I'm delighted to present another interview, this time with spec fic author R.L. Copple. Rick is a multitalented guy, who writes non-fiction, fiction, a bit of poetry, and even dabbles in comics. He's the author of two YA series, one fantasy (available from Splashdown Books - yep, my second Splashdown author), the other sci fi (indie published through Ethereal Press), and is even thinking of writing the back story for  a video game. Like my previous guest, Greg Mitchell, he writes from a Christian worldview, although he makes a point to tell us that it's more of a framework than a message. He contributes to a blog called The Lost Genre Guild, which is a home for Christian writers who love the weird and wonderful.

R. L. Copple is a science fiction and fantasy writer. He's written six novels and numerous short stories. While some say he lives in his own fantasy world, in reality he resides in the Texas Hill Country with his wife of 30 years and remaining son of three kids.

You can visit Rick's website, read his blog, friend him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter. And of course, you can buy his books on Amazon. Now, read on to learn more!

I'm thrilled to be able to introduce you to a fellow spec fic author, Greg Mitchell, whose books The Strange Man, Enemies of the Cross, and Rift Jump have been published by Realms and Splashdown Books, respectively. Greg writes suspense/horror and YA sci fi from a Christian world view, something that he says is easy enough, but believe me, it can be a real trick.

Here's how he describes himself: Greg Mitchell is a screenwriter and novelist and the author of "The Strange Man" and "Enemies of the Cross", the first two books in The Coming Evil Trilogy. Recently he saw the release of the multi-dimensional action romance novel "Rift Jump"--a story he began writing in high school. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Northeast Arkansas, plotting the inevitable day when the creatures of the night strike and all that useless monster movie knowledge he has can be put to good use.

Greg's blog, The Coming Evil, will introduce you to his books and short stories. Now, let's read my interview with him! 

A writing friend of mine recently attended the Brooklyn Book Fair, where she heard from four publishing house execs that authors shouldn't be wasting their time on book trailers; they should be writing. (Remember, I said that whatever the question, the answer is pretty much always, 'keep writing?') And it's definitely true that an author can spend w-a-y too much tim on distractions, such as social media, blogging, promotion, and yes, book trailers. 

I think book trailers exist because they can. In other words, it's so easy these days to pull together digital media into a really decent-looking short film and then post it on YouTube where it can be seen by everyone... so why not? Of course, it's the book itself that will actually do the selling in the end. The Harry Potter books sold zillions of copies without a trailer, for example, or an 'author's platform' (I'll discuss that some day, too), or a Facebook page, and there are thousands of other examples as well. In the end, will a trailer sell a book? No. Are they fun nonetheless? Absolutely! Should an author make one? Well, that depends.

If said trailer keeps an author from writing, the answer is a definite NO. If the trailer can be done without distracting the author, sure, why not. I happen to really like trailers, but honestly I don't choose to buy a book on the basis of a trailer. I imagine I'm pretty typical in that regard.

A number of authors have responded to my invitation to request an interview in this blog. I'm thrilled to have them tell my readers about their work.

In no certain order of appearance, here is the list:
Greg Mitchell
R.L. Copple
Laura Popp
Harold Ferguson
Cindy Koepp
Frank Creed
Bonnie Doran

Look for posts in the relatively near future, probably starting in November 2012. If there are specific questions you'd like these good brave people to answer, please let me know! You can use the contact form or leave comments here.