Interview: David L Erickson
Author’s and Illustrator’s names:
David L Erickson
Publishing Credits:
I have three novels and a science fiction anthology currently available in ebook and paperback. Mankind’s Worst Fear was earning me in excess of $1200 a month when my wife became ill in 2008 and I had to focus on her care. Over the past few decades, I’ve sold stories to travel magazines, written policy and procedure handbooks, rewritten service manuals, wrote copy for election campaigns, and produced organization newsletters. In addition to writing novels and short stories, I’ve edited for regional authors.
How do you come up with your ideas to write stories and books?
Initially, most of my best ideas were dreams I roughed out upon waking. But I also daydreamed a lot.
I can start a story or scene with nothing than a thought or from watching a bad movie. Give me a thought, desire, or a sentence and I can create a scene or story from that moment forward.
Why should anybody read your books when there are so many others written by famous authors?
I write entertaining, believable, tales with interesting characters that I would stack up against any of the more popular modern novelists.
Most authors believe they have original ideas that no one else has used. Can you give us an example of one of your original ideas?
I don’t think there is much in the way of original ideas anymore where writing is concerned. But I did write a horror story, Falsely Accused, from the bad guy’s perspective. It think that is rare.
Have any of your military experiences spilled over into your writing?
Of course. All my life experiences are factored into my writing. I’ve learned enough to know that what we see on TV in the way of combat or military service, is mostly Hollywood nonsense.
If somebody could only read one thing that you’ve written, what would you recommend?
Mankind’s Worst Fear is a great story, and my personal favorite of the eight novels I’ve written, but among those who have read both, A Matter of Time is lighter fare with a touch of romance. It’s a novella, and only available in e-book. A reclusive dot.com millionaire and a drop-dead gorgeous genealogist from the future are running from the Feds. But, by far my favorite is an essay called the Great Navel Operation. In which (having read Orwell’s 1984) everyone must get their navels removed because the thought police determined they are jury or death.
What are your areas of expertise?
My life experiences, training, and education are quite varied, but the preponderance was in office machines from field tech to dealership owner. If anything, politics and economics, as I’ve been following national politics, economics, and social changes for decades. I am not an expert, but I do have a decent working knowledge of how it all ties together, what’s broken and how to fix it.
Do you have any favorite authors?
So many. Clive Cussler, Lee Childs, Isaac Asimov, David Baldacci, Aldous Huxley, Dean Koontz, Stephen Coonts, Alan Dean Foster, Robin Cook, Dusty Richards…I’ll read about anything, but I’m easily bored with romance novels.
What events have made you into the person you are today?
My first traumatic/enlightening experience came when I drowned at age 10. Perhaps the next shaping came from my first love. We had deep philosophical discussions that helped me frame my perspective on many things. Growing up in the era of the big block street rods, my brush with criminality, Vietnam, summer of 1970 in Southern California, being madly in love, marrying and raising children, being the golden boy of a regional office machine dealer for several years, building a successful business, surviving an economic collapse, being played for a fool, the loss of a child…Everything we experience, everyone we meet, everything we think, shapes us. In general, living life.
Did you have any heroes when you were growing up?
My dad and my uncles. Sky King, the Lone Ranger, Sergeant Friday of Dragnet, Vic Marrow as Sergeant Saunders in Combat, John and Bobby Kennedy, Davy Crockett, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Lincoln, General Patton, Ulysses S Grant.
What do you want readers to get out of your books?
Pleasure. I want them to enjoy a good story well told. And if they happen to uncover useful insights, so much the better.
What are you working on now?
Three novels. The Right-Us Shall Inherit the Earth, about a secret international organization that intends to change the world order by taking out the worst threats to a stable, democratic world.
Vietnam, a Stoner’s Tale, loosely based on my experiences in Vietnam.
The Search for Berra 4, a sequel to The Sacrifice of Berra 4, a space opera with big ships at war with an alien infestation. In between, I also write short stories and post commentary on Facebook
If someone wants to purchase something you’ve written, how can they do this?
What advice do you have for people who want to become professional authors?
Write. Daily. About anything and everything.
Some writers keep a journal. I practice by taking a sentence or some external prompt, and creating a moment, a scene, a story using the prompt as a relative point, then writing about it.
The more you write, the better you should get. If you don’t see a gradual improvement in your writing, you should consider some other venue.
Every writer reaches that point where they realize they’ve acquired their writer’s voice. It’s an awakening, an emotional moment where you realize that you are good at it, where emotions flow freely, and logic ties it all together.