J.G. Follansbee

I’d like to introduce Aaron Ward, a debut author who has independently published Upriver, Downriver, described by one Amazon reviewer like this: “The phrase ‘coming of age’ is slapped onto so many lukewarm portrayals of growing up these days, but this story nails it.” Aaron kindly answered all of my “Five Questions,” which is a series of interviews with self-published and traditionally published science fiction and fantasy authors. If you’re a published author, and you’d like to participate, learn the details on my blog’s Promote Your Book page.

1. Do you remember the first character you created? Tell me about him/her/it.

I don’t know if it was my first, but I remember writing a short story in high school, and I believe the main character’s name was ‘Dan Hauser.’ Dan was a cop, and the story involved him coming home and being attacked by a monster of some kind. It was a big hit at the time.

2. How did you feel when you saw your work in print / electronic form for the first time?

I don’t think I felt anything too extreme. I was a little excited and a little nervous. It was self-publishing and I didn’t know much about marketing, so I knew I would be flinging the book out into the void more than anything.

Spend time with your grandparents and listen to their stories.

3. What is your favorite piece of advice for new writers?

Don’t trust politicians or the media. Spend time with your grandparents and listen to their stories.

4. If you were king/queen, what would you change about the publishing world?

I don’t know, because I think what problems there are in the publishing world seem to be indicative of the problems with society as a whole. No more celebrity memoirs would be a good start.

5. What is your next project? Timeline?

Woof! That’s a question I’ve been asking myself. I’m at a crossroads, where the things I need to thrive, both personally and in my writing, things like a space of my own, a measure of financial stability, etc, are lacking; and writing just doesn’t pay the bills right now. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life. I do have one project in mind, but I don’t know when I’ll pull the trigger and work on it in earnest.

Bonus question: If you could reincarnate as another writer, living or dead, who would it be?

I would rather reincarnate as some sort of ape. Maybe one of the infinite number of monkey’s banging on a typewriter in aims of cooking up Shakespeare.

Thank you, Aaron! If you have any questions for Aaron, post them in the comments section.