Official Interview: Lincoln Cole

[kandscreeley]

Today's Chat with Sarah features Lincoln Cole author of Raven's Peak which was book of the month in April 2017. To view the discussion for the book, click here.

If you would like to read the official reviews, please do so here:
Review 1
Review 2

I would like to thank Mr. Cole for taking the time to answer my questions. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Raven's Peak, and look forward to seeing what's in store for him in the future.

1. We know you're a full-time software developer as well as an author, so what do you do in your spare time (if you have any)?

In general, I don't really have a lot of spare time around my work and writing (as well as the marketing and publicity aspects of trying to get my books out into the world). What little time I do have, I like to read, watch television, and play video games. Fast-paced games that don't take a lot of time are the best for me so I can just drop them off as needed and pick them up later.

2. As a software developer, is there anything big that you can tell us about that you are working on?

I write applications for android phones and web-apps for retail clients. Nothing I do is very exciting and it's usually just for inventory tracking or other things like that. I also like to dabble in other projects like building mobile games and Alexa applications, but in general I don't get a lot of time to spend on things like that.

3. Any plans to quit your "day job" and write full-time?

Not really. I enjoy writing from a side perspective, and I wouldn't want to get locked into a position where we can't eat unless my books sell really well. I want to work on the projects I enjoy even if they aren't commercially profitable, so for me the writing is a perfect hobby. Don't get me wrong, if something crazy happened and I was making enough money that having a day job was no longer viable for taxation purposes I would gladly quit, but I don't anticipate that happening anytime soon.

4. Let's discuss your book Raven's Peak. Did you think that it was going to be as popular as it was?

Not really. I just wanted to write a book about demon hunters and establish some fun characters, but I never really expected Amazon to pick it up for their Kindle Press imprint. Then, when they offered it a spot on the Prime Reading plan and moved around 6,000 copies in a single month I was shocked. I didn't really write it with grand ambitions, I just thought it was a fun story and I wanted to mash up some genres and ideas.

5. You've stated that your publishers wanted the extra chapter on the end of the book that was kind of a cliffhanger. How much control do you have over your finished product? Was there anything that they changed that you wished they hadn't?

I think from their perspective they wanted to lock the book in a certain way, and in general they spent a little less time helping to refine it than I expected or would have liked. In recent months they have turned almost entirely away from helping authors finalize products to only working with books that are 100% ready for publishing. If I could do it all over again now I would hire an outside editor up front to finish the project before giving it to them and then completely disregard their suggestions and changes. That being said, before this book was mildly successful I didn't even have the money to try something like that. Asking authors to pay huge editing and graphic design costs up front is nearly impossible, and that's why it's so hard to get any traction in the indie author world.

6. One of our reader's wanted to know if the religion in Raven's Peak is a mix of several different religions or something that you made up entirely on your own?

It's sort of broken apart and abstract by design. One major thing about the entire series is that it is pure fiction and not meant to reflect or add to modern realities of religion. My intention was to have the organization at the heart of the book stand as a middle ground between religions and serve none in particular, though of course individuals will side with one or another. The 'demons' stand apart from religions, though their mythology is tied to various religions and has historical significance. In a sense, it is meant to be confusion and somewhat contradictory, because two people can look at the same occurrence and have vastly different interpretations of what just happened. Whether or not I successfully captured that feeling is on me, but in general I want to have fun with demons without it being
exclusionary.

7. Any new projects on the works that include Arthur, Haatim or demons?

I actually just finished the first two books of a new series featuring Arthur, Frieda, demons, and a couple of new characters. The third book is due out in January. This one gives some background about the time when Arthur was adopting Abigail and trying to put his life back together after his family was murdered and it features a completely different look at the supernatural world these characters inhabit.

And, I always like to end on some fun questions.

8. What's your favorite Holiday and why?

Halloween, for what are probably obvious reasons. I love scary movies, scary things, and the fun of the season. Being able to blend horror into daily lives makes this the perfect holiday.

9. Sweet tea or Unsweet tea?

Sweet. I won't even drink unsweet tea with added sugar (it just sits on the bottom of the glass and defeats the whole purpose).

10. Bacon or sausage?

Tough one. Bacon is the clear winner, but honestly I don't think I would ever turn down either.

11. If you could have any superpower what would it be and what would you do with it?

Teleportation and I would use it to travel the world and see anything I want to see at any moment.

12. Any last words of wisdom that you would like to share with us either as an author, a reader or a person in general?

Life is about having fun and just enjoying the things that make you happy. Don't get caught up in doing something that doesn't make you happy and never be afraid to try something new.

Sounds like great advice to me! I love that Mr. Cole was trying to make this unreligious (so to speak) and still include demons. I'm sure we'll be hearing much more about him in the future.

To view Raven's Peak on OBC bookshelves click here.
To view Raven's Peak on Amazon click here.

[gali]

I have read the book and liked it. Thank you both for the enlightening interview and good luck with the next books!

[bookowlie]

What an interesting interview! I haven't read Raven's Peak, but I enjoyed another book by Mr. Cole, Ripples Through Time. I like that the author stretches his comfort zone and writes books in different genres.

[Manang Muyang]

I enjoy reading these interviews and learning interesting things about the authors.

Raven's Peak has been waiting for me for so long now. I really need to banish those demons ASAP!

[kandscreeley]

Yes Miriam! Go banish those demons

[ostercl]

I really enjoyed getting another look at Cole's ideas - I would love to see him push himself further. There is great potential in these stories!

[Sahani Nimandra]

Wow this is really great! Kands your lucky to get a official talk with Mr. Cole!

[mamalui]

I enjoyed the book immensely and with the author all the best in his future endeavours. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series.

[Jillpillbooknerd]

Raven's Peak was such a great book and I loved this interview! Halloween is my favorite holiday as well and I loved his answer about teleportation. I already have the second book downloaded and I can't wait to read it!

[Nmesoma]

I would imagine he would be a fun person to chat with. He seemed downright honest and candid about his answers, and wasn't really one of those people who quickly forget about modesty just because they had something good going for them.