AUTHOR BIO:
A.R. Wise was born in
Hammond, Indiana, just outside of Chicago. He's spent time in several states
throughout the years but now resides in beautiful Colorado, near the Rocky
Mountains. He is the proud father of two adorable, beautiful girls that inspire
him everyday, and is married to an unreasonably understanding and loving wife.
He has been writing since he was a child, but the ebook revolution is what
finally convinced him to offer his work to the world.
Lovely family picture, am sure the girls are very proud of dad as he looks so proud of them in the pic too! Thank you for sharing such a nice family photograph with us.
What
is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
My name is Aaron Wise, but I go by AR
Wise as an author for no real reason other than I like the way it sounds. I was
born in Indiana, and have moved around the country a lot, but settled in
Colorado, near the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Did
you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
Absolutely, yes. There was a time when I
seriously considered going to film school to become a director, but life never
let me go that direction. I've always needed a creative outlet, and writing is
the way that I've found I can work best with.
When
did you first consider yourself as a "writer"?
The first month where I pulled in more
income from writing than from any other source. I owned my own business, and
was writing as a hobby for a while. Then my series took off and I was suddenly
given the opportunity to look at this as a career. While I'm perfectly fine
with people calling themselves a writer without earning a dime from it, I was
always hesitant to stake my claim on the title. When I started to earn a decent
amount from my books, I realized that it was foolish to call writing a hobby
anymore!
Did
it take a long time to get your first book published?
I did everything as a self published
author, and I encourage every aspiring writer to do the same. The world of
literature has experienced a sea change, and waiting around for a publisher to
take notice of you is a sure fire way to get placed at the end of the line. It
is the best time in history to be a new author, but you’ve got to be willing to
take the initiative. Don't get left behind!
Do
you work another job as well as your writing work?
Yes, sort of. I used to be a sales rep
for health food companies, and I still work with a couple of them, but that's
in transition now. My books are able to provide a decent income at the moment,
so I have decided to work as hard as possible to make my dream of being a full
time writer a reality. It's a scary plunge into uncertainty, but life tends to
reward the risk-takers.
What
is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20
words what would you say?
Deadlocked 5 takes place 20 years after
part 4 and explores a world ravaged by the zombie apocalypse.
What
can we expect from you in the future? ie
More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
I plan on continuing the Deadlocked
series for as long as I have good ideas. I refuse to allow the series to
devolve into an exercise in repetition, which is why I made such a drastic
change between parts 4 and 5. Besides that, I will continue my Vampire's Prey
series as well as delve into a few new books. I desperately want to explore the
horror/comedy genre, which is something I plan on doing very soon.
What
genre would you place your books into?
Horror. A lot of authors hate that
title, since it has become synonymous with low quality. I eschew that opinion,
and happily place my name in that ring.
What
made you decide to write that genre of book?
I've always been a fan of Horror, from
books to film, it is one of the only genres that promises a visceral ride. I
love to explore the depths of terror, and pride myself on writing characters
that react in realistic fashion. I never want my readers to feel like the
characters are doing something idiotic, which is unfortunately common in the
genre.
Do
you have a favourite out of the books you have written? If so why is it your
favourite?
Deadlocked 5. It's fairly common for
authors to claim that their most recent book is their favorite, but I'm being
honest. It would've been easy to simply continue on from part 4, but I felt
that readers deserved to see the series evolve, and I wanted to challenge
myself. D5 not only takes place 20 years after part 4, but also introduces new
characters that are completely different from anyone in the previous books. I
am proud of how it turned out, and my readers have responded extremely well so
far.
Where
do you get your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration?
Music plays a big part in how I write.
Almost every single book I've written started with a song. Music sparks images
in my mind, and if a song touches me I'll often replay it over and over as I
start to craft a storyline around the emotions I feel while listening. Usually,
this is the genesis for an ending to a story, and then it's just a matter of
writing everything that leads up to that moment.
Do
you read all the reviews of your book/books?
Yes. I wish I could say that I was above
the fray, but that would be a lie. I check my reviews at least once every day,
and pour over them endlessly. The good ones can serve as inspiration, and the
bad ones can break my heart as fully as a bad break-up. The internet opens the
door to haters, and it's impossible to avoid that. The best books ever written
will undoubtedly have one star reviews on Amazon, and you can always take
comfort in knowing that even To Kill A Mockingbird (one of my all-time favorite
novels) has a slew of one star reviews.
What
was the toughest/best review you have ever had?
It's easy to focus on the one star
reviews from people who hate your work, but in time comes the realization that
no one can avoid a few haters. Those rarely affect me anymore. I think the
harshest reviews are the ones that disparage my writing ability. I've been very
fortunate to not get very many of these, but I've gotten a couple. If I
remember correctly, there's a four star review of one of my books out there
that claims they loved the story despite me not being a 'literary genius'.
Oddly, despite it being a positive review overall, I think that dig at my
writing ability chafes me more than any one star review out there. Luckily,
I've had enough success to stop putting much weight on the people who dislike
my work. That's the ultimate cure for a bad review: Success.
Would
you ever ask a reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about
your book/books?
No. Everyone is entitled to their own
opinion, and every opinion is valuable. That's the very essence of art: it
affects each of us in different ways. If we all had homogenized reactions to a
piece of art, then it could no longer be called 'art'.
Do
you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
I'm a flip-flopper on this one.
Sometimes I start with a great title, and other times I don't have one until
I've already finished. However, one exception is the title that I give each
chapter of my books. Almost every single time I start with one title, and then
change it after finishing the chapter. Some of these chapter titles are my
proudest accomplishments! For instance, in Deadlocked 2 there is a chapter
titled Down Came The Spider, and another titled Flesheater. Neither of those
titles mean much until you finish the chapters, and then they suddenly have
more meaning than I could possibly relay here. Those two chapter titles add a
lot to the story, and I'm proud of them both.
Which
format of book do you prefer, ebook, hardback, or paperback?
Ebook. I can't express this viewpoint
enough. I'm like most people, in that I grew up with good old-fashioned
physical books, and I still love them. I love the way they feel, and the
satisfaction of turning that last page. However, as much as the romantic in me
wants to curl up with a dusty tome in the corner of a quiet bookstore, the
revolution that ebooks have caused is, in my opinion, the greatest thing to
happen to literature since the printing press. When you embrace ebooks, you're
embracing a new movement in literature that will spawn a slew of new authors
that would've never existed if not for this technology. When you buy a self
published ebook, you're putting money directly into the pocket of an artist and
funding their dreams. It used to be thought that the publishing industry acted
as quality control, preventing the slush pile from getting printed, but that
opinion has been shattered. In today's market, the publishers are clearly more
interested in printing celebrity nonsense (Snooki has a book? Really?) and then
promoting the hell out of it instead of looking for the next hidden gem. The
future of good literature is with ebooks, and the future of pop-culture, overly
advertised, corporate funded feedbag books is with publishers. That's not to
say all traditionally published books are bad, nor that all self published ones
are good, but I'd put damn good money on the next classic author coming from SP
roots rather than the archaic traditional publisher model.
Do
you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favourite/worst book to movie transfer?
Yes, although there are so many factors
that come into play that must be considered. Some books seem made for the
movies. Take Fight Club for instance, it's a movie that I would argue is
actually better than the book, which is a rarity. Then go watch Battlefield
Earth (or better yet, don't) to get a feeling for how bad the transition can
be! In my opinion, movies and books are completely different animals, and must
be treated as such. Fans of books infamously decry movie versions because the
film didn't follow the books to the letter, which is a ludicrous opinion. All
art is about the emotions it inspires, and you are affecting completely
different senses when you're talking about movies versus books. With a book,
you're titillating a person's imagination, and with film you are attempting to
present the viewer with a visual and audio experience that requires little to
none of their own imagination. When transferring one to the other, you have to
take this into consideration. The worst translations don't, while the best are
willing to alter the story dramatically if needed. Two examples of great
adaptations that spring to mind, Godfather and The Shining, both slice apart
the original books and offer utterly different experiences. The directors (two
of the greatest directors in film history) recognized what part of their source
material would translate well to film, and which would not.
Do
you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
No, at least not for a long, long time.
However, the ebook market is going to dramatically increase in the coming
decade, and the traditional model is going to shrink. The best example to use
as a comparison is the music industry. I have a good friend who desperately
clings to his CDs and albums because they are what he grew up with, and is
familiar with. He owns an iPod, but rarely uses it because he still loves his
CDs. If the world was filled with people like him, mp3s would've died a quiet death
long ago. However, every year that passes ushers away those of us that cling to
our old, familiar ways and welcomes a new group of people who look at mp3s and
ebooks as the new standard. How many 16 year olds do you know who are running
to the record shop to buy the CD of their favorite band instead of just
downloading it off the internet? The same thing that happened to the music
industry is currently happening to books, but publishers are fervently denying
this, as opposed to the music companies that embraced the change. It's a fatal
error, and one that I hope not too many good authors get caught up in.
What
piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
Self publish! I can't stress this
enough. Don't let yourself be convinced that good authors get accepted by
publishing companies and bad ones self publish. That's just not true anymore.
Increasingly, publishers are spending all their advertising dollars on pulp
crap by celebrities or authors that already have a name that draws readers. The
average first time author gets a $5000 advance on their book, and then never
sees another dime from it. In exchange, they have to give up a huge portion of
the rights to their work for a very long time. Being self published certainly
doesn't guarantee success, and it can be a LOT of work to get your name out
there and your work noticed, but the rewards are huge. Don't sit on the
sidelines and hope that your book gets accepted by a publisher. Take the
initiative and make a name for yourself. There's never been a better time to be
a new author, unless you're not willing to work for your dream. If you're
hoping to write a book and then be plucked from the masses by an angel in a
suit and tie from a massive New York publisher, then all I can do is wish you
'Good Luck' as I, and many more like me, go out and actively pursue our dreams
instead of simply wishing they would come true.
Where
can readers follow you?
I actively update my website with
information about my books as well as my ruminations on the publishing
industry. I've tried to be very open with how I managed to find success in the
self publishing world. For horror fans, I also just started a new podcast
called The Horror Show Podcast with a couple friends of mine where we discuss
everything about the genre. There is also an ARWisebooks fanpage on Facebook.
Your Web site ?
www.arwisebooks.com
Your Facebook page?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AR-Wise/136771799776460
Your
Goodreads author page?
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7482713-a-r-wise
Your
Twitter details?
https://twitter.com/arwisebooks
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