Welcome to my blog interview.
I am pleased
to introduce the Amazing Harry James Fox.
Hello Harry. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am from
the USA, born in Colorado. I was raised on a cattle ranch in the western,
mountainous part of the state. In many ways, my early life was much more like
the 19th century than the 20th. I can’t remember not being able to ride, since
I was thrown on a horse’s back when I was still crawling. My parents taught me
to be self-reliant and responsible, and brought me up in the Christian faith.
In some ways it was a hard life, with lots of bumps and bruises and early
responsibility. Did I say there was no modern conveniences? But I would not
trade that early life for another.
I served in
the US Army and served in Vietnam during the war. Nearly 48 years ago I married
my love, Carroll, and we have two sons and six grandchildren. I spent a career
in natural resource management with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Upon
retirement, we served as missionaries and lived in the Philippines and Thailand
for awhile, then I decided to spend more time with writing, which always was an
interest of mine.
What bought you to the world of writing?
I have
dabbled in creative writing for many years. Thankfully, the early efforts never
were inflicted on anyone else. I had many years’ experience with technical
writing, and learned that craft pretty well. I have always been an avid reader,
and finally decided to bring works of my imagination to life.
What is your first book and what do you think of it
now?
My first
book is one on theology called Crosscurrents—Making
Sense of the Christian Life. It is not an easy read, or so I have been
told. I still like the book, and have not felt any desire to go back and edit
it. Some people have been gracious enough to tell me that it is a contribution
toward resolving some thorny issues. If so, that makes me happy.
What type of books do you write and do they fulfill your reader’s needs?
I am
concentrating on fiction at the moment. My books come from a Christian world
view, but they are not overtly of the “Christian” genre. I see no reason to
leave faith out of them since that is a fundamental part of real life. They
don’t exactly fit any genre, as a matter of fact, since I merely created a
world as I pleased. Some call them “Fantasy” and that is not totally wrong,
since my world takes place about one hundred years in the future. It is a world
something like medieval times, so people that like historical novels seem to
enjoy reading these tales, There are elements of “Dystopian”,
“Action-Adventure” and “Romance” but that is because romance is also part of
life and this future world is a violent one. I suppose it would have been smart
to have crafted the books so they are a solid fit in one genre, but I was
trying to do something different.
Would you like to feature a book, if so which
one? Tell us about it?
My first
novel is called The Stonegate Sword.
I gave a lead-in already. This tale is about a lore-man named Donald. He has
been schooled in the old writings, which are the surviving works of our
culture. From this sheltered background he is forced to learn to be a warrior.
He falls in love with Rachel, then loses her when she is kidnapped by a band of
mercenaries. Because her captivity was his fault, he sets out alone to search
the Rocky Mountains in wintertime to try to rescue her. In the process he finds
himself in the centre of a war. An invading
army is on the move, and conquest is their intent.
I am working
on the second novel now, which takes up where the first one leaves off. It is
called The False Prophet. I have
plans for a third, which will complete the series.
How long does it take you to write your first
draft?
I usually
can write about 1,000 words per day. But I don’t write every day. So a novel the length of The Stonegate Sword takes six or seven
months. But after the first draft is complete, the real work really starts.
Do you plot or not, if so why?
I have an
idea for the main story line in my head before I begin. However, I always think
of sub-plots as the writing progresses. I also like to have a firm idea of the
characters and how they might react in a given situation. Sometimes they take
on a life of their own, and the plot might change a bit. The rewrites often
involves bringing these story lines together.
Do you write in 1st or 3rd
person, or have you done both?
I write in
the 3rd person, but sometimes I put the character’s thoughts in the text, and
these will be in the 1st person. They only make up a tiny fraction of the
story.
How do you edit your work? Do you leave your draft alone for a while or
edit as you write?
This
probably sounds strange in the world of electronics, but I prefer to write my
first draft in longhand. When I get a chapter finished, I type it into the
computer. I do a bit of editing at that point. But I really don’t try to
over-edit. If I leave the work for a few days, I often re-read what I have just
written, and sometimes I will fix a few obvious things then. But serious
editing is something I leave until the entire first draft is handwritten, typed
and in a complete document. It is better to leave it alone for awhile before
editing.
What type of people/readers do you market your
books to?
I try to
make my books suitable for young adults. I always include one teen-aged
character and don’t use strong language, for example. But my target audience is
adult. People that like tales of conflict, courage, love, and honour are my
kind of reader, and they are the ones I want to please.
Do you self-publish or have you worked with an
Agent/Publisher
I quickly
found that traditional publishing is not for me. I simply don’t have the
patience to go through the hurdles necessary for an unknown author to make the
grade. So I self-published, and that is a good fit for me. The big shock, of
course, was the realization that a self-published author has to devote a great
deal of time to publicity. It is really very difficult to find readers; to get
one’s book noticed in the millions of books available on-line.
How do you promote your writing?
This is
something I have not really figured out. I am active on GoodReads, and I have
Twitter and Facebook accounts. I have an Amazon author’s page. I advertise on
all the sites that I can find that give free publicity. Occasionally, I will
get a paid spot on one of the eBook promotion sites.
Where can we buy your books?
They both are
on Amazon. The Stonegate Sword is
available as an eBook and paperback on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes &
Noble, and similar sites.
Who are your favourite authors?
I like
J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Stephen Lawhead, John Grisham. The classics have
been my domain for many years. Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, Robert Lewis Stevenson come to mind. American authors like James
Fenimore Cooper, Mark Twain, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are old friends.
Links
The
Stonegate Sword
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TBOLLPY
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stonegate-Sword-Harry-James-ebook/dp/B00TBOLLPY
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stonegate-sword-harry-fox/1121243278
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-stonegate-sword
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-stonegate-sword/id968488144
Personal accounts
https://twitter.com/@Foxwarepub
https://www.pinterest.com/hjimfox
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7070007.Harry_James_Fox
https://www.facebook.com/hjimfox
https://www.facebook.com/FoxwarePublishingLLC
Personal Website http://www.foxwarepublishing.com
Do you have any more information you’d like to
share with us?
I like the
outdoors, playing with grandchildren, patriotic parades, horses, coffee, Earl
Gray tea, green chiles from New Mexico. I don’t like chocolate, sweets, long
speeches or needing reading glasses.
Thank you very much for sharing that with us, Harry.
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