What motivated you to become an indie author?
Short answer: I'm kind of a control freak.
Long answer: I had three novels and a story collection published by two different small presses, and while I was happy with the results from those four books, the grind of submitting and waiting waiting waiting (did I mention that I'm impatient?) and never hearing back from 75% of the people I'd sent my work, I got fed up.
I did some research and saw that the learning curve wasn't terrible for creating ebook versions of my other novels, so I created UnWrecked Press (number of employees: 1) and started ebooking. I love the control I have over my covers, descriptions, and layouts. And if I come across some new ebook tricks, it's a snap (well, more or less) to update all of my novels and story collections with new stuff, or if I need to make some edits.
Luckily I retained the ebook rights to three of those four books, so I could publish the electronic versions here at Smashwords.
Watch this space for MORE new ebooks from me.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Short answer: My sanity.
Long answer: The greatest joy of writing is creating something out of nothing, and watching it grow each day as I add to it. I've been doing this since 1995, and I've tried to quit, really. But I can't.
And when I don't write, or when I'm not working on some sort of creative endeavor -- whether it's a novel, a screenplay, a comic script, or even tweaks to my website -- I go a little nuts. I get antsy. I feel like I'm not pursuing my dream, and that I'm just taking up space and wasting time.
Trust me, it's not pretty.
So the world is much better off if I write.
Read more of this interview.