V.M. Price interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I’ve worked in various fields, starting in law enforcement and ending in information security. Currently, I’m “retired” and travel the USA full time with my wife. Every day I work to improve my writing and help others do the same.

When did your love of books begin?

I always get intimidated reading these things because it seems like every other author has been reading since they were born and knew they wanted to write from an equally young age. My history is not as impressive. I did enjoy reading when I was very young, but formal education pretty much killed my love of books, math, and science within a few days of starting Kindergarten. 

I did not read again “for fun” until in my 30s when a friend bullied me into reading the Wheel of Time. This was around 2012, so I was able to catch up just in time for the last book, A Memory of Light, to be released and could read the whole series straight through. After this, I was hooked and began devouring books.

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

I think all people who enjoy reading have the fantasy of becoming an author in the back of their minds. I never considered it something I could actually do. To me, writing a book was something for incredibly talented people with twelve English degrees and a lifetime of experience. 

In a way, I hate this question because everyone wants to know the answer, and I really don't remember when my thinking changed to believing writing was something I could do. But, I began writing seriously about three or four years ago.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Wonderful, I love sitting at my computer typing away, and I get grumpy if life keeps me away too long. I tend to write a lot. I’ll often post word counts in the neighborhood of 2k words in a day of writing, but these are finished words as I tend to be an edit-as-I-go person. By the end of the day, I’ve probably written and deleted two to three times as many total words as the word counts I post.

I have a burning hatred for editing and rewriting. If I get to the end of a book and decide it’s bad, off to the junk drawer it goes. And I write a new book. I have several completed novels that will never see the light of day because I am not happy with how they turned out.

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

Oh man, so much, probably more than we have space for here. If I could say only one thing, it would be that you CAN do this. If your dream is to become a writer, it is possible. It will be a ton of work, and you will have nothing to show for it for a very long time. Don’t give up.

Tell us about your book/books:

I write sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Though, to be honest, my stories tend to be a blend of all three. My stories tend to be dark, with complex characters facing difficult moral dilemmas. 

My best-received story to date is "On Whom the Rain Falls," a sci-fi novella about a girl surviving all alone after the extinction of humanity. It's free on Kindle unlimited. If you give it a read, let me know. I'd love to hear at what parts you figured the various twists out.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QYTBV73

For the past year, I've been working on my new project, the Scifi / fantasy Western series Velorium Adrift. Most of that time has been worldbuilding and fleshing out the diverse cultures. Here is the blurb.

The ruined world of Velorium was forged in a cataclysmic war. One that brought about the end of empires which once spanned the stars. The lessons and technologies of the past erased by the passing of centuries. Now its inhabitants live in scattered oases separated by vast deserts. Trade and travel made possible by duneships, vessels that use the power of wind and steam to drive their complex mechanical systems and crawl across the deserts.

Dixon Grey spent his whole life dreaming of commanding his own duneship and proving himself to his adoptive father, the pirate king Gideon Khan. But when it seems he will finally get his chance, he finds himself drawn into a conflict that will cause him to question his allegiance.

Cyney, a mute girl living in poverty, sees her already dismal life take a turn for the worse when her father dies, and she finds herself betrayed with nowhere to turn. Enslaved and abandoned, she discovers an evil long forgotten, one that bears a centuries-old grudge against mankind. She must find the courage to face the ancient foe before the last home of mankind is swallowed by the void.

Unfortunately, the cover is still in progress, so I can't share it here, but if you want a sneak preview of the book, I post the chapters in serial form on Kindle Vella.

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09PJZZ1VK

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

This is the same answer everyone gives, but it's true. I love how supportive everyone is. You rarely see anyone trying to tear someone down. There is a sense that a victory for one is a victory for all.

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

If you read my stuff, let me know what you think. I love hearing what readers liked and didn't like, what they loved or hated, and any theories they have. The greatest fear an author has isn't that people will hate their work; it's that no one will care.

Where can people connect with you?

There is a contact me page on my website if you want to email me, but I get a lot of spam from there, and I only check the email once a day or so.

https://vmprice.com/

I’m very active on Twitter, so if you contact me there, I’ll probably get your message right away.

@vm_price