Author Bio:
Lincoln Cole is a Columbus based author who enjoys traveling and has visited many different parts of the world, including Australia and Cambodia, but always returns home to his pugamonster puppy, Luther, and family. His love for writing was kindled at an early age through the works of Isaac Asimov and Stephen King and he enjoys telling stories to anyone who will listen.
His first published novel was “Graveyard of Empires”, and he won the Literary Classics 2015 Book Award for Inspirational/Visionary YA novels with his novel “Ripples Through Time”. His upcoming book, “Second Chances” is the spiritual successor to “Ripples Through Time” and confronts many social and cultural issues.
What inspires you to write?
My inspiration comes from a lot of different things. I like to write in different genres, so I have books that are literary, books that are fantasy or science fiction, and even some thrillers that are fast paced and full of action. For me it comes down to what I feel like working on in the moment and the story I want to tell. In my first few novels, first I wanted to create a huge science fiction world similar to the Foundation Series, so I wrote Graveyard of Empires, and then I wanted to tell a story about life, death, and how to move on after losing the ones closest to us, so I wrote Ripples Through Time. Since those novels, I’ve branched out and tried new things, but my inspiration always comes down to what I feel in the moment.
Tell us about your writing process.
I outline, but then I end up throwing the outline out the window when I’m actually writing. Nothing works out like I planned and the story always ends up surprising me. My best writing is always seat of my pants when I have a vivid scene in mind, but when I’m trying to connect all of the strands I end up falling short and struggling.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I usually end up writing my best dialogue out of conversations that actually took place. Sometimes it involves me, but more often than not it’s a humorous situation I heard, or an exaggeration on a real conversation. I usually put multiple characters into every scene because I like dialogue, and I try hard to make the dialogue sound like things people would actually say.
Who are your favorite authors?
Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, George R.R. Martin, Tolkien. My tastes fluctuate wildly depending on the genre of books I’m writing at the moment. I used to love high fantasy, but I’ve fallen out of practice with it and moved on. I hate getting stuck with one genre, so I read a lot of varied things, and I’ll get stuck reading all night anything well-written with a good story.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I submitted to a lot of publishers, but in the end I decided to self-publish. I’m really glad I did, because having control over the process means I can learn and constantly improve, and if I didn’t have control over the tools I think I would go crazy. I like that, every step of the way, it’s been me figuring it out, trying new things, and struggling to get it done right. I decided to finally just publish all of my works because I wanted to put them out there and I was tired of waiting around.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the entire industry is in upheaval, much like the music industry from several years ago. Traditional publishers are doubling down on their model and self-published works are getting better and better. Micro-industries are cropping up all over the place to offer new services where indie authors can make their works look more professional, and traditional publishers are terrified by the coming changes because it cuts into their bottom line.
What genres do you write?
Literary, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, Paranormal, Action and Adventure
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Lincoln Cole Home Page Link
Link To Lincoln Cole Page On Amazon
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