“A Wolf On the Loose” was written as a serial thriller, set in the present time about two Marines that start a private security company. The genre, timeframe and format allowed me to have the character’s living in our world, reacting to major events. The week-to-week format also gave the characters room to breathe; slice-of-life scenes that wouldn’t fit within a novel were able to be included. The nature of the company the characters start, and finding new clients with varying backgrounds, allows for social commentary from police shootings, veterans affairs, to nerd culture.
What do you find most challenging about the writing process, and how do you deal with it?
The greatest struggle is making time, because to take your writing beyond a hobby is a selfish act. You have to push some things aside. I’m extremely thankful for my wife’s patience and support because of this.
For this project, the struggle was keeping up with weekly due dates, keeping the story tight, and writing an honest and compelling story. I think it is one challenge to write a historical thriller, set fifty years ago, but to write about recent event ushers in its own ethical issues. How do I write thoughtfully about events that people are processing as I write? Is the research I’m doing, the information I’m getting, close to the truth?
When and where do you do your writing?
I used to be a night owl, banging away at the keyboard until I couldn’t feel my hands. Now-a-days, its mornings, at my secretary. I don’t suffer from writer’s block, so on a day-by-day it’s more copy- editing for me. I’m dyslexic, ergo no matter how thorough I am, something always gets through. I tend to find that at different times of the day, my brain is more geared up for writing vs. editing.
What have you learned about promoting your books?
There’s a lot of tasks and skills required in promotion; editing, publication, artwork, website… you’re basically doing the work of a small company. Best not to go it alone. Figure out what you are good at and like to do, and what you can afford to outsource, and go from there.
What are you most proud of as a writer?
Writing a thriller that even my wife likes. Bam!
If you could have dinner with any writer, living or dead, who would it be and what would you talk about?
Philip K. Dick, for starters. When I first read his work in high school I was blown away. Reading “Man in the High Castle” made me realize how contrived my plots were back then. A post-WWII where the Germans and Japanese spilt America…told from the perspective of an Americana dealer selling reproduction Colts? Brilliant! As a teenage boy, I would’ve written some contrived male wish- fulfillment story about a boy’s coming of age and resisting the occupiers. So, I would just love to have a scotch with Phillip K. Dick and talk.
Author Bio
Dan achieved a BFA in photography and metal working and since graduating, has done neither. By day he works in manufacturing. By night, often very late into the night, he writes and stalks America's sub-cultures on the vast internets.
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