Location: United States
Member Since: Feb. 28, 2014

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Robert Hill

Biography

Robert lives deep in the heart of Texas where he teaches martial arts and writes in his spare time. He is a former military paramedic, former criminal investigator, and former private detective. He has had various poems and short stories previously published in small press literary magazines, but most notably in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine, and most recently with the e-zine Anotherealm.com. His non-fiction work includes "The Art of Motivation (Motivation From A Martial Arts Perspective)", and "The Business End of Process Service".

Smashwords Interview

What type of stories do you typically write?
I used to lean more towards science fiction, but found that I just have a hard time keeping the fantastic elements of my brain from getting in the way of the hard science. Eventually, I drifted more towards fantasy, and the first story I ever published was actually a story about a wizard and his apprentice called "The Magic Fruit". It appeared in the Fall 2000 edition of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. I was quite surprised, too, because I had been sending short story after short story to Marion, and she just kept rejecting them. I almost gave up on her, but then it happened. I even won an award from the magazine for the best story for that quarterly edition, beating out the likes of Andre Norton, who had the cover story for that edition. You can imagine now just how surprised I was over this. Over time, however, I have gravitated more and more towards fantasy that is less like sword and sorcery and more like something Kafka might write or Dali might paint. I still write the traditional high fantasy pieces, but I rather enjoy fantastic settings without dragons and wizards that contain a dream-like quality to them while at the same time trying to keep the story coherent enough to suspend disbelief.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
My five favorite books are probably a bit of an eclectic collection, and this is in no ranking order. "The Old Man And The Sea", by Hemingway comes vividly to mind. Hemingway is perhaps my favorite author above all, but this story has a power to it, speaking to that man versus nature scenario with a bit of futility mixed in. "The Songs of Distant Earth" by Clarke. This may not have been one of his most well-known works, but I enjoyed the prose and the storyline with its basic retelling of the "Mutiny On The Bounty" but in a future setting kept me turning the pages. The third one that comes to mind is "Starship Trooper" by Heinlein. This story was nothing like its movie version to which many have been unfortunately exposed. I enjoyed the philosophical approach of the novel and how it discussed things like what it really means to be a soldier and a citizen within a complex society. Perhaps my all time favorite was "The Lord of The Rings" by Tolkien. I say this not only because it was well-written, but also because it is perhaps the main influence that inspired me to become a writer. The last of my five favorites is Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five". Vonnegut's dark humor and cynicism appeal to me, and I rather enjoy laughing along with him as he pokes fun at humanity. Also, much of what Vonnegut wrote had a bit of the absurd to it, which is right up my alley. I will add a sixth, just for kicks. It's not a full-fledged book, but like Vonnegut's work, it holds great appeal for me as a reader and a writer, and that is "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Robert Hill online

Website: http://roberthillauthor.net
Twitter: @robhillauthor
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/robert-hill/56/a6a/22b/
Wattpad: RobertHill1058
Blog: http://thevirtualunknown.blogspot.com

Where to buy in print

http://amazon.com

Series

Lost In La Mancha by
A modern-day man finds himself immersed within the adventures of Don Quixote - so much so, that he has found himself trapped within the character of Quixote's fictional sidekick, Sancho Panza. Try as he might, he cannot seem to get himself out of the fictional body of the character and out of the story. Stuck in a fictional world where he questions his own sanity, he is forced to carry on with the delusional adventures of Don Quixote de La Mancha, hoping that some day his true self will close the book and bring him back to reality.
A Real Character
Price: $0.99 USD.
Wonderland by
Late For Tea (Part Three Of The Wonderland Series)
Price: Free!
Queen Of Hearts (Part Four of The Wonderland Series)
Price: Free!
Off With Their Heads, (Part Five of The Wonderland Series)
Price: $0.99 USD.

Books

A Real Character by
Series: Lost In La Mancha. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,620. Language: English. Published: March 22, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
A modern-day man finds himself immersed within the adventures of Don Quixote - so much so, that he has found himself trapped within the character of Quixote's fictional sidekick, Sancho Panza.
Off With Their Heads, (Part Five of The Wonderland Series) by
Series: Wonderland. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 5,060. Language: English. Published: September 2, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Sci-fi, Fiction » Romance » Fantasy
Lupita Espinoza was a forty year old, single mom who often wished of being anywhere in the world other than Corpus Christi. But when a geologist in Antarctica appears in her bathroom mirror, Lupita begins a journey that will take her to places never dreamt possible.
Atmospherocephalic Bureaucrat (An Interrogation Of A Heretic Skull Of The Collective For Preaching That The World Is Not Already Painted And Is Based Upon Free Will, Written As Salvador Dali Would Have Painted It) by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 1,030. Language: English. Published: September 2, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Spies & espionage
A reputed art dealer finds himself suddenly existing within an actual painting having been rendered by Salvador Dali. Is it a dream? Is it a delusion? Or is it part of something far more sinister? Captured within a surreal moment, a real man must determine what is real and what is imagination.
Vain by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 200. Language: English. Published: August 7, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
(4.00 from 1 review)
Revenge is best served cold with a hot cup of coffee. Years in the making, revenge pays a visit upon a vain woman.
The Art Of Motivation (Motivation From A Martial Arts Perspective) by
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 20,690. Language: English. Published: August 1, 2017 . Categories: Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Motivation & inspiration, Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Personal Growth / Success
Want to get motivated and stay motivated? Learn how to have a positive mindset while transforming your dreams into reality? Visualize your goals and achieve success? Written from the perspective of a martial arts Black Belt instructor, this insightful resource can help you turn dreams into goals and your goals into success.
Queen Of Hearts (Part Four of The Wonderland Series) by
Series: Wonderland. Price: Free! Words: 7,050. Language: English. Published: November 29, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Sci-fi, Fiction » Romance » Fantasy
Lupita Espinoza was a forty year old, single mom who often wished of being anywhere in the world other than Corpus Christi. But when a geologist in Antarctica appears in her bathroom mirror, Lupita begins a journey that will take her to places never dreamt possible. Queen Of Hearts is Part Four of the multi-part series "The Wonderland", a science fiction romance.
Saturday Night Meat Market by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 520. Language: English. Published: October 25, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Psychological thriller, Fiction » Horror » General
(4.00 from 2 reviews)
Some things taste better with barbecue sauce. A flash fiction psychological thriller.
Late For Tea (Part Three Of The Wonderland Series) by
Series: Wonderland, Book 3. Price: Free! Words: 5,200. Language: English. Published: May 16, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Sci-fi, Fiction » Romance » Fantasy
(5.00 from 1 review)
Lupita Espinoza was a forty year old, single mom who often wished of being anywhere in the world other than Corpus Christi. But when a geologist in Antarctica appears in her bathroom mirror, Lupita begins a journey that will take her to places never dreamt possible. Late For Tea is Part Three of the multi-part series "The Wonderland", a science fiction romance.
Val by
Price: Free! Words: 1,250. Language: English. Published: April 20, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary, Fiction » Fantasy » Urban
(5.00 from 1 review)
One moment West was sweeping a room for Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah, and then the next he found himself sitting in a strange bar and grill, staring at a curvaceous waitress. But how had he gotten there, and where had he seen that waitress before?
Caught In The Moment by
Price: Free! Words: 1,300. Language: English. Published: April 6, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Short stories, Fiction » Themes & motifs » Psychological
(5.00 from 1 review)
A man finds himself at a friend's surprise party where everything becomes frozen in place and in that moment is surprised himself by what he discovers in the midst of that instant captured in temporal amber.
The Part To No Genesis by
Price: Free! Words: 2,520. Language: English. Published: March 22, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Urban, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy
(4.00 from 2 reviews)
A man with a hump on his back awakens from a coma only to find that the hump is missing ... and so is his wife.
The Lie by
Price: Free! Words: 770. Language: English. Published: March 15, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Plays & Screenplays » American
(4.67 from 3 reviews)
A nostalgic and touching story of an eight year boy who is confronted by his father at Christmas regarding his torn coat. The only problem is he does not know how his coat got ripped, and his father does not believe him. So the boy plays the only hand he has in order to bring the confrontation to an end.

Robert Hill's tag cloud

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Robert Hill's favorite authors on Smashwords

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