About G.G. Conte:
I was raised in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and was raised on the art of film. I’m a certified film crew technician and lover of classic movie stories, I took my love for film and brought it into my career as a writer. I’m a fan of Stephen King and J.K. Rowling and draw inspiration from both of their writing styles. However, I consider video game writer, Sam Lake, and his work on the 2001 PC classic, Max Payne, as my main influence.
What inspires you to write?
I had a lot of inspirations growing up, that continue to play huge roles today. I was a huge movie buff and saw something I would love to create, but on paper. My motivation grew bigger when video games started becoming more detailed in storytelling. Sam Lake’s work on Max Payne was the moment that I knew I could be an author. Max Payne was such a well written story, and still stands out to me. That story still plays a huge roll in my writing, not necessarily in terms of plot or tone, but in motivation.
Another form of inspiration was not having a lot of support when I first started writing as an adult. I had one big piece of support when I finished writing my first official book and that was my grandmother and that was all I needed. I was out to prove to everyone that I could write, and I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me.
Tell us about your writing process.
My writing process is usually pretty old-fashioned. I don’t use any special software or tools, it’s just me, Microsoft Word, and a quiet room. I become locked into my own imagination when I’m writing. In that process I become the characters, the setting, and the tone.
For my latest book, Howie’s Journal, I took on a far different process. That book was the most fun I ever had. It’s a children’s book about a real-life Service Dog, so I went through endless pictures and family stories. It was a blast.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Through my imagination, I become all of the characters in my books. I see and feel all of their emotions, and see all of their actions and thoughts. This can be both pleasant and disturbing at times. The most difficult novel I’ve written to date was my 2014 horror story, A Vulnerable Broken Mind. It was an expansion of a novella I had published in 2012, Vulnerable. I had to enter the mind and body of a villain that I purposely made as disturbing and violent as I could. While it made for great storytelling, I would wind up in tears after finishing each chapter featuring that villain.
It wound up being worth it in the end. A Vulnerable Broken Mind is a novel that I’m very proud.
What advice would you give other writers?
Always write what you want to write; don’t write something else because someone thought it would be a good. If that person thinks it’s good, let he or she write it themselves. You’re the author of your own ideas. Make the most out of those ideas.
Also, don’t let certain criticism alter or erase your motivation to write. There’s always going to be good and bad feedback for everything you write. Take it all and learn from it.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’ve learned to explore both routes of publishing with each book. I study publishers, their history, their pros/cons, and take all of that information to help me decide what to do. I’m not afraid to self-publish into today’s current book industry, because there are far too many publishers that change their wants and needs based on what’s hot at that current moment.
I couldn’t stand the Twilight and Fifty Shades franchises because publishers were rejecting great authors I knew because their work didn’t match those two franchises. I have nothing against the success of those franchises, I just don’t feel it warrants publishers to change their interest in other genres.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think traditional publishing is slowly becoming a lost option, while self-publishing is growing fast.
What do you use?: Professional Editor
What genres do you write?: Horror, Vampire, Drama, Romance, Children
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
G.G. Conte Home Page Link
Link To G.G. Conte Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
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.
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