Interview with Roy Pickering, author of "Patches of Gray"

Roy Pickering was kind enough to join us for an interview today.  Thanks Roy!  You can find his website at http://www.roypickering.net/, and his blog at http://lineaday.blogspot.com/.

What are your current projects?
I am currently editing my second novel, Matters of Convenience.  A brief excerpt from the first draft can be found at my blog.  After that, I’m rather curious myself to see what will come next.  Perhaps I’ll write some short stories as it’s been a little while since I last penned one.  Maybe I’ll give writing a children’s book a shot, something I’ve been promising to do in collaboration with my wife who is a very talented illustrator.  Or I might jump right into novel #3, though at this point I do not have a plot in mind for it.

Where do you see the future of indie publishing going?
Ebooks aren’t going away any time soon and neither is affordable Print on Demand services.  This means that the rapidly growing indie publishing movement is here for the long haul.  As with traditional publishing, some of the cream will rise to the top.  So will gimmicky titles that come out at just the right time and find a wide audience.  Awful writing will continue to be ignored.  And unfortunately, some terrific writing will remain largely undiscovered as well.  In other words, same old same old regardless of whether books are being put out by publishing giants or little engines that could.  The fates of electronic reading devices and indie authors are tied together because there is very little start up cost to putting out an ebook, so authors don’t need to charge very much for them.  This means device owners will be willing to take a chance on authors they've never heard of before.  But they won’t continue doing so if they don’t find gems.  When the great indie books are found, word of mouth hopefully will propel them in the absence of big marketing budgets.  I do not believe that in the particularly near future everyone will have a device and printed books will go the way of the dinosaur.  So indie authors should not ignore pubbing their books as printed paperbacks if they have the resources.  Holding a book in hand is a wonderful way to read a story and will continue to be so.

Which authors and books are your greatest influences?
Great novels by amazingly talented authors don’t so much influence as they inspire me, not to try to write like them, but to work hard at writing in my own unique voice.  Among those I return to time and time again are Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Irving, Toni Morrison, Tim Robbins, Cormac McCarthy, John Updike, Philip Roth, Tim Sandlin, Richard Russo, Walter Mosley.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  I believe in quality, quantity and diversity when it comes to my reading, and also when it comes to my writing for that matter.

To continue that question, what indie authors do you most admire?
Carole Sutton, Elizabeth Blake and Todd Fonseca are a few whose books I’ve enjoyed.  Some indie titles I have shelved at home that are on my To Read list are books by Jennifer Topper, Maura Stone and Jo Lynne Valerie.  I’m sure the number of indie authors that I’m a fan of will continue to grow as I become familiar with more of them.  Without the support of major marketing campaigns it takes them a little longer to reach my radar.  The same of course can be said of readers finding out about my writing, which is why I’m grateful for bloggers such as yourself who put needed spotlight on us.

What's the deepest, darkest secret you're willing to share?
The chicken and the egg came at precisely the same time.  That’s why they’re still happily together.