Dave's Bio

Life

I've been writing novels since I was first able to spell. Actually, before I could even spell. I wrote stories all through grade school, high school, and a bit through college. At some point, I gave up on the idea. I thought my best effort would never match the worst example of Literature (as studied in Literature classes, capital 'L'.)

Then little by little, outside forces drove me back to it. Someone from work would tell me that my emails made them feel like they could 'see' the story I was telling them. Then I would run into old childhood friends who would say, "I always thought you were going to be a writer."

The final straw:

So finally I threw myself headlong into writing. I entered the 2008 Faulkner-Wisdom competition, thinking it was a little local contest, only to find that my competition was international. I swear I thought that I was up against other local first-timers, not a host of seasoned international professionals.

At any rate, I held my own (results) and got to meet several industry professionals at the related Words and Music Festival. At the same time that I received affirmation that I indeed have the chops, I also received the epiphany that the traditional route would not suit me.

So I brain-washed my old friend Tyler into joining this dizzy dream of independent publishing.

Influences

• Douglas Adams
• Philip K. Dick
• William Gibson
• Gregory McDonald
• Matt Ruff (I wish Matt Ruff was more of an influence. I cannot juggle 20 plots and 100 characters the way he does.)
• Frank Herbert
• Shiro Masamune
• Jack Kerouac
• Raymond Chandler
• Paul Auster
• Samuel Beckett
• Japanese tales and history
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• Matt Johnson
• music

Philosophy

My philosophy on publishing is incorporated into the Manifesto, but my philosophy on writing bleeds into it.

Personally, I want my writing to be both rich and cohesive. I would love for my writing to reflect a sort of garage band aesthetic, gritty in its purity.

The chore of writing is daunting. No, the idea of writing seems daunting. Once the act of writing has begun and the groove is found, it becomes beautifully passive.

I want to share the product of that process with whomever finds value in it.