Tell us about your publishing journey…

I sold my first short story to SWORD AND SORCERESS IX in 1990, and sold my first novel to Baen Books in 1994. Since then, I’ve sold a few dozen short stories and about 25 novels, including the how-to Book WRITING THE PARANORMAL NOVEL.

My latest book is BONE WAR the third in the Books of Blood and Iron series. The queen of elves has
kidnapped one of the fates, and Death sends Danr and Aisa to find the Bone Sword, the only object that can set fate free. Meanwhile, strange creatures are invading Balsia, and the invasion seems to center around Talfi and Ranadar…

What do you love about being an author?

I can write when I want and where I want, especially with this newfangled cloud thingie. And everything is a tax deduction. How great is that?

If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?

Let’s see . . . I wouldn’t want to sit down with any of my own characters. They’d probably try to strangle me.

If your book was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?

Danr (Trollboy) would have to be CGI, and wouldn’t that be a kick to watch? Chris Evans would be a really good voice for him, though. Gal Godot should play Aisa, and Grant Gustin would do great as Talfi.

Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?

Monsters. I want my vampires cruel and evil and dead, dead, dead.

If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?

Oh, man. Only one? I want to see a couple different eras in ancient Greece, like about a year before Xerxes invaded, or during the time of Alexander the Great. Or Pompeii three days before the volcano went off. And Rome during the height of its corrupt glory. Or I’d like to arrive in London just in time to squish though the cow pasture across the Thames and watch the very first performance of HAMLET at the Globe Theatre, preferably with a micro camera hidden in my cloak so I could record it and we could find out how it all was done and what everyone actually said.

What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?

“You’ll love karate class. Take it now.”

If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

A witch. I’ll spend hours experimenting in the kitchen. Mixing potions would be an easy way of life.
Where do you write best?

Either at my desk (where I have access to my vast music library) or on my front porch with the laptop. The porch, which I’ve recently refurbished to be a second writing zone, has comfortable furniture, a
table, and enough plants to be mistaken for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. I can also spy on the neighbors while pretending to work.

What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?

I just finished HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was interesting seeing the original characters twenty years older and seeing the relationship between Harry’s son and Draco’s son. Some of it was a little too dependent on events from the earlier books, but it was still an enjoyable story that dealt with time, how to be a parent when you didn’t have parents of your own, and how to be the child of famous people. I’m glad they released the text, since most of us won’t be able to see the stage play. And I don’t understand the readers who complained about the format. It says right on the cover that it’s a play. Why would you read a play if you don’t like them?

Where can fans find you online?

BLOG: http://spiziks.livejournal.com
TWITTER: @stevenpiziks
FACEBOOK: Steven Harper Piziks

Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: Blood stone, Bone Wat, Steven Harper, Ya Reads