D. Ike Horst interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I am a literature enthusiast living in Pacific Missouri, but I’ve been a wandering renaissance man for most of my adult life. Truthfully, I am thankful to have recently put down roots. As one might assume, my formal education was delayed by my wanderlust. It wasn’t until two years ago that I began my undergraduate degree in English - Creative Writing at Liberty University. With that said, I have been writing for much longer. Yes, I was the thirteen-year-old trying to write Vietnam War novels and epic fantasy while also neglecting my regular school work. Ha! Now, I am a published author! Regarding my debut book, Death, The Pharmacist started as a short story which I later converted to its present form during an upper-division writing course at Liberty. My goal was to take something mundane, something that I knew from my own professional life—pharmacy—and turn it into something wondrous.

When did your love of books begin?

My love for books has been with me since I was a child. Before the days of melatonin or stronger sleep aids, I would need to open a book before bed and immerse myself in some wondrous story until my mind became exhausted. I really struggle with getting to sleep—a lifelong burden, I assure you. Naturally, my love for stories grew into a love for creating stories at a young age. 

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I would say somewhere between the ages eleven and thirteen. I won a regional poetry competition at eleven, but I was seriously attempting to write my first consecutive chapters at thirteen.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Getting published at 28 rather than in my teens or early twenties has been a blessing. I am less star-struck by the process. I know that publishing is work, and I treat it as such. I came into this venture knowing that selling books is a hard business. I just hope to make my own way and entertain the people who are kind enough to pick up my books.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

My advice is simple: Don’t be afraid of the task at hand. Just string together a few good writing days at a time where you get a decent word count going. After that, don’t look back. Big ideas and marketing experience will come along naturally as you get more exposed to the process. 

Tell us about your book/books:

My debut book is titled: Death, The Pharmacist. Synopsis: Death, the Pharmacist distributes life and takes it too. Death doesn’t believe in the world beyond his pharmacy. To him, all mortals are mindless cattle, merely perpetuating their existence by consuming prescribed life essence. When Death is given the opportunity to prematurely redact hundreds of millions of human prescriptions, he simply sees the quell as a means to increase his stores of life essence. That is until Death meets Robinette. Through the narrative of Death, the Pharmacist by D. Ike Horst, the audience journeys with Death and Robinette from his pharmacy to the world of the living. As he becomes more human, Death’s existence as a perfectly efficient killer is weighed against his newly-realized value for life.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

Anyone who writes knows that the bulk of the work is lonely. No one can hold a writer’s hand while he/she/they are putting the words on the page. With that in mind, fellowship is extremely important to a writer. When I am bogged down and only half way through my daily word count quota, it helps to know that I am not the only one going through the trials and tribulations of writing. It helps to know that I am writing as a member of the literary community rather than as a lonely sole proprietor. After I get the work in, I can go talk with others who experience the same thing, or if that is too much stimulus, then I can immerse myself in someone’s work and lose myself in their pages while I recharge my batteries. Before I know it, I am ready to continue my pursuit of authorship.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

I write with the intention to entertain and create positive self-inspection. My hope is that my readers and I are symbiotic with one another—I give them stories and they reiterate the joy they felt during the reading experience. I am certain that the positivity of my readers will carry me through the harder parts of authorship somewhere down the line. I offer many thanks for the support, both future and present. 

Where can people connect with you?

Website: https://horstbooks.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Horstbooks 

Publisher Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atmospherepress/?hl=en