Action-Adventure, Thriller, and Speculative Fiction Author
May 7, 2018
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: RICK CHESLER
Rick Chesler holds a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and can often be found scuba-diving, boating or traveling to research his next thriller idea. A former contractor for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the State of Hawaii, where he served as a project manager and data analyst on federally funded scientific studies, he currently lives in South Florida with his family, at the edge of the Bermuda Triangle.
Rick you have quite an extensive portfolio of work from co-authoring and solo work. What spark your interest in getting into writing?
I’ve been an avid reader since I was a kid, and I guess that’s the main thing. I majored in marine biology in college, and novels by people like Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton, and others showed me that it was possible to create exciting, fact-based novels involving the ocean. At first I just wanted to see, after reading so many novels, if I could contribute one of my own.
As mentioned before, you have done some co-author work with David Wood. Could you tell us how you handle that relationship? Do you mainly converse via phone? Are there, at times, creative differences? If so, how do you work through it?
David and I have co-authored five short novels or novellas in his Dane Maddock Adventures universe—four in the Origins series and one for Kindle Worlds. We met online through Facebook about six or seven years ago through mutual friends in the writing and publishing communities. We usually communicate via Facebook message or email. Because the series was already well-established before I started writing with him on it, the direction it needed to continue in, as well as the types of stories the readership would enjoy, was not hard to figure out, and this helped to cut down on creative differences. I think it’s the situations where two writers sit down together to write something new from scratch that would be more challenging in terms of creative differences.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I’m friends with many awesome writers, both on Facebook and in real life, but allow me to give a shout-out to my co-authors (in no particular order):
Steven Savile
Craig reed, Jr.
Jack Douglas
David Wood
Douglas Corleone
Rick Jones
David Sakmyster
Each of them, through the process of writing books together, has taught me something about the creative process at large, as well as the business of writing and publishing. One of the advantages of co-authoring is seeing the different ways in which people get things done.
Your new novel, Atlantis Gold, is out now. Could you tell us a little about it?
The full title is Atlantis Gold: An Omega Files Adventure, because it is Book 1 in my new action-adventure series. Book 2 will be releasing in the second half of this year. This series is designed both to appeal to readers of Clive Cussler and James Rollins, as well as to appeal to my desire to write action stories in that vein, which involve the ocean, cutting edge technology, and thought-provoking characters in high-stakes situations.
Atlantis Gold is about a modern-day search for the fabled lost city by a pair of ex-Navy men turned treasure hunters. Along the way they encounter a powerful corporation who stands between them and the truth they seek.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
Some of my novels are standalone, meaning not part of any series and have no plans for sequels, while others are either part of a series that can be read out of order (including OUTCAST Ops), or as part of a series of true sequels, as in the case of the Jurassic Dead series).
What are your future project(s)?
My Omega Files action-adventure series will be continuing, since Book 1 (Atlantis Gold) proved to be very popular with readers and super-fun for me to write! Look for Book 2 in the latter half of 2018. But before that, I have some other releases due out, including:
Hawaiian Punch, a hard-boiled Private Investigator novel set in the islands. This was a collaboration between myself and Douglas Corleone, author of the Kevin Corvelli mystery series (also set in Hawaii), as well as of Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Equation.
Also due out soon is book 6 in my special ops thriller series, OUTCAST Ops: Shadow Gov, co-written with Craig reed, Jr.
As a departure from my normal work, I have a short story that will appear in an anthology from one of my publishers, Severed Press. I can’t offer any details on it other than that it is due out this summer.
Also, releasing soon will be the audiobook edition of my sci-fil chiller published by Severed Press, DMZ: A Dinosaur Thriller. It will be narrated by the talented voice-actor, Jeffrey Felin, who also voiced the audio edition of sci-fi creature feature, The Yeti, co-authored by myself and Jack Douglas.
How has your career and special interests influenced your writing and knowledge of the subject?
I studied marine biology in college, and so that science education has provided me with some real-life understanding of the topics you can find in my thrillers. Of course when writing about speculative things such as megalodons, or dinosaurs, it’s impossible to be one hundred percent factual, but I do my best to try and be accurate in terms of scientific, geographical and historical details wherever possible. Besides simple facts, thinking about these topics lets me imagine a lot of different what-if scenarios that form the premises of my novels.
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
It generally made me a lot more aware of the business aspect of writing and publishing, made me more aware of writing on a schedule to meet deadlines, as well as the value of staying relevant in the marketplace with new material.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes, I try to read them all. I know some writers who swear they never read any of them, but I don’t believe it! I am curious to know what my readers think, although I never respond to public reviews, regardless of content. I am thankful anytime a reader or professional critic takes the time to share their thoughts in a review, whether good or bad, because at the end of the day, that’s more than most people do, and it’s all a writer can ask for. If I notice a pattern in reviews—either negative or positive, I tend to pay more attention than I would to an isolated thought.
What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Not having read enough before they start writing. Not understanding where what they are writing fits into the marketplace. Writing things that are not easily categorized and thinking that’s a good thing. Not writing regularly enough. Taking too long to finish a first draft. Not having a writing routine. Generally ignoring the business side of writing, and in the case of a few—the opposite situation where they are all business with no craft worthy of being sold. Usually it’s the former, though, where they do have some skill and stories worth telling, but they lack focus when it comes to seeing them through to the commercial marketplace. Treating their work as pure “art” rather than “product.”
Is there anything else you’d like the readers/authors out there to know about you, your novels, and/or the publishing process?
To my readers—thanks very much for supporting me and my work, and I hope to have you with me for a long time to come!
STAY CONNECTED
You can stay connected with Rick through the following outlets:
Twitter: @RickChesler
Amazon author page:
https://www.amazon.com/Rick-Chesler/e/B003FCB35G/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
Rick Chesler website:
http://rickchesler.com
