Author Bio:
DJ Swykert is a former 911 operator and fiction writer living in Burlington, NC. His work has appeared in The Tampa Review, Detroit News, Coe Review, Monarch Review, the Newer York, Lunch Ticket, Gravel, Zodiac Review, Barbaric Yawp and Bull. His novels include Children of the Enemy, The Pool Boy’s Beatitude, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington, Alpha Wolves, For the Love of wolves, Sweat Street, Three-fingered Jack Davis and The Death of Anyone.
What inspires you to write?
What Camus had to say: Fiction is the lie through which we tell our truth.
Tell us about your writing process.
I'm not an outliner, but I have a system. I work on a short piece to develop a character. Then I create a conflict that suits the lead protagonist in my short story. Next I imagine a resolution to the conflict and each following chapter leads to that resolution.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I have read dialogue of my characters out loud to see if it sounds authentic.
Who are your favorite authors?
Tennyson, Kerouac, Eliot, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. I have many others, but these influenced me the most.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Most of my books I queried presses and have found several Indy presses that would edit, format and publish my work. I currently have a start up publisher and as other contracts expired switched my books over to her company.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
There will always be those who prefer turning pages to staring at a screen or smart phone. But I do think their numbers will decline in another generation and continue to decline. Garrison Keillor predicted a decade ago that in the future there would be fifteen readers for every writer. I'm beginning to think there are now about fifteen writers for every reader.
What genres do you write?
Literary, historical, mystery and crime.
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
Website(s)
DJ Swykert Home Page Link
Follow DJ Swykert On Amazon
Author’s Social Media Links
Facebook
Twitter
All information is provided by the author and is presented as it was submitted so you the reader get to hear the author’s own “voice” in their interview.
