Q. Are you still writing novels?
A. At the moment, no. There are a number of things that have come up in the realm of Real Life that have eaten up the time I once used to spend alone with my fingers on a keyboard. That's one reason I've been writing songs - I've found that it takes a lot less time to complete a song (except for the one I worked on for two years, and I'm still not sure if it's right), and when I finish one the process is essentially complete. Whereas, with a novel, once it is finished, there's that whole process of trying to get it published...
That's not to say I'm out of the writing game permanently. When things settle down, perhaps in the next year or so, I've got a novel to revise, and as always, several that need writing.
Q. So how many songs have you written?
A. At this writing, the number is nearing fifty.
Q. Do you have any unpublished novels?
A. What author doesn't? At this writing, the inventory looks like this:
The Mushroom Shift - A darkly humored novel about Sheriff's Deputies trying to keep both their sanity and their jobs.
Trust - a clever-at-the-time political thriller about a reporter who gets the goods on a presidential candidate - and nobody believes her because she works for a tabloid. Everyone passed on it, and now I think it's too dated to resurrect.
Zmblgf - A children's SF novel about a young boy who opts to go into outer space with an alien rather than face a bully at school.
Drawing Down the Moon - A thriller/romance/screwball comedy/road story about a cable TV personality and a self-proclaimed witch on the run from just about everybody. Hopefully to be rewritten soon.
Q. Can I read one of your unpublished novels?
A. No.
Q. Have any of your books been made into movies?
A. Nope, but not for lack of trying. There were some early nibbles on The Company Man, including from the Ridley Scott camp, but he decided to move away from SF at the time (Hey, Sir Ridley, if you change your mind, it's still available! Mr. Scott? Mr. Scott?). The Pembroke Hall novels were optioned by a Canadian concern for a while - they wanted to make them into a TV series. I could have lived with that. The end result was that my worst selling novels were my biggest moneymakers. Finally, there's an indy filmmaker out there who is seriously interested in, of all things, the Angel's Luck trilogy. If anything comes to pass, look for news here. But don't hold your breath. It's a slow process - ask any writer who has been there.
Q. Have any of your songs been used in the movies?
A. Um... no. They have to be recorded and out there in order to have a shot at that, and I haven't gotten that far at this writing.
