Interview Transcript; Chart Rush Stats; .Com
Chart Rush Stats
There are a lot of books available on Amazon -- hundreds of thousands, if not more. So the fact that Thieves & Scoundrels, the short story anthology to which Andrew and I contributed, reached #13 in Amazon's anthology category and 1,934 overall, is astounding -- and an achievement we owe to you, the readers who supported us during yesterday's chart rush by visiting the book's Amazon page, adding it to your wish list, and purchasing it. So, congrats to Andrew, to myself, to our peers that contributed stories to T&S, and to all of you for helping our book reach such phenomenal heights.
DavidLCraddock.com
*UPDATE*
Amie has finished a temporary site design, which I think looks awesome myself. Head over and check it out.
*Original Post*
Due to some huge news that I'll be formally announcing here on the blog later this week (though it is revealed in the transcript below) once I've learned more details, I'm preparing to make the jump to my first .com, DavidLCraddock.com. There's nothing there yet, but do bookmark it soon as my beautiful and talented wife (and my webmaster, who knows how to do all that webpage design gobbledygook) and I will be filling it with content very soon.
T&S Live Web Interview: Transcript
If you weren't able to attend my live chat interview yesterday, Andrew was kind enough to copy and paste all of my questions and answers, comprising a transcript that is available by clicking the link below. I reciprocated for Andrew, whose transcript is available on his blog.
Saturday April 10, 2010 4:17
Absolute XPress: Our second last author of the day is David Craddock.
David’s Bio
David L. Craddock lives with his wife, Amie, in a tiny apartment in California where multiple bookcases have forced all other furniture to huddle together and draw straws to determine which of them will be dismissed to make room for even more bookcases.
A freelance writer for the past several years, David happily devotes his days to personal and professional writing pursuits spanning a diverse array of topics and interests. When he’s not writing, David can usually be found in his recliner with an ever-growing stack of books beside him.
David’s nonfiction book, Renewable Energy Made Easy, was published in August 2008 by Atlantic Publishing, and was the 2009 Green Book Festival Award Runner Up for Best Nonfiction Book. The Master’s Lesson is his first published short story.
Welcome David, is it sunny in California today?
David L. Craddock: Hi, Tina. It's been overcast all day in San Francisco, but actually, the sun's just now permeating the clouds, so I'll take that as a sign that it's my time to shine. ;)
Absolute XPress: :) Why don't we start off by you telling us a little bit more about you? Where are you from, what do you do, and how did you find out about the Flash Fiction Challenge?
David L. Craddock: I'm from Alliance, a small city in Ohio where I grew up devouring every book I could find. My avid reading led to a passion for writing that, ironically and unfortunately, often leaves little time for writing. ...
I first heard about the Flash Fiction Challenge earlier this year when I was corresponding with one of Absolute XPress' editors on another writing project. She mentioned the contest, and I thought the theme sounded interesting so I whipped something up.
Absolute XPress: Just like that huh? Well, without giving away the plot of the story, tell us about what you've written for Thieves and Scoundrels?
David L. Craddock: My story, The Master's Lesson, is a fantasy tale that follows an oppressed apprentice's attempt to escape his abusive master. ...
The story begins with the apprentice having already stolen a valuable artifact to aid in his escape, but the catch is trying to finagle how to activate and use the artifact from the master. It's a fun tale that has a nice twist at the end.
Absolute XPress: So do you normally write fantasy?
David L. Craddock: I discovered fantasy literature from one of my favorite teachers in high school, and ever since I've tried my hand at writing it, although I do like to write in different genres. For me, it's all about the story idea and what genre I feel would be the best fit for it.
Absolute XPress: So what else are you working on right now?
David L. Craddock: A bevy of short stories, a nonfiction book -- and I'm excited to announce that I have informally reached an agreement with Absolute XPress to write a fantasy series. ...
The first book of the series, Heritage, is due out in Spring 2011. I just found all of this out yesterday and am still finding everything rather surreal! ...
As a point of interest, The Master's Lesson is actually a prequel to Heritage, though no understanding of Heritage or the world in which it is set is needed to enjoy The Master's Lesson.
Absolute XPress: Congratulations! We are looking forward to working with you. Are there any authors or books which you particularly admire, or which have influenced you as a writer?
David L. Craddock: That's a tough question, analogous to asking a writer to pick his or her favorite color! In a nutshell, I've long admired the works of Stephen King, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Roald Dahl, Sara Douglass, Ed Greenwood and many other Forgotten Realms authors. ...
I could go on for hours, but those are some of my favorites.
Absolute XPress: What is the hardest part about writing, in general or just flash fiction?
David L. Craddock: The hardest part about writing in general is finding the discipline to make a writing schedule, set a goal, and stick to them. My personal schedule goes roughly like this: wake up, shower, dress, eat breakfast, goof around on the Internet for far too long, then keep my body planted at my computer until I've hit a certain word or page limit. ...
Flash Fiction can be particularly difficult due to the tight word limit, but I've worked as a freelance writer for several years and am often asked to write about something in a woefully small amount of words -- sometimes 100 or less. ...
With The Master's Lesson, I spit the first draft out quickly, but spent weeks chipping away at verbosity until I felt the characters and pace were as perfect as they could be.
Absolute XPress: Alright here is a tough question for you. If you could be remembered for just one thing as a writer, what would it be?
David L. Craddock: To be a writer who was able to be equal parts entertaining and insightful. While I do sometimes enjoy vapid entertainment, I vastly prefer stories that leave me thinking about something: the characters, the events, the decisions -- something that will resonate.
Absolute XPress: Alright, one more question before I let the viewers/readers ask you questions. How can your fans get in touch with you?
David L. Craddock: I'm working on a website that will be live within the next couple of days. The address is DavidLCraddock.com. Warning: There's no content, so be prepared to be inundated with Go Daddy gunk! ...
In the meantime, I keep a semi-regularly updated blog at WillWrite4Books.LiveJournal.com. All are invited to tag along!
Absolute XPress: Great. We already have our first audience question...
[Comment From Tonji Thibault]: How do you come up with your story ideas and, once you have an idea, how to you go about developing the story line?
David L. Craddock: It tends to be a long process. I usually have an idea for a character or a situation. From there, I create a project journal, a document in which I write as many ideas pertaining to the original thought as I can think of. ...
From there, I piece things together in a semi-followed outline (I don't like to trap myself in these too tightly, as the characters tend to take the proverbial wheel when I get an idea too firmly stuck in my head). When something needs adjusting, I adjust.
[Comment From Kaylee]: Congratulations. So what is Heritage about?
David L. Craddock: Heritage is about family, and about coming of age to accept the heavy burden of responsibility, something we all have to deal with at some point to varying degrees.
And thank you!
[Comment From Chuck]: Congratuations on having your first work of fiction published, Dave. Since I have known you for many years I don't have any real great questions to ask of you, as I feel I know you pretty well. But I know how hard you have worked so it must be really rewarding to have one of your stories pubished. I also just wanted to take this opportunity to commend Absolute XPress for their Flash Fiction Series and giving up and coming authors such as yourself an avenue into publishing - I just think that's great.
David L. Craddock: I wholeheartedly agree, Chuck. :) Thanks for all your encouragement. And to my mother and grandmother, who are in the virtual audience -- thanks to both of you and the rest of my friends and family as well.
Absolute XPress: Thank you chuck. I think that brings us to the end. Thank you to Kaylee and Tonji as well for the questions. And thank you David for being interviewed today. I'm sure we'll see more of you soon.
David L. Craddock: Thank you, Tina, and thanks to all of you for attending as well. Look forward to Heritage! Take care.
There are a lot of books available on Amazon -- hundreds of thousands, if not more. So the fact that Thieves & Scoundrels, the short story anthology to which Andrew and I contributed, reached #13 in Amazon's anthology category and 1,934 overall, is astounding -- and an achievement we owe to you, the readers who supported us during yesterday's chart rush by visiting the book's Amazon page, adding it to your wish list, and purchasing it. So, congrats to Andrew, to myself, to our peers that contributed stories to T&S, and to all of you for helping our book reach such phenomenal heights.
DavidLCraddock.com
*UPDATE*
Amie has finished a temporary site design, which I think looks awesome myself. Head over and check it out.
*Original Post*
Due to some huge news that I'll be formally announcing here on the blog later this week (though it is revealed in the transcript below) once I've learned more details, I'm preparing to make the jump to my first .com, DavidLCraddock.com. There's nothing there yet, but do bookmark it soon as my beautiful and talented wife (and my webmaster, who knows how to do all that webpage design gobbledygook) and I will be filling it with content very soon.
T&S Live Web Interview: Transcript
If you weren't able to attend my live chat interview yesterday, Andrew was kind enough to copy and paste all of my questions and answers, comprising a transcript that is available by clicking the link below. I reciprocated for Andrew, whose transcript is available on his blog.
Saturday April 10, 2010 4:17
Absolute XPress: Our second last author of the day is David Craddock.
David’s Bio
David L. Craddock lives with his wife, Amie, in a tiny apartment in California where multiple bookcases have forced all other furniture to huddle together and draw straws to determine which of them will be dismissed to make room for even more bookcases.
A freelance writer for the past several years, David happily devotes his days to personal and professional writing pursuits spanning a diverse array of topics and interests. When he’s not writing, David can usually be found in his recliner with an ever-growing stack of books beside him.
David’s nonfiction book, Renewable Energy Made Easy, was published in August 2008 by Atlantic Publishing, and was the 2009 Green Book Festival Award Runner Up for Best Nonfiction Book. The Master’s Lesson is his first published short story.
Welcome David, is it sunny in California today?
David L. Craddock: Hi, Tina. It's been overcast all day in San Francisco, but actually, the sun's just now permeating the clouds, so I'll take that as a sign that it's my time to shine. ;)
Absolute XPress: :) Why don't we start off by you telling us a little bit more about you? Where are you from, what do you do, and how did you find out about the Flash Fiction Challenge?
David L. Craddock: I'm from Alliance, a small city in Ohio where I grew up devouring every book I could find. My avid reading led to a passion for writing that, ironically and unfortunately, often leaves little time for writing. ...
I first heard about the Flash Fiction Challenge earlier this year when I was corresponding with one of Absolute XPress' editors on another writing project. She mentioned the contest, and I thought the theme sounded interesting so I whipped something up.
Absolute XPress: Just like that huh? Well, without giving away the plot of the story, tell us about what you've written for Thieves and Scoundrels?
David L. Craddock: My story, The Master's Lesson, is a fantasy tale that follows an oppressed apprentice's attempt to escape his abusive master. ...
The story begins with the apprentice having already stolen a valuable artifact to aid in his escape, but the catch is trying to finagle how to activate and use the artifact from the master. It's a fun tale that has a nice twist at the end.
Absolute XPress: So do you normally write fantasy?
David L. Craddock: I discovered fantasy literature from one of my favorite teachers in high school, and ever since I've tried my hand at writing it, although I do like to write in different genres. For me, it's all about the story idea and what genre I feel would be the best fit for it.
Absolute XPress: So what else are you working on right now?
David L. Craddock: A bevy of short stories, a nonfiction book -- and I'm excited to announce that I have informally reached an agreement with Absolute XPress to write a fantasy series. ...
The first book of the series, Heritage, is due out in Spring 2011. I just found all of this out yesterday and am still finding everything rather surreal! ...
As a point of interest, The Master's Lesson is actually a prequel to Heritage, though no understanding of Heritage or the world in which it is set is needed to enjoy The Master's Lesson.
Absolute XPress: Congratulations! We are looking forward to working with you. Are there any authors or books which you particularly admire, or which have influenced you as a writer?
David L. Craddock: That's a tough question, analogous to asking a writer to pick his or her favorite color! In a nutshell, I've long admired the works of Stephen King, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Roald Dahl, Sara Douglass, Ed Greenwood and many other Forgotten Realms authors. ...
I could go on for hours, but those are some of my favorites.
Absolute XPress: What is the hardest part about writing, in general or just flash fiction?
David L. Craddock: The hardest part about writing in general is finding the discipline to make a writing schedule, set a goal, and stick to them. My personal schedule goes roughly like this: wake up, shower, dress, eat breakfast, goof around on the Internet for far too long, then keep my body planted at my computer until I've hit a certain word or page limit. ...
Flash Fiction can be particularly difficult due to the tight word limit, but I've worked as a freelance writer for several years and am often asked to write about something in a woefully small amount of words -- sometimes 100 or less. ...
With The Master's Lesson, I spit the first draft out quickly, but spent weeks chipping away at verbosity until I felt the characters and pace were as perfect as they could be.
Absolute XPress: Alright here is a tough question for you. If you could be remembered for just one thing as a writer, what would it be?
David L. Craddock: To be a writer who was able to be equal parts entertaining and insightful. While I do sometimes enjoy vapid entertainment, I vastly prefer stories that leave me thinking about something: the characters, the events, the decisions -- something that will resonate.
Absolute XPress: Alright, one more question before I let the viewers/readers ask you questions. How can your fans get in touch with you?
David L. Craddock: I'm working on a website that will be live within the next couple of days. The address is DavidLCraddock.com. Warning: There's no content, so be prepared to be inundated with Go Daddy gunk! ...
In the meantime, I keep a semi-regularly updated blog at WillWrite4Books.LiveJournal.com. All are invited to tag along!
Absolute XPress: Great. We already have our first audience question...
[Comment From Tonji Thibault]: How do you come up with your story ideas and, once you have an idea, how to you go about developing the story line?
David L. Craddock: It tends to be a long process. I usually have an idea for a character or a situation. From there, I create a project journal, a document in which I write as many ideas pertaining to the original thought as I can think of. ...
From there, I piece things together in a semi-followed outline (I don't like to trap myself in these too tightly, as the characters tend to take the proverbial wheel when I get an idea too firmly stuck in my head). When something needs adjusting, I adjust.
[Comment From Kaylee]: Congratulations. So what is Heritage about?
David L. Craddock: Heritage is about family, and about coming of age to accept the heavy burden of responsibility, something we all have to deal with at some point to varying degrees.
And thank you!
[Comment From Chuck]: Congratuations on having your first work of fiction published, Dave. Since I have known you for many years I don't have any real great questions to ask of you, as I feel I know you pretty well. But I know how hard you have worked so it must be really rewarding to have one of your stories pubished. I also just wanted to take this opportunity to commend Absolute XPress for their Flash Fiction Series and giving up and coming authors such as yourself an avenue into publishing - I just think that's great.
David L. Craddock: I wholeheartedly agree, Chuck. :) Thanks for all your encouragement. And to my mother and grandmother, who are in the virtual audience -- thanks to both of you and the rest of my friends and family as well.
Absolute XPress: Thank you chuck. I think that brings us to the end. Thank you to Kaylee and Tonji as well for the questions. And thank you David for being interviewed today. I'm sure we'll see more of you soon.
David L. Craddock: Thank you, Tina, and thanks to all of you for attending as well. Look forward to Heritage! Take care.