little bit at a time, you can accomplish anything you set out to do. I learned that your first draft isn\u2019t supposed to be your finished work, and that you\u2019ll need to edit at least twice, maybe more. I learned that you can always find something new that you didn\u2019t know before, especially about the craft of writing. I learned an awful lot about the Old West, even considering the fact that I\u2019m a Western buff and thought I knew a lot already.<\/p>\n
Are there any characters you would like to go back to, or a theme or idea you\u2019d like to work with?<\/b><\/p>\n
I love Chance and Kye. I\u2019d like to do a series of books about their schemes, tell more about their past lives. Miss Emily is another favorite, with her spunk and modern attitudes. I don\u2019t especially like Kirkham as a person, but he\u2019s got a lot of possibility as a character, a lot of things he can do to make the stories more interesting.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d also like to get back to writing about my aliens, the velyr. They\u2019re a lot of fun to write about, and they can get into an awful lot of trouble, which makes for a good story.<\/p>\n
Which of your characters speaks the loudest to you?<\/b><\/p>\n
Chance from Outlaw Security and Tell from the velyr. Both of them are brash, cocky, witty characters that always have something to say about whatever is going on.<\/p>\n
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
My friends have been my biggest support team. I have a very small family, and never really discussed my writing with any of them. My friends are the ones who have to read my rough drafts, listen to my ideas, talk me into writing instead of putzing around.<\/p>\n
Do you see writing as a career?\u2028<\/b><\/p>\n
I think of writing as my second career. I\u2019d love to write as a career instead of as a hobby, but at this point, I don\u2019t see it supporting me in the style to which I\u2019d like to become accustomed. Perhaps in the future, I can make enough on the books to be able to cut back some of my hours at my day job.<\/p>\n
Do you have any advice for other writers?<\/b><\/p>\n
Plant that butt in a chair and get to it! Don\u2019t let anything distract you until you\u2019ve told the story inside your head.<\/p>\n
Study other writers and learn how they do what it is they do. Look for the craft beneath the story. Analyze instead of just reading, and you\u2019ll learn how to write.<\/p>\n
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?<\/b><\/p>\n
Thanks for supporting me! I hope you enjoy reading my adventures as much as I enjoy thinking them up and writing them down.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some interesting questions I\u2019ve come across in other interviews:<\/p>\n
Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, or hardbacks?<\/b><\/p>\n
It depends on the author. I have favorite authors, like Robert B. Parker, Louis L\u2019Amour, Dana Stabenow, and Laurie R. King whose books I always like to buy in hardback. I like e-books if I\u2019m not certain I\u2019ll like the book, as they\u2019re less expensive than print books and don\u2019t take up any space in my already crowded house. Everything else, with the exception of some of my research books, is in paperback.<\/p>\n
Where do you like to buy your books?<\/b><\/p>\n
We have a Barnes and Noble bookstore in town. I like holding a book in my hand, maybe flipping through it over a latte while I decide if I want to buy it or not. I also like the convenience of Amazon, and order quite a number of used books from them. We also have a good independent bookstore that I like, and a used bookstore where I trade out the masses of books I\u2019ve already read for more masses.<\/p>\n
Do you write under a pen name?<\/b><\/p>\n
I do. I want to keep my \u201creal\u201d life separate from my writing. I\u2019m pretty much a hermit when I\u2019m not at work, and I like my privacy and solitude. I also can\u2019t have people showing up at my job because it\u2019s a very busy one without the time for socializing with my readers.<\/p>\n
Do you have any pets?<\/b><\/p>\n
At the moment, I am pet-less, although I tend to prefer cats to dogs simply because I\u2019m away from home so many hours a day and dogs just can\u2019t cope well with that sort of life.<\/p>\n
White wine or red?<\/b><\/p>\n
White, though I much prefer a good, dark rum.<\/p>\n
Coffee or tea?<\/b><\/p>\n
I like coffee as a hot drink and tea as a cold one. I like my coffee in the espresso variety and my tea unsweetened (though I did grow up on the typical Southern sweet tea). I\u2019m also addicted to Mexican Coca-Colas (the kind made with actual cane sugar instead of corn syrup).<\/p>\n
Do you like to cook and do you have a favorite food?<\/b><\/p>\n
I can cook fairly well, I think, though I usually don\u2019t take the time. I have several favorite foods. I make a really mean pot of chili. My favorite Mexican food is a nice, spicy plate of nachos, the ones with actual shredded cheese on top instead of a prepared sauce. My favorite Italian food is fettuccine alfredo. My favorite pizza is pepperoni, and my favorite seafood is shrimp. I also make one of the best pina coladas you\u2019ll probably ever taste (IMHO).<\/p>\n
Vanilla or chocolate ice cream?<\/b><\/p>\n
Coffee, though of those two I\u2019ll take chocolate.<\/p>\n
Sleep in or get up early?<\/b><\/p>\n
It depends on my work schedule. I have to get up at the crack of dawn for my job, so sometimes on my writing days I sleep in until 8 or 9.<\/p>\n
Laptop or desktop for writing?<\/b><\/p>\n
I write anywhere, but I like to do the main work at the desk. Often, I\u2019ll do the initial work longhand in a journal and transcribe it at the desk, doing a first edit as I do. I take my laptop nearly everywhere if there\u2019s going to be anywhere I can set it up.<\/p>\n
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