Interview with Dennis E. Smirl

Published 2016-01-08.
What do your fans mean to you?
Fans are the people who keep a writer honest. If you are honest with your fans, and write a book they can enjoy, they will buy your next book. If you aren't honest, if you don't try your hardest, they will move on. In that way, they are far more honest and useful than critics.
What are you working on next?
My plan includes another Sandeen mystery, another Science Fiction novel set in the Fellowship of Humanity series, and continuing with the series of novellas I am writing in collaboration with Ian Hall, a very talented author. Perhaps another novel is in the offing, a collaboration with another talented writer, but that is at a very tentative stage.
Who are your favorite authors?
Tough question. In Science Fiction, I think I have to go with Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Robert A. Heinlein. In Mysteries, Robert Parker, J. A. Jance, Robert Crais, and Michael Connelly.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
The desire to write another few pages. The pay-off is that, for a while, I get to live in a universe of my own creation.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I spend as much time as I can in the gym, I help around the house... In the growing seasons, the lawn and shrubs keep me busy and sweaty. I read when I can, and try to hold TV watching to a couple hours a day, and that includes the news.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Shop around on several websites, including this one.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yeah. I was in the 6th grade. It was really awful.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Not the first because I started reading early. Some of them made real impressions on me. There are a half-dozen science fiction stories I read when I was in grade school that I still remember.
How do you approach cover design?
Usually, I beg. Finding an artist is difficult. Finding one who works for a reasonable amount - and has the time - is a lot more difficult. I have five books that demand new covers, and the two artists I work with are swamped with work.
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