FAQ

1. Why MANfiction?
I’m a huge fan of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels, and I’m also a huge fan of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels. I needed a strong male character for first person; I can be a bit sarcastic myself; and Casey’s my alter-ego. At the time, I had no idea I had fallen smack dab in the middle of the MANfiction genre, but I knew I had a story to tell, and this character would get me there.
2. What writers influenced you in the MANfiction genre?
At the time I discovered Casey, I was heavily into Robert B. Parker, and I was also a fan of Lawrence Sanders’ Archie McNally character.
3. Aren’t you afraid of offending a female audience?
To be perfectly honest, I wrote it for myself, writing the kind of story I would like to read. I had this character who popped into my head (I’m still not exactly sure how), and the only way to make him go away was to allow him to tell his story. Early on in the process, I knew it was going to be a series, because he and I had unfinished business together. So before I had even found a publisher, I had written two sequels, and in the process of getting Falling Immortality published, I had written rough drafts for three more.
4. Is Falling Immortality your first novel?
It was the first novel I’ve been able to publish, but it wasn’t the first manuscript I’d ever written. Like most authors, I have two drawers filled with manuscripts that would need serious editing before they could ever see the light of day. I do plan to go back and edit my early work at some point (I’ve already started that process to a certain extent), and when I do, I’ll have a giant red pen handy.
5. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
Not at all. When I was little, I wanted to be a garbage man, and I used to practice when my mom and I went to the grocery store. I’d hang off to the side, one-handed, and I’d toss random cans into the cart when my mom had her back to me. But I did always love reading, and when I was smaller, being read to. That was how I woke up in the morning: with a stack of books taller than I was and either my mom or dad’s lap. I’d sit for hours listening to story after story. Out of all the gifts they’ve been able to give me that was certainly one of the best.
6. Do you mirror your character in real life?
My wife would probably take offense to the question. However, like all of my characters, I did take certain parts of myself and transfer those parts over to him. He’s a much more extreme version of me. I have to admit he’s certainly a lot of fun to write, and hopefully to read as well. You can’t take him too seriously; he certainly doesn’t.
7. Were you ever a detective?
No, I’m a financial specialist for the government. Another gift I’ve been given is an extremely analytical mind, probably to my detriment, in some cases. But it does come in handy when I write. I’m a huge fan of mystery and thriller novels, action movies, and detective TV shows. On some level that I’m not even aware of, I channel all of this knowledge, pull out the parts that I like the best, and hopefully create something brand new. I haven’t found a character like Casey Holden yet, and so far neither has my publisher.
8. Tell me about the title.
Falling Immortality came about for a few reasons. First it’s a first person narrative, which means both the reader and I know I can’t likely kill off the character, unless I have another character take over the story. Second, I wanted to have my main character, Casey Holden, have at least one near death experience, or in some cases more than one near death experience per novel, since there will probably be at least a few readers cheering for him to fail, simply because he’s such a strong male lead. Next, he’s still relatively young, so he’s at an age where he still considers himself to be immortal, and he has a big enough ego to think he’ll live forever. Last, a large number of titles reference immortality, mostly of the vampire variety, but I couldn’t find a series with two-word titles where a descriptive word was jammed together with immortality. I came up with the title fairly early in the writing process, and I couldn’t come up with a better one, so it stuck.