Where are you from?

Casper, Wyoming. (Yee-haw!)

How old are you?

55

What and who inspired you into reading and/or writing?

My second-grade teacher, Mrs. Matt, loved to foster creativity.

What was the first book that you read that started your love for reading?

I really loved the "Tom Swift Junior" series when I was 11 or 12. The Lord of the Rings trilogy stunned me rigid when I read that.

What was the turning point in your life that you decided to take your writing seriously?

I think the event was that I finally relaxed enough to diffuse through my own inhibitions. Around 2017/2018 I put in the hard work needed to really self-edit some of my doggerels. I wanted lean prose that was easy to read, and when I had paid my dues enough to be relatively sure that that's what was getting down on the page, I started publishing the Ace Carroway series.

What is the inspiration for your stories?

Before-my-time stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, Lester Dent, Andre Norton, and a host of pulp fiction writers.

Do you outline your stories or write whatever comes to mind?

I outline, but it's not a detailed outline like I see some folks are doing.

What is your method of beginning to writing a book?

I find that a good title is a wonderful guiding light. Then I have an outline. Then it's time to write that first scene. Often, it's pretty easy and involves some kind of cliffhanger.

Do you ever get attached to the characters in your story? If so, what part of their personality or quirks do you find relatable?

Heck, yes. Sometimes, I adopt my characters' outrageous accents when I talk. I really cringe at some of the sufferings I inflict upon them. Thank goodness they are generally resilient and forgiving.

Do you base your characters on people in your personal life, imagination, or both?

I try to be original, but I'm sure that bits and pieces of people I have actually known leak in.

What is the best part of writing a story?

I love the first draft, at the point where you have to just burn through the climax. All the threads are coming together in the final unraveling, and it's super exciting.

How do you deal with writer's block?

When there's a real showstopper of a plot hole or if you wake up and go, "Wow, that one character is lame," then, yeah, you have to go back to the drawing board. Backing up is hard, rewriting is hard. I lure myself with treats. I make deals with myself. "Hey, Guy, if you think of a patch for this plot hole, you can buy yourself a lemon pie."

Would you want to see your story or stories be adapted? If so, who would you want to play your characters?

I'd love to see Ace Carroway relaunched as a comic book / graphic novel.

Movies would be okay, too, of course. A lot of leading ladies these days could play Ace. Her gang of five, though, only two of them are good-looking. We'd need real character actors, which I think means heading to Britain -- Hollywood seems devoid of real character actors.

What kind of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

Get your technical problems solved. If buzzwords like head-hopping or show-don't-tell or passive voice are mysteries to you, ATTACK! Research, study and bash your brain against them until you can expound like a professor on the merits and demerits of each. No concert pianist has trouble with a C-major scale, so no writer should have trouble with tense, alliteration, or voice. The technique is the gateway to being able to properly express yourself in writing.

Are you working on a new story?

Yes, absolutely. I'm working hard on Ace Carroway and the Deadly Violin.  On WP, I am chipping away at The Boarding House Horror, a Christie-style whodunnit.