About Richard Grant:
Richard Lewis Grant has been an educator for over 30 years and is currently the President of Advantage Preparatory Schools. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communicative Disorders with an emphasis on Special Education of the hearing impaired. He has taught professionally at both Jr. High and Sr. High School levels as well as college.
Richard has been married to his soul mate, Cindee for over 35 years. They have a son and a daughter.
Richard and Cindee believe that one of the most important gifts a parent or teacher can give a child is the love of reading. If a student loves to read, virtually the whole world is open to them.
What inspires you to write?
My Silverglade, Goldenrod and Emeraldsea series of books began as bedtime stories I told to my own kids. The 7 book series took me over 10 years to write. In the beginning, I just wanted to tell them creative and positive stories. I soon discovered that my kids really resonated with the characters, so I thought other families would like them too. Apparently, that is true.
Tell us about your writing process.
First, I LOVE to write. When I am developing a new idea, I think about it all the time; imaging different paths the story might take. i don’t actually outline my story, but I do take notes for myself. By the time I actually being writing, I generally know the beginning and the end of the story and the direction of the characters; however, a lot of the twists and turns of the story are as much a surprise to me when I first write them as they are to the reader.
I write on a computer and often cut and paste whole paragraphs, moving them, changing them, etc. I also delete A LOT.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I like my characters to be multidimensional, unpredictable, just like real people. I like to keep the reader turning the pages by including the unexpected. I do, sometimes, ask questions of my characters, like “So, Quasar, how are you going to get yourself out of this one?…”
What advice would you give other writers?
If you plan to make a living from your writing the best advice I would give is: “Sell first, write second”. One needs to have a well defined idea of how the book will get into the hands of the reader.
I would also say: “develop your craft.”. For me, I have used focus groups to get input on specific aspects of a book, as well as some very trusted friends.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I explored traditional brick and mortar publishing houses, and learned much from author-friends and their experiences with traditional publishing. In the end, my decision to self-publish came down to control of my product.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I believe self-publishing, e-books and audio-books will continue to take over the marketplace. Authors, I believe, have to look at writing and publishing as an industry as well as an art. It seems the trend is moving away from traditional books and publishers toward self-publishing, e-books and audio-books.
What do you use?: Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Fantasy Adventure and Self-help (finances)
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Richard Grant Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
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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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