It’s Throwback Thursday time, with the author of “Creature from the Blue Lagoon,” from Stories We Tell After Midnight, Volume 1. Putting together our first anthology was a labor of love and a leap into the darkness. And when you are doing both of these things, Dexter Rowland is an author you want in your Table of Contents. Read on for his thoughts on writing and what he’s been up to lately!
Q: What do you write? How long have you been writing? What are your preferred genres and why?
A (Dexter Rowland): I write to silence the voices of the many characters in my head. I’ve been writing since I was eleven, mostly science fiction but now I’ve discovered a small talent for horror.
Q: What do you find the most challenging about the writing process, and how do you meet that challenge?
A: Getting it done in the face of a terrible case of imposter syndrome. Somehow I just power through it.
Q: What was the worst writing advice you ever received? The best writing advice? Why, and how did it affect your writing?
A: The worst writing advice? That I should use content warnings. I ignore that advice as detrimental to the whole idea of free expression. The best writing advice comes from Robert Heinlein: “First, you must write.”
Q: Of the characters you’ve created, who is your favorite, and why?
A: A cross between Sophia, a Gold Rush prostitute who became a vampire, and Sabrina Watts, a young woman who’s caught up in a near-future civil war.
Q: What draws you to the genre of horror/dark fiction? What do you find there that you don’t find anywhere else?
A: It’s not so scary in the dark. Turns out I have friends there.
Q: If someone asked you to recommend books/stories similar to what you write, who/what titles would you be giving them? And, why?
A: “The Martian” is the best SF book ever written. That and similar stories I’d recommend because it’s an example of humanity doing what it does best… looking fear and danger in the eye and saying, “oh yeah?”
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: Working on a novella about Sabrina and the future civil war.
Dexter Rowland
Dexter Rowland is a retired California state employee. He fills the time as a househusband and staff to a herd of cats and a dog.
To read Dexter Rowland’s story, pick up a copy of Stories We Tell After Midnight. And if you’ve already gotten one, please consider leaving us a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thanks for stopping by!
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