Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Douglas Wickard - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Douglas Wickard. He is the author of the The Queer Diaries, Sami Saxton Series, and the FBI Agent Dan Hammer Series.

Author: Douglas Wickard

Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Thriller, Gay and Lesbian

Website: Douglas Wickard
Author's Blog: Douglas Wickard
Twitter: @DouglasWickard
E-Mail: douglas@douglaswickard.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Amazon Author Profile



Author Description:
Amazon Kindle Bestselling author of the SAMI SAXTON thriller series and FBI Agent DAN HAMMER Detective series NOTHING SACRED and ENCOUNTER. Soon to be released: A PERFECT WIFE. Read the excerpt at douglaswickardbooks.com! LULLABY, the new Dan Hammer thriller coming in 2016 as well as DEVIANT, the second in 'The Queer Diary' Series.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

What do you have on the drawing board next? Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called Transcendent. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

I am currently putting together The Wanting Hour, which bundles Aberrant, Deviant and Transcendent in one book. As I was writing the series, it suddenly occurred to me that I was actually writing the book Ellery Flynn (in the novel) wrote. The Wanting Hour will be published in March. Also, I have an idea for a one off called TEXT ME! a psychological thriller about power, the abuse of power and revenge. And, of course Sami Saxton’s 5th outing called A Perfect Life.

Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I do not presently. My webpage douglaswickard.com has all my information.

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

I have a great web page designer. I choose the image with photos and she creates the design. She is amazing. Maddee’s business is xuni.com. Use her. She is unbelievable.

I like the idea of bundling a series of novels. You have put together a couple sets of your novels. What was the impact on your other sales? What was your main objective in bundling your novels?

I enjoy writing series because I already know the characters. Writing new novels takes longer because of the character development. I am a stickler for character development. They need to be real and engaging. That takes time. When I sit down to write novels with my tried and true characters, it’s more like taking dictation. They tell me what to do! Seriously!

Between your book writing, blogging and marketing and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?

I am a committed writer. I work every day. It is my conviction. I feel like I’ve forgotten something if I fail to write. Sometimes even as little as a page, but I work every day.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

Yes, of course. When my novel A Perfect Husband was first published and selling well, I was with a publishing house that didn’t allow free downloads. I have used free promotions in the past and I guess it does help sell books, but I stopped pushing so much. If I sell, I sell. I realized selling books is all about the market. There are wonderful writers and wonderful books out there that don’t sell. It just takes one title to hit the zeitgeist and you’re off and running.

What is your primary genre? What has been your best marketing approach to this group?

I love psychological thrillers. I love the intrigue, the plot twists, the uncovering of secrets. That genre is very popular. I think my readers are interested in the way I weave a story. The Wanting Hour was the first time I shied away from my usual genre and it probably cost me some readers. It was my vanity project.

How do you manage your plots, characters and timelines to keep your stories going? Do you use any software to keep track of your books?

I don’t do any of that. I love a relaxed creating process. I trust my instincts and the character’s voice. They never lead me astray.

Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?

I used to try to do all that. I don’t any longer. I use Twitter and Facebook and do interviews like this once and a while.

What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?

I never seek out reviews. If they come my way, they come. I do the work. Daily. The rest is gravy.



Author's Book List
Transcendent - The Queer Diary Series Book 3
RIP Ellery William "WILL" Flynn.

Christmas Day 2014.

If it is true that when we die, our life actually does flash before our eyes, then Ellery William Flynn's deathbed on Christmas Day 2014 is a loving and joyful testament to the age-old adage. Who would have imagined so much history, life and love could be reminisced in one enchanted and magical evening? With the added assistance of a few imaginary friends, Ellery dies peacefully and transcends this earthly plane. What he leaves behind is a legacy of the written word, a proud journal of the gay and lesbian community, and a searing tribute to a life well documented and bravely lived. TRANSCENDENT, the third and final book in the QUEER DIARY SERIES.

It's never too late for an awakening.


Order the Book From:



Deviant - The Queer Diary Series Book 2
It's never too late for an awakening.


Order the Book From:
Amazon


ABERRANT - The Queer Diaries Series Book 1
ELLERY WILLIAM FLYNN is dead.

The sixty-seven year old journalist and award-winning author of the International bestselling gay novel The Wanting Hour, was found unresponsive in his apartment early Christmas morning by his next-door neighbor Mrs. Evelyn Brando.

Mrs. Brando discovered the body while delivering her annual tray of Christmastime sugar cookies.

For over thirty years, Mr. Flynn has resided in a one bedroom, fourth floor walk-up on the corner of Grove and Hudson Street in the heart of Greenwich Village. He was warmly regarded by his neighbors as a local "literati" treasure.

The elderly author was last seen on Christmas Eve enjoying a seasonal cocktail at a local watering hole, Marie’s Crisis, just a stone’s throw away from his residential building.

Detectives from the Sixth Precinct are currently investigating the case and the cause of Mr. Flynn’s death.

Mr. Flynn has no immediate family.


Order the Book From:
Amazon


ENCOUNTER - FBI Agent Dan Hammer Series Book 2
You know him...
known him...
You met in college...you were sweethearts, lovers...remember?
He wasn't your first...
But, you vowed he'd be your last.
For over fifteen years you've been married to him...
had children by him...
created a life with him...
Then...
he takes a business trip.
Nothing unusual.
A normal occurrence for his profession...
The problem is...
he doesn't return.

EVER!

Do you know where your husband is?

San Francisco 2010
Five men.
All mysteriously disappear.
No clues...
no ransom notes...
no bodies.
Vanished!
Without a trace.

Are you available tonight for a...thriller?


Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble


Nothing Sacred - FBI Agent Dan Hammer Series Book 1
A sacred practice…
A rite of passage...
A ritual ceremony passed down from generation to generation.
One hundred million of the world's women are currently affected by this brutal practice.

In Douglas Wickard's chilling, controversial new novel NOTHING SACRED, a psychological thriller set against the backdrop of contemporary Charleston, South Carolina...this vicious act comes home.

Is there nothing sacred?


Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble


A Perfect Wife - A Sami Saxton Series Book 4
What would you do?
What choice would you make?
How far would you go to erase the past?

SMITTY FOWLER, (the Tri State Serial Killer) terrorized the rural areas of NY, PA and NJ for years. During Fowler’s reign, six teenage girls were killed, each one indoctrinated into his macabre collection of dead wives. Sami Saxton made international news for single-handedly killing Smitty Fowler. Jeanette, his wife, wasn’t so lucky. Recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and left alone to raise her daughter, Amanda, her options seemed limited. This is her story…

She had written the suicide note before, many times… but had always thrown it away. Sometimes she would take a lit match to the paper and watch as it slowly burned in the kitchen sink, the edges folding in on themselves, the corners crumpling inward – the colors changing from lava red, to black, then gray – before collapsing into its papery defeat. Today would be different…
Today would be a different story…


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Amazon


Perfect - A Sami Saxton Series Book 3
They're back! Sami and Drew are at it again!

… A transatlantic cruise bound for Rome …
… An Italian Dynasty celebrated for centuries …
… A “besties” plan to have fun and forget … heal and move on …
Sometimes ... the past catches up with you …
Sometimes ... the past can get in the way …
The results can sometimes be … sheer murder!
PERFECT
Some trips just shouldn’t be taken!


Order the Book From:
Amazon


A Perfect Setup - A Sami Saxton Series Book 2
Sami’s back! And this time it’s personal!

The New York Times, Daily News and New York Post all hailed her a hero!

Samantha Saxton ‘owned the night,’ they reported. She was the victor, the quiet champion, the anti-heroine single-handedly destroying the career of a lethal serial killer stalking the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for six unremitting years. The disappearance of six teenage girls and the horrific details of their deaths received national, frenzied attention and Sami Saxton became the unlikely poster woman in all the coverage.

Sami’s attempt to find a quieter, less hectic life by moving to a cabin her deceased father built years ago in the remote urban township of Montague, New Jersey didn’t turn out quite the way she’d planned.

Returning to the City, Sami purchases a spacious, fifth floor, open-airy, glass-walled condominium on the Upper West Side overlooking the Hudson River…another new start!

But, that night continues to haunt her...in her dreams and in her life. The nightmares persist, vivid, ongoing and relentless. Posttraumatic stress syndrome paralyzes her, keeping her a prisoner in her newly renovated home. The anxiety attacks intensify and not even prescription painkillers can relieve the anguish.

Then, the unthinkable occurs. A young, female model is found brutally murdered in a midtown hotel. And, Jerry Saxton, Sami’s ex-husband, is taken into custody for the heinous crime.

TRUST NO ONE!


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Amazon


A Perfect Husband - A Sami Saxton Series Book 1
An abandoned cabin...a diabolical killer...a hidden cemetery...
a deadly secret is about to be uncovered.

Far from the neon blur of Manhattan -- the dizzy buzz of restaurants, theater openings and one too many cocktails -- located seventy-two miles outside the City in the sleepy, rural township of Montague, New Jersey, Sami Saxton is looking to rebuild her life. A rebirth one might call it. And, she intends to do this spiritual resurrection in a small, abandoned fishing cabin, built over forty years ago by her deceased father.

Not quite abandoned...

Sequestered deep within forty-two acres of tall pine trees, bristling brooks and fresh water lakes, Sami Saxton is about to fight for her life.

The hard truth...nobody will ever hear her scream!


Order the Book From:
Amazon


Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
HBS Author's Spotlight
eBook Author’s Corner
Top Shelf Author Advice
Mystery Reader’s Circle

Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.

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