About J. D. Brink:
If taking a college fencing class, eating from the trash can, and smelling like an animal were qualifications for becoming a sword-swinging barbarian, J. D. Brink might be Conan’s protégé. But since that career path seemed less than promising, he has instead been a sailor, spy, nurse, and officer in the U.S. Navy, as well as a gravedigger, insurance adjuster, and school teacher in civilian life. Today (Christmas, 2014) he and his family live in Japan, where he’s providing a bad example for all Americans. In his writing, as in life, Mr. Brink enjoys dabbling in multiple genres.
What inspires you to write?
Everything. Seemingly mundane conversations, games, travels, movies, books. There’s always a rich nugget hidden somewhere. Once you see the shine of it glinting there in the dust, all you have to do is dig.
Tell us about your writing process.
I usually work up characters and story in my head for a long time before I’m ready to start putting them on paper or computer screen. When I finish actually typing up a chapter, I’ll quickly type out my intentions and maybe a snippet of dialogue for the next one. My limit on outlining is typically just two or three chapters ahead. Once I get those done and see where the story is really heading (as opposed to where I expected it to go), then I can plan out the next two.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t personally talk to them, but they sure talk a lot to each other. I’ll often have entire conversations in the shower or on a walk and wish I’d recorded them.
What advice would you give other writers?
I’m figuring out that spending years polishing all the features off my manuscripts is no way to get a story wrapped up for reading. Don’t do twelve revisions. Don’t do half that many. I held onto Tarnish for years, going over it and over it again, and not getting it published. Years wasted.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I tried the Big Publishers and thought that was the only way to go. I was wrong. More years wasted.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think this revolution has brought about some great changes and when the “new normal” settles in, it will be a compromise between the old and new. I don’t think the Big Five are going out of business anytime soon and I don’t think paper books are going to disappear either.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Horror, Crime-Noir
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
J. D. Brink Home Page Link
Link To J. D. Brink Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords
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