Author Interview / James Desantis

When Ethan Hamil is struck with both the power of electricity and cancer he has to choose his life choices wisely. 

This is the story about Ethan's journey, to not only help people, but to find out who he really is. Ethan has to balance being the very first hero and battling a deadly disease. 

Now is the time to dive into the life of Sparks.

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Interview

1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

This might be the hardest question you could ever ask. If we're talking about big time authors, I'd probably ask to work with Stephen King. Since he's a major inspiration for me. However, current upcoming authors I really enjoy reading are Jeff Strand and Stuart Keane and wouldn't mind working with either of them on some good horror stories.

2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

I do have two jobs at the moment but in my downtime I do try to get in writing. On days I'm off I sit down on my gaming chair and write away. The other day I clocked in 17,000 words and I felt pretty accomplished. Sometimes I write just a page, but it also makes me feel fulfilled anytime I further build my worlds.

3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

Revising. I write so quick that when I go back to fix my mistakes or change things I get annoyed at my little mistakes. I especially have a bad habit of reusing a certain word a lot throughout one project. For my first novel it was “yet” and my new short story I'm releasing on July 25^th titled “0-9” I had a tendency of reusing the word “simply” but since changed it. That, and sometimes I slip and mess up on grammar or spelling and it drives me crazy.

4. When and why did you first start writing?

Why? Because I love to build things. I've always tried to create something from nothing. From music to Youtube videos to writing novels. I love to start something and finish it with a bang and let people enjoy it. I started writing at twelve and by fifteen had 3 novels done. Of course I scrapped most of it and only took the idea of “Exterminators Infected” and rewrote it at 23. At 24 I published my first novel. At 25 I have three novels published and three short stories completed, with another being published very soon.

5. How did you come up with the idea for your book?

For Sparks it was about two things. Cancer runs in my family, and it's a scary fact that out of every three people one person will get it. So I always wondered how I would handle it. Writing Ethan, the main character, had a lot to do with that thought process but also writing the ideas from my father's viewpoint on the disease. My father fought it, twice, and beat it. So I decided to write about it.

The other side of the story is superhero origins story. This is always interesting to me because I feel a lot are similar. I wanted to write something more down to earth. So things don't happen in similar fashion the way you'd probably see big blockbuster hits. I also love electricity and it's my favorite power next to telaporting so it just had to be done!

6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

Yes. I love to read. Not the fastest reader but one who loves to read when he could. I just finished The Shining, which I loved. I also finished a short story by Stuart called “The Customer Is Always...” and it was great. I highly recommend that. I'm reading “The Stand” now and also Hillary: A Dog's Tail. So tons of stuff on my plate right now.

7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

Just do what you love. Don't try to follow a certain formula. Don't listen to “write this way” things, just do it the way you want. Do you think the big authors became famous because they wrote a book a certain way? They built a story they wanted out of nothing and gave us something to enjoy. You have to do the same, otherwise what's the point of creating a book to begin with?