Another interview to promote Empty Rooms Lonely Countries, this time with the fine folks over at Freelance Writing. It’s an interesting interview, covering not only the promotion of the book, but research techniques, my favorite writers, and those dreaded rejections:

Have you had any downfalls or negative experiences working with a publisher/agent, such as rejection letters? If so, how did you handle it? 

I have more rejection letters than I’d like to count. Since I started listing all of the stories I’ve sent to magazines, I discovered that I average 23 rejections for every acceptance. It reminds me of the story of a friend of mine who used to approach women at bars with the absolutely filthiest pick-up line he knew, and he said that nine out of ten women would slap him in the face. But all he ever cared about was the one who didn’t. 

Can you explain some of your research techniques, and how you found sources for your book? 

Because of the nature of the majority of my writing, I write based on my experiences. Most of my research simply comes from living my life, which, fortunately for me, has been fairly interesting. With something like “Mad Dogs”, a lot of it had to do with being in the right place at the right time. In this case, I was visiting Krakow when Vice-President Cheney was there, and I managed to spend a long evening out with members of the Secret Service. 48 hours later, I’m heading home on a train writing 6,000 words in one sitting with the help of my notes. When that happens, it’s like magic.     

Read the whole bad boy right here.