THE PROPHET Blog Tour: Interview with Author Ethan Cross
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[image error]As part of his blog tour for his latest novel, suspense thriller The Prophet, Ethan Cross is here today for an interview, where we chat about his books, his writing process, and some randomocities.
About the Author
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Ethan Cross
When a fireman or a policeman would visit his school, most of his classmatesâ heads would swim with aspirations of growing up and catching bad guys or saving someone from a blazing inferno. When these moments came for Ethan Cross, however, his dreams werenât to someday be a cop or put out fires; he just wanted to write about it. His dream of telling stories on a grand scale came to fruition with the release of his first novel, the international bestseller, The Shepherd.
Ethan Cross is the pen name of a thriller author living and writing in Illinois with his wife, two daughters, and two Shih Tzus. In addition to The Shepherd and The Prophet, he has published two novellas — The Cage and Callsign: Knight (with Jeremy Robinson).
Contact: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
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So tell me, Ethan: what kind of readers would enjoy your books?
I try to write books that I would want to read, and I believe that The Prophet would be greatly enjoyed by the fans of authors such as James Patterson, Lee Child, Dean Koontz, David Morrell, Thomas Harris, and Jeffery Deaver.
Describe your style of writing in three words.
Fast-paced, dark, action.
Describe your typical writing day. How do you balance your writing with marketing, editing, plotting, your day job, and all other commitments?
Of course, it all begins with a cool idea and interesting characters, but thereâs much more than that to a novel (in fact, those are the easy parts). I typically start by just thinking of everything I want to happen in the book (character moments, action sequences, etc). Then I begin to fit those pieces together. I have a dry-erase board and a cork board. I brainstorm on the dry-erase and then begin lining up note cards on the cork board. These cards contain just enough info to let me know the linear progression of the book and how the pieces fit together. Then I craft an outline.
Iâm an obsessive outliner. For The Prophet, I wrote a 170-page outline that went through two major drafts with feedback from my editors. This outline contains pretty much everything thatâs going to happen in the book, even thoughts, research, and snippets of dialogue.
For me, thatâs the hard part. Once thatâs done and the âwritingâ begins, things flow, and Iâm able to focus on the intricacies. After the outline was done, I wrote the 125,000 words of the book in about a month and a half.
Writing is my âday jobâ, and so I treat it as such. Since Iâm not much of a morning person, I start out with answering e-mails, conducting promotional activities, research, learning, etc. ⦠essentially the business side of things. Then, once Iâve got some caffeine in my system, I start to write/outline. I usually quit around 6:00, depending on when the kids have activities or we have plans for the evening. Then I usually have a little time to work some more once the kids and my wife have gone to bed.
Do you have a ritual for getting into the writing zone?
Heavy metal music. I like to listen to music while I work. I feel that it creates a sort of âbubbleâ where I can shut out the distractions of the real world and focus on the one Iâm creating.
What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
The fortune, fame, and groupies ⦠wait, thatâs a rock star ⦠or maybe a politician. But seriously, I think the best thing about being a writer is the act of creation. Iâm happiest when Iâm enjoying someone elseâs creation or bringing one of my own into existence. Forging something new from nothing using only your imagination is a very therapeutic and fulfilling experience.
QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS
Early bird or night owl? Night owl.
Red or white wine? Red.
Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi.
Bath or shower? Shower.
Mac or PC? Mac.
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Here is the blurb for The Prophet:
The Prophet
The Prophet
OLD ENEMIES … Francis Ackerman Jr. is one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Having kept a low profile for the past year, he is ready to return to work â and he’s more brutal, cunning, and dangerous than ever.
NEW THREATS … Scarred from their past battles, Special Agent Marcus Williams cannot shake Ackerman from his mind. But now Marcus must focus on catching the Anarchist, a new killer who drugs and kidnaps women before burning them alive.
HIDDEN TERRORS … Marcus knows the Anarchist will strike again soon. And Ackerman is still free. But worse than this is a mysterious figure, unknown to the authorities, who controls the actions of the Anarchist and many like him. He is the Prophet â and his plans are more terrible than even his own disciples can imagine.
With attacks coming from every side, Marcus faces a race against time to save the lives of a group of innocent people chosen as sacrifices in the Prophet’s final dark ritual.
Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble
To follow the rest of the Ethan’s blog tour, click here for the full tour schedule.
Source: J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer
