Today my guest is author Andy Rane who agreed to answer the same six questions he has been asking his own guests for a while now… Enjoy! 🙂
Chrystalla: Welcome, Andy. Tell us a few things about yourself!
Andy: I live in NJ (yes, by choice) with my wife, young son, a couple cats, two chinchillas, some fish, and a salamander named Fred. When I’m not writing or promoting my book, I’m usually reading or playing games with my son. Until my books catch fire (figuratively, not literally), my day job consists of editing pharmaceutical advertising. So, now…about those six questions I’m always having others answer. 😉
Chrystalla: Have you published a book yet?
Andy: I self-published my first novel, Multiples of Six, on July 18, 2011 under my pen name, Andy Rane (you can visit my Web site to find out my real name). Written over the course of 5 years, I did quite a bit of research before finally deciding to self-publish. Here’s a little synopsis: James Masterson is simply taking a moment to reflect on his back porch, when a metal barrel is pressed against his head. His assailant is frightened by what he sees and when James turns around, he begins to understand why. He’s staring at his identical twin…a brother he never knew he had. Brought together by a mysterious doctor neither young man has met, James sets out to find out the truth about a past that unravels more and more at every turn. He can trust no one and must risk everything to discover the family he never knew he had. Multiples of Six is ~70,000 words and is the first book in a trilogy. It’s available for Kindle, Nook, iPad and more for just $2.99. The paperback is also available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Keep an eye out for the sequel, Divisible by Six, in early 2012. For a sample chapter, check out my blog (https://bitly.com/rpSzH1).
Chrystalla: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Andy: When I was 19, I had some trouble with college. Let’s just say I was never cut out to be a Chemistry major. My mother actually recognized my talent for putting words on the page and suggested that I turn my energies to writing. So, I did. I started with poetry and eventually returned to college, making my way to The Richard Stockton College of NJ as a Literature major. There, I had the great pleasure of studying under the future Pulitzer-Prize winning poet, Stephen Dunn. Though I wrote prolific amounts of poetry, I eventually found that prose was my true love.
Chrystalla: What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?
Andy: When I was a freshman in high school I started writing a “book.” It was essentially “Red Dawn (the movie) Comes to My Home Town and I Escape to Find This Really Cool Helicopter at the Local Army Base and Teach Myself How to Fly It.” Yeah, it was pretty bad. I think it’s still floating around somewhere. Handwritten of course, in an old school notebook. I miss scratching out prose on paper…sometimes.
Chrystalla: When was your first indication, “I can do this (write)”?
Andy: I took many creative writing courses during my college years. I had several people tell me that they thought I was talented, but there’s one instance that stands out. In 2005, I spent an ill-fated semester in a nontraditional MFA program (yeah, me and college have had a bit of a love/hate relationship). Anyway, during the residency, I had one of the professors (a published author himself) introduce himself to me by saying, “So, the others (other professors) tell me you might actually make some money from this someday.” Yeah, that was cool and it was my first true indication that I might be on the right track.
Chrystalla: If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?
Andy: The character of Uncle Ted doesn’t play a very large role in Multiples, but he’s a larger than life character. He’s a no-nonsense hulk of a man who knows a thing or two about the realities of life, but won’t blow smoke up your rear when he tells you about it. He knows how respect is earned and he knows it takes more than brawn to make a man.
Chrystalla: It’s a dark and stormy night…you’re alone in the house…there’s a knock at the door…you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What’s on the doorstep?
Andy: Darkness and nothing…and then the soft bodyless whisper of my name. Eeeeee!
Stop by and visit Andy’s blog or Andy’s WebsiteÂ
He hosts a new indie author twice a week and subjects them to the tortures of answering The Same Six Questions. He also occasionally posts about his experiences in the world of self-pubbing.
You can also hunt him down on Facebook and Twitter.
Here’s where you can find his book!