Scott Nicholson is the author of 10 thrillers, including the Bram Stoker finalist The Red Church, Drummer Boy, Disintegration, and The Skull Ring. He’s published over 60 stories in seven countries, as well as numerous writing articles, six screenplays, several comic books, and magazine features. He’s won three North Carolina Press Association Awards as a newspaper reporter and also has a freelance manuscript editing business. For more information, visit:  www.hauntedcomputer.com.

Daniel Pyle:  Scott, thanks for taking some time out for me today.  I know you have a big blog tour in the works.  Can you tell us about that?

Scott Nicholson: I think book bloggers will be the most important literary gatekeepers of the next decade, as agents and publishing houses decline in influence (related to the loss of bookstores). The Internet is changing the way we all share experiences, and a blog tour for e-books is a natural fit. I am also giving away a Kindle because e-books are the future.

DP:  Writing today isn't the same job it was ten or even five years ago.  People are talking about the differences, but how is it still the same?

SN:  The art and craft is still the same but the business is exactly backwards. Before, you had to write to please a couple of people—an agent and an editor—but now you have to write to please yourself and your readers. The connection is more direct, but you still need to tell a good, compelling, and well-crafted story.

DP:  If you had to start your career over today from scratch, would you do it?

SN:  Yes, of course. A writer has no choice. A real writer is doomed from the very beginning!

DP:  Your house is burning down.  Your agent and your Kindle are inside.  Which one do you save?

SN:  Well, I have worked with five agents and I use a Kindle for PC desktop as a reader. The computer has my book files, so I’d get it. Agents are getting more replaceable and unnecessary by the minute—though good ones can still help with movie and ancillary rights.

DP:  Have you ever partaken of moonshine?

SN:  Oh, yes, but it’s been at least 25 years.

DP:  What's been the most difficult part of your career?

SN:  Losing faith in myself but realizing I gave power of my artistic happiness over to other people. Other people, however well intentioned, will simply never care as much as you do. Stay true to your vision.

DP:  Can you suggest any underappreciated indie writers we all ought to be reading?

SN:  I don’t know as many “pure indies,” since most have some level of professional experience, but I think Debbi Mack, J.T. Cummins, David McAfee, David H. Burton, Simon Wood, W.D. Gagliani, Vicki Tyley, and more are deserving of wide audiences. It’s hard to believe the talented work that was unable to secure New York deals, and also makes you realize why New York’s model was failing to meet the needs of readers.

DP:  Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

SN:  I am restructuring my story collections and just released Murdermouth: Zombie Bits as a collection. This fall I am releasing the psychological thriller Disintegration and the metafictional thriller As I Die Lying, as well as a digital release of my 2003 novel The Harvest, which will be the “author’s preferred edition,” all the way to the title, which is now Forever Never Ends.

DP:  Before we wrap it up, is there anything else you'd like to get off your chest?

SN:  Come by my Web site and blog and check out writing information and fiction excerpts. I also have some graphic novels coming through the pipeline. This is my life now.

I love this new era. It’s full of raw energy and experimentation. Aim for spectacular failure instead of mediocre success. Thanks, Daniel!

Thank you.

Everyone be sure to follow Scott on his summer blog tour and check out his website for more information on him, his books, and his goings on.

You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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