We’ve recently completed a combined author interview for our Smashwords author page. We’d like to share it here, in its entirety:

1. What are you working on next?

~Eric: A horror novel/dark fantasy called “The Ocular,” a sequel to our science fiction novel “Exiles of Gaia” called “Hunters of Gaia” and a sequel to my horror short story “The Mortuary Fly.”

~Nancy: Next is going to be a horror/paranormal thriller based on a character in our novel Creek House.

~Anne: After we finish the second Gaia book, I’ll be working on a crime novel completely unrelated to our previous works.

2. Who are your favorite authors?

~Eric: Stephen King, Dan Simmons and H.P. Lovecraft, Preston and Child, and so many others.

~Nancy: Dean Koontz, Steven King, C.J. Box, Preston and Child, Jonathan Kellerman and David Goleman, to name a few.

~Anne: Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, Anne Bishop, really too many to name.

3. When you are not writing, how do you spend your time?

~Eric: Taking care of my wife and daughter and wasting time on the Internet.

~Nancy: Reading, crafting, playing with my grandchildren and I like to RV camp.

~Anne: Reading, gardening, spending time with my family.

4. Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

~Eric: I think it was a short biography/narrative written on graph paper detailing one of my Dungeons & Dragon’s player characters (a totally implausible half-dwarf/half-elven thief if I recall correctly).

~Nancy: It was a story about a princess and a prince I wrote in the 5th grade.

~Anne: I wrote a story about a dragon in the 3^rd grade, with illustrations. I was really proud of that story.

5. Describe your desk.

~Eric: A home-built festering mass of junk mail, books and bric-a-brac.

~Nancy: I am surrounded by mementos of those I love and art work. Directly above my computer is a shelf holding our five completed novels to inspire me to continue.

~Anne: I’ve been transient for the past few months. I’m currently writing on a well-loved thrift store desk.

6. Where did you grow up and how did this influence your writing?

~Eric: I grew up in a small town during the 1980’s where there was nothing to do but watch MTV (if you had cable) or read books. Back then you had to develop your imagination out of sheer necessity or go completely bug shit crazy with profound boredom.

~Nancy: I grew up in rural Oregon. I think it gave me a realistic view of people, without their obscuring veneer of sophistication. It gave me an insight into what makes people tick.

~Anne: I also grew up in a small town. You really got to know people and that provided inspiration for some of our more colorful characters.

7. What’s the story behind your latest book?

~Eric: It describes a technological artifact that brings together science and the arcane.

~Nancy: I’m co-writing two simultaneously with Anne and Eric. The core ideas for both books came from them and I’m expanding on those initial ideas as we work.

~Anne: I’m working on our second book in the New Mother Earth series, Hunters of Gaia.

8. What motivated you to become an indie author?

~Eric: I am psychologically unsuited to any other type of work.

~Nancy: The frustration of the submissions process for traditional publishing. It felt like a waste of time and this gives us an opportunity for full control of our works.

~Anne: We had a lot of discussions and for us, the pros outweighed the cons. Not to mention, you get almost instant gratification and feedback when you indie publish.

9. What is the greatest joy of writing for you?

~Eric: Idea generation.

~Nancy: The creative process and the challenge of coming up with new ideas. I really enjoy working with my children.

~Anne: A sense of accomplishment and getting to hang out with two of my favorite people in the world.

10. How do you approach cover design?

~Eric: My collaborators do all of it, I only provide input on the final iterations of the book covers. Lazy huh?

~Nancy: I take my inspiration from local landmarks and enjoy finding just the right picture to sum up a book.

~Anne: I start with an idea and try to secure the imagery, either by getting local photographs or surfing stock photo websites.

11. When did you start writing?

~Eric: I did some co-writing on my mother’s first novel “The Safe Harbor” almost twenty years ago.

~Nancy: I started writing in grade school.

~Anne: I started writing in grade school.

We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about us. We’ll continue to drop crumbs, so we hope you’ll keep following us.

Thanks,

Nancy, Anne and Eric