About Brandan Hadlock:
Brandan Hadlock was born in the Four-Corners area of the southwest, the son of two of the greatest parents one could have. He grew up in sunny Arizona. Thankfully, (as he remembers) he was in the mountains when the temperature in Phoenix hit 122 degrees Fahrenheit (a temperate 117 in Mesa). His future wife lived briefly in a near-by city, but they weren’t blessed to meet until years later when they were both living — yes, in the mountains (of Utah).
His interest in writing may have been sparked by two second- or third- grade teachers who said he’d write the next Star Wars® (Thanks Ms. Livingston and Ms. Bea). In junior high he helped edit and publish the school’s literary magazine and was an editor and writer for the school newspaper (if his memory is correct). In college, as part of a class project, he contributed to a freshman survival guide and a writing handbook.
He’d love to hear from his readers.
What inspires you to write?
As stated in my bio, when I was young, I had teachers who commented positively on my writing. (Well, at least on of them did and the other didn’t disagree 🙂 I’ve enjoyed writing since I was young and think it is a talent I can develop and use to spread God’s word and help people come to Him and live happier, better lives.
Tell us about your writing process.
For my book, Working With the Enemy, I was definitely an outliner. I used paper and pencil and outlined different chapters (or maybe they were scenes). Of course, things changed from what I outlined to what ended up in the book. An outliner needs to allow those changes to occur. That way, he or she has the power and structure of an outline AND can still utilize his subconscious, creativity and serendipity to come up with the story.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Nope. I don’t talk to my characters. I do talk to real people.
What advice would you give other writers?
Be open to critique and feedback from others. If you want others to enjoy what you write, you have to be willing to accept their feedback and change (improve) your story. Of couse, one of the hard things is to know what feedback to act on. For example, I heard excellent advice that you should have people in your target market give you feedback. If you write a thriller novel and someone who doesn’t like thrillers reads your manuscript, she may not give you helpful feedback. When more than one person gives you similar feedback, such as “That doesn’t make sense”, then you may want to act on that feedback.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I signed up and paid for a course that challenged us to write a Kindle book in 30 days. Of course, for this challenge the idea was to write something SHORT. Is there risk in self-publishing (which is what I am doing)? Of course there is. But there is also risk in going the traditional publishing route. (For example, your book, even if it is good, may never be published.) I like being creative and like entrepreneurship. I’d also previously published two other short kindle books before Working With The Enemy, so had some confidence in the technical aspects of self publishing on Amazon.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I was interested in the idea of an ebook before it became popular. Now it seems to have overtaken print books. What I like about ebooks is the ability to search and annotate. However, I also like physical books and the ability to give the book or lend it without somebody telling me what I can or cannot do. What’s the future? I think digital publishing will continue to grow. What else can I say?
What do you use?: Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: action/adventure, thriller, Christian, self-help
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
Brandan Hadlock Home Page Link
Link To Brandan Hadlock Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
