Today I’m pleased to welcome author E.C. Myers to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet E.C.! Don’t forget to check out his books and the neat trailer for his latest release at the end of the post.
1. What made you decide to start writing?
I’ve wanted to write a novel since I was young because I’ve always been an avid reader; however, my early efforts (at age 13) were not promising. By the time I finished college, I thought I wanted to write screenplays—but I didn’t want to move to LA. So I started working on short stories, and eventually novels, figuring I can do that no matter where I live.
2. What is it like releasing your fourth novel vs. your first?
I’m less anxious about how it will be received because by now I have a better idea of the realities of publishing and how to manage my expectations. I’m still amazed that I get to do this for a living.
3. What was your inspiration for your SOS Thriller series?
The idea initially came from Adaptive Books and the unproduced screenplay on which The Silence of Six is loosely based, but as we developed the story and I began writing, my inspiration came directly from the headlines about government surveillance and internet privacy.
4. Your first book, Fair Coin, was a science fiction tale, was there a reason you decided to branch out into thrillers?
Primarily, I wanted to challenge myself, to see if I could write something outside of my comfort zone—and on a much tighter deadline than I had ever worked before. I think it’s always important to push yourself to try new things, and sometimes to “fail better,” if you want to grow as a writer and keep the work interesting.
5. Do you have a favorite genre to read? Is it the same as the genres you write in?
My favorite genres are still science fiction and fantasy and those are primarily young adult and middle grade. And these are also the genres I write in, though I have written contemporary fiction and would love to try more horror and maybe a mystery novel one day.
6. As a writer how to you juggle your other responsibilities to find time for your writing?
Um, poorly…? Though I have always been good about prioritizing writing, I’ve discovered that there actually are limits to how much I can squeeze into a day, and other demands in my life are not so flexible anymore and tend to push back against the writing. These days I have a full-time day job, a two-year-old, various needy pets, and a very busy spouse. Let’s just say I’m glad I made so much time before, and I look forward to having more time again one day. Writing is slow, but somehow I’m still producing stuff that’s getting published. I don’t sleep as much as I should.
7. What is your favorite thing about being an author?
Meeting and talking to readers and getting e-mails from them. I write because I want people to read my stories, and nothing beats interacting with people who enjoy your work. Social media is also great for connecting authors and readers, and I always try to respond when people reach out.
8. What is the best advice you would give to young writers?
Read. A lot. Read everything. And don’t think about writing, just write—and then revise, revise, revise.
9. What can readers be on the lookout for from you next?
I’m really excited about ReMade, a weekly YA science fiction series I’ve been co-writing for Serial Box, which is like “HBO for readers.” It’s debuting on September 14 at http://www.serialbox.com/serials/remade. Each story can be consumed in about 45 minutes like an episode of a TV drama (there are also well-produced audio versions if you prefer to listen rather than read), and they connect and build over the course of a season to tell a bigger story. I wrote three episodes for season one, and because I was intimidated by how amazing my co-writers are, I’ve been pushing myself to do what I think is some of my best work yet. And the project ties back to my original dream of writing for film and television! Readers can subscribe at the site to get new episodes as they are released every Wednesday, or they can buy episodes individually, and the first one is always free and already available online.
About the Author:
E.C. Myers is the author of the Andre Norton Award–winning Fair Coin and Quantum Coin, young adult science fiction novels published by Pyr, and the acclaimed young adult thriller The Silence of Six from Adaptive Books. Connect with him on his website, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.
About the Book:
After being a key figure in the exposing of government corruption, Max Stein has spent a quiet semester abroad in Paris, studying, staying off the Internet, and looking for his long-lost mother. But just as he is about to fly back to the United States for the holidays, trouble manages to find him once again.
Max receives a call from Penny, his on-again-off-again girlfriend who is part of the expert hacking duo DoubleThink. She wants him to meet with Ada Kiesler, a high-profile whistleblower hiding out at a foreign embassy in Berlin. Max has no interest in getting drawn into another corporate conspiracy. But when airport security suddenly detains him on suspicion of cyber-terrorism, he has little choice but to get involved. Soon Max and Penny are tangling with a new group of shadowy figures who are determined to control how the world shares its information. And some figures from Max’s past resurface, including his own mother, whose life has mirrored his own in more ways than he’d realized.
In this action-packed follow up to The Silence of Six, Max and his hacker friends must fight to expose a corrupt corporation that has been systematically taking control of the Internet.