This interview is in the February Issue of Sleepytown Press
Email Address: Sleepytownpress@yahoo.com
An Interview with Norm Applegate.
What would you like people to know most about you?
I am the ex-drummer for the Who. Also in my younger years was a stand in for Sean Connery. Okay, I lied... but I want this interview to be really exciting. Hahahahaha...The truth, the older I get the more confused I am about life.
Tell us your latest news?
Just had a grand-daughter born into the family in February; Aubree Lynn Hussey. Can’t believe how I felt after just holding her for a minute, priceless.
Writing news: finishing a sequel to Shockwave, a thriller. Not sure what to call it, maybe “Kill a President,” or “Slices of Violence.” It should by out by May on Amazon. It’s a continuation of my character Jack Dwyer, he’s kind of a Lee Child hero. The title gives it away, a sniper is poised to kill the President with a .50 caliber Barrett rifle, which is a serious weapon by the way.
When and why did you begin writing?
I think a lot of people want to write a book and I was no different. It started when I was traveling through Australia and New Zealand as a hypnotist. This was before the days of email. I wrote a letter to my wife every few days sharing my experiences with her and to keep her close. That made me realized I could do it. Into the Basement was my first novel and now I try to get one novel out per year.
What do you feel are your “three” best writing tips?
Okay don’t tell anyone but these are the tips that have been handed down in secret ceremonies; 1). Develop an outline so you know where you are going.
2). Write the novel before editing.
3). Hire an editor...
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I do have a mentor; David Hagberg. He writes CIA terrorist novels. He has written over 80 books and his advice is spot on. The Cabal is an excellent example of how to write a novel.
What book are you reading now?
Kind of go through spurts of different genre’s. Just finished “Top Secret America,” by Dana Priest, real scary stuff about what we’ve done to ourselves since 911. Started on “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.”
What are your current projects?
Finishing a thriller novel, writing a comic book based on my first horror novel, “Into the Basement,” and working on an advanced degree on cyber-genetics...oh you are not buying that last part? hahahahahaha
Do you see writing as a career?
Yeah I do. When I first started writing I was thrilled when someone bought one my books. Now I’m collecting a monthly paycheck so the trend keeps going in the right direction every month. I’d like to think that this will become my full-time career when I retire from consulting.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Not in my latest book. But I should have done a sequel of my first novel;“Into the Basement.” It sells very well particularly on AmazonUK where it’s:
#1 for graphic>horror and in the top #15 for Fiction>horror>thrillers.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Oh yeah, finding time to write. I travel every week as a consultant and writing on planes is where I do my best work, I’m isolated with no interference.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I don’t have a favorite author, there is a lot I like, David Hagberg, Lee Child and James Patterson but I’m all over the place with what I read, fiction and non-fiction.
Which of your books is your favorite and why?
It always seems to be the current book I’m working on, although I like the writing style in did for “Shockwave.” It’s a crisp, short staccato style like Lee Child, reads very fast.
Did you learn anything from writing your books and what was it?
I’ve been a musician, mailman, an electrician, truck driver, hypnotists, sales rep, office manager, gym manager and consultant. Writing was the only discipline where I looked at my true feelings and understood a little more of who I am. I call it a cleansing experience.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
An author friend of mine asked for some help. Her question was: how do you market books?
1). Editing! Pay an editor! Quality is important. Here’s the name of the person I used on my last book, SHOCKWAVE. She’s not free...For me she was worth it. I’m going to work with her again on my next book.
Deborah Levinson, she a friend of mine on my Facebook site. She is good.
2). Cover work! check out the cover for Shockwave, my thriller and short story Jumpers. Nice work... Contact James Rone at jameron713@gmail.com tell him I sent you. He’s an art student in Phoenix. 3). Use Amazon...they are the largest book distributor in the world.
Amazon Kindle for ebook. Look up Kindle Direct Publishing.
4). Product Description: I looked at a pile of book descriptions on Amazon. I believe what I’ve done works. I combined what I liked from a number of successful authors. Look up my books on Amazon and you’ll see the description I use. Lots of stuff for people to read...
5). Price...the ebook price for a new book is $2.99 your older stuff $0.99. However you might consider starting at the $0.99 price point. I know it’s cheap but that seems to be the market, check out authors on Amazon not the big names, the indie authors. HEADS-UP - This may be shifting. Some authors are raising their ebook price to find the sweet spot, the right number of sales at the maximum price to generate the most profit. Remember, at $2.99 on Amazon you get 70%. At $0.99 it’s only 35%.
6). Go to Smashwords and format your ebook yourself from their guidelines. They have the best outline for formatting an ebook and publish on Smashwords. That gets your book into Apple’s iPad, B&N. Sony. Diesel and Kobo...
7). Start a blog, use Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and any other sites you have time to post stuff on. ...that was a lot of stuff...hope it helps.
I live in Sarasota, and I write thrillers, horror and paranormal books. My Into the Basement, novel is about abduction, torture and murder. I also wrote Blood Bar, which is about vampires and a different kind of club. Into the Spell, is a hypnosis paranormal thriller, you know, the dark side of the occult.
My latest vampire book is First To Die, an adventure not for vegetarians. It’s a bit more violent and juicy than my other books, but there is a sliver of breathing room. Expect a lot of violence, knives, pain, carve in, carve out. My Kim Bennett is a bent woman.
Last year I released my first thriller: Shockwave (see below). A sequel will be out by May.
I’m also a Mac Fanatic. Smooth Jazz enthusiast. Drummer. Horror Movie Fan.
Check out two of Norm’s Books:
Into the Basement (THIS BOOK IS FOR ADULTS!)
In San Francisco, women are disappearing. Three detectives pull Kim Bennett into the game. The hunt for a killer. She goes missing!
This is a raw dark story of sadistic people tha pits Kim’s physical and mental agility against one of the fastest rising crimes in America, sexual slavery.
Shockwave
Jack Dwyer is observant. Sitting at Starbucks he watches a van come to a stop. A nervous guy gets out, looks around, seems strange. Dwyer watches him. The guy crosses the street. Dwyer realizes the guy’s staring at a pretty woman, Kelly Paul. Dwyer makes eye contact with her. Dwyer looks left, right, reacts, moves fast, pushes her down, saves her but the bomb explodes. People are killed. She goes missing and Dwyer is the suspect.
