Ask the Author: Eric Dontigney
Answered Questions (11)
Eric Dontigney
Hmmmm. There really aren't any interesting mysteries in my life. Certainly nothing worthy of the plot for an entire book.
Eric Dontigney
If I could travel to any fictional world...I'd probably pick the world of Doctor Who and try to con a spot for myself on the TARDIS. I mean, all of time and space? Who wouldn't want that?
Eric Dontigney
Stephen reached out over and over again, grasping at rocks, roots, anything that would let him reach the top of the cliff. He knew this was the last direction the police would go when they found the bodies.
Eric Dontigney
Hi Pcsaust,
First things first, thanks for reading! I'm glad you enjoy the books. I try to keep them entertaining.
In answer to your question, yep, I expect there will be at least 2 more Samual Branch novels to wrap up the current story arc.
I know the long gaps between the books are frustrating. The biggest challenge for me at this point is coming up with plausible threats that Sam can't simply "Branch smash" into oblivion. It usually takes my imagination a while to supply me with something complicated enough to be worthy of Sam's attention/fury.
The good news is that I've done a little work on Book 4 already. My goal is to get the next book out sometime in 2019.
In the meantime, I've put up a works-in-progress meter on the homepage of my website (http://ericdontigney.com). I don't update the meter as often as I should, but it'll give you a general sense of how close I am to finishing first drafts.
If you liked the Branch novels, you should definitely give my other book - Contingency Jones: The Complete Season One - a try. The majority of people who read the Branch novels and Jones have liked both.
I've also got another book coming out later this summer. It's a paranormal mystery called The Midnight Ground. It's not a Branch novel, but it lives in a similar neighborhood to the Branch books. It might help tide you over until I get that next Branch book written.
Again, thanks for reading!
Best,
Eric D.
First things first, thanks for reading! I'm glad you enjoy the books. I try to keep them entertaining.
In answer to your question, yep, I expect there will be at least 2 more Samual Branch novels to wrap up the current story arc.
I know the long gaps between the books are frustrating. The biggest challenge for me at this point is coming up with plausible threats that Sam can't simply "Branch smash" into oblivion. It usually takes my imagination a while to supply me with something complicated enough to be worthy of Sam's attention/fury.
The good news is that I've done a little work on Book 4 already. My goal is to get the next book out sometime in 2019.
In the meantime, I've put up a works-in-progress meter on the homepage of my website (http://ericdontigney.com). I don't update the meter as often as I should, but it'll give you a general sense of how close I am to finishing first drafts.
If you liked the Branch novels, you should definitely give my other book - Contingency Jones: The Complete Season One - a try. The majority of people who read the Branch novels and Jones have liked both.
I've also got another book coming out later this summer. It's a paranormal mystery called The Midnight Ground. It's not a Branch novel, but it lives in a similar neighborhood to the Branch books. It might help tide you over until I get that next Branch book written.
Again, thanks for reading!
Best,
Eric D.
Eric Dontigney
There are always more that I want to read than I reasonably can read. Right now, I'm trying to finish some books that I started and never quite got finished. Jitterbug Perfume (Tom Robbins), The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan), and The Troupe (Robert Jackson Bennett). Once I finish those, and the other stuff on my currently reading list, I'll be moving on to American Elsewhere and City and Blades (both by Robert Jackson Bennett), The Looking Glass Wars books (Frank Beddor), The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield), and The Musician's Quest (George MacDonald). Assuming that doesn't take me clear to the end of the year, there is theoretically a new Dresden Files novel coming out sometime....someday....eventually. Butcher promised. Also, if Neil Gaiman publishes anything else new this year, I'll read that.
Eric Dontigney
Sigh, this is trite, but true. Read a lot. I mean you need to read a LOT. We learn the basic rules of grammar as kids, but we're never taught the principles of good storytelling. We absorb that information subconsciously from the media we consume. If you don't read much, you've got a very shallow well of information about what makes for good writing.
If you want to write novels, television is a pretty terrible source for learning good storytelling. TV is episodic and open-ended by design. Novels are continuous and closed-ended. Even if you're writing a series, each novel has to tell a complete story that is mostly resolved. Films are a better analogy, insofar as they follow a similar narrative structure. Unfortunately, the rhythm of filmic storytelling is fundamentally different than storytelling on the page.
If you really want to be a writer, and a good writer, you have to read other good writers. More importantly, you need to read outside your favorite genre. As much as I love urban fantasy, it's not all I read. I also read thrillers, mysteries, classics and contemporary literature. On my current reading slate is John Marmysz' "The Nihilist," Robert Jackson Bennett's "American Elsewhere," Annit Proulx's "The Shipping News," and even Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." Yeah, yeah, I know, Brown really isn't that great a writer, but he does one thing better than anyone else. He paces his novels brilliantly. I also read a ton of non-fiction.
The other piece of advice is that you need to write pretty much every day. Like any other craft, there's an almost visceral feel to the process that you lose if you don't engage in it regularly. Think of it like riding a bike. If you haven't ridden a bike in five years, you can probably still get on and ride, but it'll be wobbly, unpleasant and painful the next day. Same goes for writing.
If you want to write novels, television is a pretty terrible source for learning good storytelling. TV is episodic and open-ended by design. Novels are continuous and closed-ended. Even if you're writing a series, each novel has to tell a complete story that is mostly resolved. Films are a better analogy, insofar as they follow a similar narrative structure. Unfortunately, the rhythm of filmic storytelling is fundamentally different than storytelling on the page.
If you really want to be a writer, and a good writer, you have to read other good writers. More importantly, you need to read outside your favorite genre. As much as I love urban fantasy, it's not all I read. I also read thrillers, mysteries, classics and contemporary literature. On my current reading slate is John Marmysz' "The Nihilist," Robert Jackson Bennett's "American Elsewhere," Annit Proulx's "The Shipping News," and even Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." Yeah, yeah, I know, Brown really isn't that great a writer, but he does one thing better than anyone else. He paces his novels brilliantly. I also read a ton of non-fiction.
The other piece of advice is that you need to write pretty much every day. Like any other craft, there's an almost visceral feel to the process that you lose if you don't engage in it regularly. Think of it like riding a bike. If you haven't ridden a bike in five years, you can probably still get on and ride, but it'll be wobbly, unpleasant and painful the next day. Same goes for writing.
Eric Dontigney
A phrase popped into my head that I thought was original. So, I came up with a explanation for what it meant. Then, I started adding elements to build up the situation. Once i had that skeleton in place, I started writing. My novel writing process is organic, so there isn't much plotting or outlining done ahead of time.
Eric Dontigney
I think the notion of inspiration is actually one of the most harmful ideas in all of writing. It suggests writing is the product of some external source's influence, when writing is mostly a matter of consistent action and self-discipline. Think about it. People make themselves get up and go to work when they don't want to. They do their jobs adequately, or even well, despite not being inspired to be at work. I don't think writing is any different. You get up, put words on the page, and do it again the next day.
Eric Dontigney
I'm currently working on a revision/query material for a novel, working on a new novel, writing scripts for an audiodrama, and revising scripts for a machinima project.
Eric Dontigney
The best thing about being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to let your imagination off the leash. I suspect that in most jobs, keeping your imagination bottled up is a necessary evil.
Eric Dontigney
Honestly, I don't really get writer's block. I hear about it happening to other people, but I find my writing only suffers if I'm not taking care of myself. Getting regular sleep, exercise and a good diet seems to keep me on track. If I don't do that stuff, there's a obvious fall off in my creativity and productivity. On those occasions when a particular project doesn't seem to be working the way I want it to, I work on something else for a couple days. That's how most of my short fiction gets written. I think it's the gear shift that provides the real benefit. Once I'm not worried, annoyed or angry at how a project isn't working, I can usually jump back into it.
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