Interview with A.A. Volts

Published 2014-09-14.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Being an Author means that I'm never in shortage of books to read. I know so many authors which in turn have lots and lots of books published. I try to read them as much as I can, on occasion I have the opportunity to beta read books for my closest friends.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I sure do. I was in Brazil at the time and although i didn't speak English I decided that my very first book would have to in English. So I started with a pencil on one hand and a Portuguese-to-English dictionary on the other. Someday I will rewrite that story and then may be it will see the light of day.
What is your writing process?
Depends on the story. I've wrote stories which I meticulously planned everything from the land layout, time system, financial system. And stories which I started without a fix direction just to see where the journey would take me.
How do you approach cover design?
Unfortunately, I can't draw to save my life, so I leave it up to the professionals. Besides, my time is best spent dreaming up new worlds and adventures to tell, being that I'm a dreamer by nature, it suits me well. I remember walking alone when I was a child and dreaming up stories. I would get so involved on them that I used to regret once I reached my destination.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
What Dreams May Come because the subject intrigues me and Harry Porter because let's face it who wouldn't want to discover that they possess magical powers? I read quite a few non-fiction books as well.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Kindle while on a flight or long car or train ride. Ipad while at home and Iphone while stuck in line somewhere in the city.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
There is no better marketing strategy than writing a great story that people will be excited to read and share with friends. I would like to say that I don't want write stories, but life long memories. Am I ever going to be able to achieve that? Only time will tell.
Describe your desk
My desk? Well, I have several, the most used is my new standing desk which is where most of my writing happens usually while I walk the treadmill beneath it. Then at night, the desk in my office which is the biggest of my desks and houses my three monitors which can be a total distraction so I avoid using that desk for writing as much as possible. Besides the office space is shared with my often loud teenager son. Then when it's late night, I use a cluttered glass top desk in my bedroom. Lots of writing happens on this desk as I often wake up in the middle of the night to write.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a small southern brazilian town. Jau as it is called now has a total around 140 thousand inhabitants or so. It's a cozy little city. I often dream of going back to live over there and spend the rest of my days writing.
When did you first start writing?
When I was twelve years old. Not that anyone would want to read it. If I ever found my very first novel, I am not even sure if I would even understand it.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
My greatest joy is knowing that other people are reading my books and experiencing new adventures which I created to hopefully enrich their lives and maybe even open their horizons a bit and see life through a new set of eyes.
What are you working on next?
I have several other books which are being finalized.

The Dweller on the Threshold - Book Two of the Threshold Series
I'm Goblin, which is the first book of my new I'm Series.
Shadow Glance, which will be my first thriller.
The Grave Digger, which is also a thriller.

There are more, but these are the four which I'm currently working on.
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