Monday, September 10, 2012

Here's...

Gregory J. Downs! 



Gregory, welcome to Homeschool Authors.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well I’ve been homeschooled all 12 years and am heading off to college in the fall. It all seems to have gone so quickly… anyway, I actually didn’t begin writing for fun until my first year in highschool, when my mom convinced me to enter a short story contest. I didn’t win, but for the first time I realized how much fun it was to write… for… fun. Fast forward a few years and I’ve written 8 novels and a bunch of shorter works. In less than a year I’ve sold about 15,000 copies. It’s kind of weird, actually. I never thought people would read me. It was just something I did for fun.
What was your favorite part of being homeschooled?
Being close to my family, and flexibility, in that order. I was able to finish all my highschool credits 2 months into 12th grade… so I essentially graduated 7 months early. That allowed me to write 4 more books before the school year ended. I never could have done that in normal school. It was like a day job… ask my mom. ^_^
What caused you to start writing?
I always made up stories in my head. A lot of us do that, I hear… It just never occurred to me to share them or write them. How could I convey what I was thinking? Well, thanks to several encouraging people, I’ve begun to try. I don’t ever foresee stopping, though obviously going to college will slow me down.
What inspired you to write Brother Thief?
Two things: Vast and Avatar. Vast was the name of an enormous island continent a friend and I invented while messing around and drawing maps on huge sheets of butcher paper. Avatar is NOT the James Cameron movie. Think four elements, crazy hairstyles, and anime. I wanted to create a similar adventure-romp that could be read by teens and adults alike.
What is it about?
 There’s this street thief, see, and he has a genetic ability to control sand. That’s handy, as he lives in a city made out of sandstone. It’s also dangerous, as the ruler of the city has a habit of hunting down an killing people with abilities like his. Throw in a young soldier with power over the wind, a dark warrior who’s everyone’s enemy, and a few half-nymph rangers, and you have a bit of a problem on your hands. It’s a fun problem, though.
Who will enjoy this book?
I wrote it for teens because… uh, I am a teen. But there have been older people reading and enjoying it, and a few of the people who liked it most were random Goodreads people who are, ah, over the hill.
Where can people get your books?
 Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I don’t have print copies yet- just ebooks- but hopefully that will be rectified by the end of the summer. I also have a free short story on Smashwords  and Barnes and Noble  for people to sample me, as it were.
When not writing, what do you enjoy doing?
 Reading, ballroom dancing, and going on adventures.
Any final thoughts?
I think that a lot of people could write and publish a book if they just tried, stuck to it, and ground out the aweseomeness that is inside of them. I also think the world needs Christians to invade it and put some Faith into the various Fantasies and tales that our culture is so enamored with.

Gregory is giving away an e-book. Enter below!

4 comments:

  1. My favorite fantasy book ever... hmm, that would have to be The Lord of the Rings. Though I have quite a few other favorites, Tolkien shall ever remain at the top of the list since I discovered him first.

    And a question for Gregory: What is your favorite fantasy book?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantasy is a genre I have only been recently introduced to, but I know so many writers who love to experiment with it.

    My question: I am amazed to hear who many books you have sold. How did yo accomplish that?

    ReplyDelete
  3. A question: how did you handle editing?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think my favorite fantasy book right now is The Shadow Within by Karen Hancock. :D

    Question: Who made the covers for your book?

    ReplyDelete