About Dan Mesikepp:
Dan Mesikepp was born in Fresno, California in 1980. He grew up in Ferndale, Washington, where he currently resides.
A blue collar worker most of his life, he’s had a wide range of jobs due to his diversifying interests, including construction and building roof trusses, restaurant work (yes, even a few fast food places), manufacturing and factory work, three sawmills, a plywood mill, two excursions to cities in Alaska to work robotic hours in seafood plants onshore, four years hydro-blasting and pressure washing in all four of the major Washington State oil refineries, etc. He also has two Honorable Discharges for serving a 3 year and a 1 year enlistment in the Washington Army National Guard. The last unit he served in was the 898th Combat Engineer Battalion, based out of Bellingham, WA.
His goals include finishing college (he studied international business and business management for a while through University of Phoenix online), and becoming a world-famous, radically successful, screenplay-optioning, bestselling, super awesome author! He hopes to write at least 100 books before he croaks, and then maybe do some “ghost writing”. 🙂
His hobbies include reading extensively, chess, photography, biking (especially “fat tire” mountain biking), travelling, weight lifting, shopping, GTAV, camping, BBQ’s, and collecting art and watches.
What inspires you to write?
I have a pretty zany imagination, and have been an avid daydreamer since I was a kid. As an adult, I’ve managed to hone the daydreaming into an art/science. I could be working the most grueling/strenuous/demanding/stressful job in whatever conditions, fully paying attention to what I’m doing and completely aware, yet at the same time (multi-tasking! 🙂 ) I might be imagining the most bizarre book or movie, figuring out what happens next. In other words, my mind can be here and there, in two places at once, here and a zillion miles away or whatever (kind of like quantum particles??). Other people have this skill, too, obviously, but it can be tricky. I’ve wondered if my mind can be in THREE places at once, but have concluded that may be dangerous on many levels. Duality of thought is already a lot. That rhymes. 🙂 What would TRIPLE thought be, anyway?!?! I think you’d get literally lost in thought? I don’t like being lost. 🙂
Tell us about your writing process.
My writing process is abstract, and yet simple. But if I had to sum it up, it could best be described as a combination of complete mental planning/seat of the pants-white knuckle here goes nothing. I do very minimal outlining with pen and paper, jotting down a few pages of notes or so at most, before starting a new book. Mostly, the story is already alive in my imagination, just waiting to come to life on paper, or the computer screen, or ready to be holoported? 🙂
I am fervently against character sketches. The characters “reveal” themselves to me as I go, I don’t like to have them all figured out from the get-go. I don’t judge my characters that way lol. They just sort of “happen”, I guess.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I mostly “listen”. I like to visualize the scenes with the characters, especially dialogue, as if I’m watching it in a movie! If I ever start talking to my characters, I’ll be sure to promptly check myself into a funny farm, talk to a shrink, or lay off the booze for a spell! 🙂
What advice would you give other writers?
Never take yourself or your writing too seriously. Just try to let your stories “flow”. Also, don’t get caught up comparing yourself to others or thinking you’re not good enough to be successful or have your stories heard and appreciated. It’s a big wide world out there, and there’s a vast potential audience for your work, set goals for yourself and be relentless until you’ve achieved them. I believe achieving goals helps you become a better and happier person, and more valuable to others. Experience is a great teacher, and you can only get better if you keep on trying and never give up. Alright, that’s starting to sound corny, but it’s true. I still have a long ways to go before I ever achieve guru status myself, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Make up your own rules and standards. Don’t rely too heavily on someone else’s pattern/program for success. Look at all the angles for yourself.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
At first I tried self-publishing with LuLu.com, but shortly after I went with self-publishing through createspace.com for Amazon (including kindle and paperback). I love Amazon so I’m happy to have all of my books mainly through Amazon, though they’re available elsewhere too, by the extended distribution options from Amazon.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Future technology will allow all books to be made into movies, possibly for free, or in a self-publishing sort of way. These movies, and ALL movies, will eventually be all available in holoportation (Microsoft) format. TV’s and looking at a flat image will be so ancient, like the phonograph records. Everybody will be able to feel as if they are IN the movie, wherever they are. As holographic technology really takes off rapidly, the need for the goggles will eventually go away, rendering those, too, ancient history. It’s going to get pretty funky in the next ten years or less!! In my opinion. As long as the politicians and leaders of the world don’t go berserk and hit the button or something. Which it always seems like we’re a sneeze or two away from, sometimes. Freaky.
What genres do you write?: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror, Thriller
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
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.
