Guest Author Interview - S A Check

Science Fiction author S. A. Check joins me in today's guest author interview to tell us about his novel 'Welcome to GreenGrass', discover more about him and his writing below:

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Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do? 

Hi…I’m S.A. Check and I’m a sci-fi fantasy author with Bedlam Press, an imprint for Necro Publications. They’ve been in the publishing industry for twenty years and a proven leader in the horror genre. My debut novel Welcome to GreenGrass came out in late November 2013.

What first inspired you to start writing? 

It’s intrinsic to me. I’ve always been drawn to the written word and realms of the imagination. I grew up on comics and fantasy novels, played D&D and other role playing games. I majored in English in college and have crafted stories all my life.

And what attracted you to writing a sci-fi fantasy story? 

It’s such a wide open genre where your imagination and stories are given free range. You don’t need to be confined by convention or rules. Building a world of your own in each story that you craft is incredibly fulfilling. You can lose yourself in a good book for hours but to build your own from scratch takes months and months and if you truly enjoy what you’re doing, then it’s worth the effort. I love both genres and I’m hoping fans of either particular end of the spectrum will find something to enjoy in GreenGrass.

Where do your best ideas come from? 

I keep an idea notebook. Something may strike me at really any given point in the day (or night) and it’s usually a mixture of several things over time to form the basis for one of my stories. One of my favorite sayings is that it’s the small dramas in life that make for the best writing but science fiction and fantasy allow me as a writer to drape those dramas against some original backdrops.

What new aspect do you bring to your stories? 

Someone once said, either bring something new to the table or write it so well that the reader can’t help but be drawn it. I don’t know who that someone was and I pretty much paraphrased that whole saying but you get the idea. Every story I write, I try to throw everything and the kitchen sink into it, thinking this may be the last story I ever write, and not to hold back or keep something for later. My stories move fast and first and foremost I want to entertain. If I change a perspective or add to a reader’s world view, then all the better. When they finish the ride, I want them to feel it was worth the price of the ticket.

If you could spend a day with anyone from history, who would it be and why? 

Wow – that’s a tough one. I started reading comics when I was eleven and I honestly can say a lot of those figures helped shape my views and how do you compete with fictional characters? In literary circles, I’d have to say Sam Clemens. As a writer, author, personality, the layers that his work touched on, especially as a satirist, have always left me impressed. AND we could go fishing together on the banks of the Mississippi and I could steal a couple quotes!

What was the last book you enjoyed? 

I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy but I always jump out of genre to keep a fresh perspective. I’m a fan of Jim Butcher’s Dresden series and lately I’ve been enjoying A Lee Martinez, having finished Monster not long ago. Take me somewhere I’ve never been and give me a chuckle or two along the way and you’ve usually got me hooked.

What are you working on at the moment? 

I’m finishing up revisions of another novel. It’s a romp through another fantastical world but with a bit of a twist that I’m hoping readers who enjoyed Welcome to GreenGrass will carry over into. It centers on trust and friendship as the characters grow and learn a bit about themselves. I suppose its New Adult but I really drafted it before that term came into play. Oh yeah, there are ghosts, virtual realities, and guys in armored flying suits too – just so you don’t think I’m getting soft.

Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more. 

I started writing Welcome to GreenGrass way back in 2008 and I’ve completed a couple more novels and several projects since but this story always stayed close and when Necro Publications offered me the chance to publish it, I was thrilled that it would my debut book. Their Bedlam Press imprint is hitting on all cylinders and I’m glad I got a seat on the bus to go along for the ride. Dave Barnett, the man behind Necro Publishing, made the process super smooth and being backed by someone with his talent and experience just adds to the process. This was the type of novel I grew up reading and really is an amalgamation of the many literary influences to this point in my career. Hopefully readers will be entertained and if I accomplish that, then I’ve done my job. You can check out my author profile over at Necro’s site, necropublications.com, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter - @S_A_Check, Google+, my blog – SACheck.blogspot.com, GoodReads, Instagram, Pinterest, amazon profile, and Tumblr (whew!). Here’s a link to the book and you can always pick it up at Amazon books - I hope you check it out and enjoy!

http://necropublications.myshopify.com/products/welcome-to-greengrass-by-s-a-check

Welcome to GreenGrass

Click here to purchase Welcome to GreenGrass from Amazon