Interview: Peter Grant

Stop me if you’re heard this before, but Trouble in the Wind, the latest of the Phases of Mars alternate military history anthologies comes out on Friday. I’m continuing my interviews with Peter Grant, who is in many ways what I strive to be. He’s done very well as a writer and I like his stuff quite a bit. And, as you’ll see, he’s had an interesting life to get him to that point.

Interview: Peter Grant
Peter Grant

What is your quest?

My “quest” is fairly simple.  I’m trying to make a living!  Fifteen years ago, I was severely injured while working as a prison chaplain in a high-security penitentiary.  After two surgeries, I was medically retired, and informed I could never work a “normal” job again, due to physical limitations and disabilities.  I had to find another way to provide for myself and my family.  Since I’d written before (one book, and several dozen articles in various fields), and since I could still sit at a desk and write even if I couldn’t be more active, it seemed natural to try to learn to write fiction for a wider market.  Today I have sixteen books published, plus stories in several anthologies.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?

A very big challenge was to learn to write for the commercial market.  You have to write what readers want, not what seems good to you.  No matter how satisfied you are with your own work, if readers aren’t gripped by it, they won’t spend their hard-earned entertainment dollars on it.  I had a lot to learn in that area.  I daresay I wrote and re-wrote over twenty manuscripts, and well over two million words, before I produced one that I felt was worth publishing;  and today, when I look back at my first two or three books, I can see several flaws that I changed in subsequent books.  In fact, I’m preparing a second edition of my first three books, incorporating improvements in style, grammar and punctuation (although not changing the story at all).

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

I’m not sure it can be described as a “technique”, but I try very hard to be adaptable, to write across different genres and fields, and to be entertaining in them all.  That takes a lot of research and hard work, and it’s a real challenge:  but so far, I think I’ve achieved some success.  I’m currently published in the genres of military science fiction, fantasy, Westerns, and memoir.  I have a historical novel in mind, set in the Viking period, although that’s just the germ of a plot at the moment – it may not go anywhere.  At any rate, I value versatility in others, and I try to be versatile in my approach to writing.  It keeps me fresh, too.  If I get stuck on one book project, I can pick up another in a completely different genre and work on it for a few days, then return to the original project refreshed.

Lightning Round

Favorite Muppet? – I have no idea.  I didn’t grow up with most US TV shows.
Best Thing From the 80s? – That I survived them!  I was involved in one of the hotter conflict zones of the Cold War period, and it was only with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 that I began to think I might survive it.
Your Wrestler Name? – Given my physical limitations after a disabling injury, that’s a non-starter for me.
Signature Wrestling Move? – Sit down and eat popcorn while watching the wrestlers.
Favorite Weird Color? – The subtle green shades of the fynbos ecosystem of the southern Cape Province in South Africa.  They’re unique in my experience, as is the scent.  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fynbos )
How Will You Conquer the World? – There’s an old African proverb:  “How do you eat an elephant?  Mouthful by mouthful.”  I guess you could apply the same lesson to a larger meal!
What Cartoon Character Are You? – I’ll go with Captain Tagon from “Schlock Mercenary”.
Best Present You’ve Ever Received? – A Labrador puppy, when I was a young boy.  Every boy needs to grow up with a puppy.  You learn a lot.
What Do You Secretly Plot? – I don’t. A plot is improved by being shared. There’s always someone out there more evil, twisted and inventive than I am, and I like to learn from them.
Brought to you by the letter ___? – Why not numbers?  Are you discriminating against figures?