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| William Zanotti |
Tell me about yourself:
I’ve been told I don’t look or act my age. But here’s the thing. I’ve never been this old before, so I’m not sure how I’m supposed to look or act. I am a husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, and nephew. My role models are my parents, who just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. I’m almost halfway there. I’ll be celebrating my 29th very soon. My father never finished high school, and my mother barely did, having had to go to summer school after “graduation.” I was the first in my family to get a college degree. College gave me a lifelong interest in books and spurred my desire to write. A career in law enforcement sidetracked me for close to three decades, but now writing (speculative fiction mostly) is how I spend most of my time.
Tell me about your current Book:
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My most recent book, THE LINK: FAREWELL TO HUMANITY, is the second in a science fiction series. It can be read as a stand-alone, but, chronologically, starts about a year after the end of book one. It’s about being human, I guess, in a universe where people can live in electromagnetic waves/light. But sometimes emotion gets in the way of good decisions. And sometimes, emotion is all that’s left. In the story, Reggie must choose between his commitment to humanity writ large and his commitment to the one person who'd follow him anywhere. Does he turn his back on old friends and continue to pursue a solitary life of domestic tranquility in a quiet corner of the universe, or does he re-join the quest to save the Folk he’s spent his whole life trying to help? When he gets ripped from the green planet paradise he shares with Zoe, he’ll have to trust cool logic and the equanimity of the link to guide him. But back on Greenworld, Zoe reacts differently to his disappearance. The consequences of their decisions will leave them both reeling, and all of humanity in more danger than ever! Oh, and there’s people living on Venus. Can’t leave that out.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m writing THE LINK: RETURN TO HUMANITY, book three in The Link series. It’s shaping up to be an epic, picking up close after the end of ‘FAREWELL TO HUMANITY.’
What is something that people don't generally know about you?
I once met the mayor of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It’s pronounced Wah-Guh-Doo-Goo. Friendly fellow.
What is a favorite lesson you have learned about the business of writing?
Well, I still consider myself fairly new to writing, and I’m learning lessons every week. I make lots of mistakes on the business side. An important thing I’ve learned is that it is a business. Make no mistake about it. A book is a commodity/product like any other, to be produced, marketed, sold, and distributed. I am shocked at the lengths to which advertisers will go to identify and track potential buyers! But perhaps an even more important lesson is that you can’t do it all alone. Fortunately, there are many pro writers out there (like Marty Wilsey) who are willing to go above and beyond to help. In the indie publishing world, most authors don’t view other writers as competitors but as colleagues. This is nice.
What is the best piece of writing advice you give to new authors?
With just a couple of novels under my belt, I don’t give too much advice. But I will say that the story is the thing. No amount of business savvy or marketing will make up for a weak story. It helps to know who will be reading your book (if you can figure that out).
Links:
Email: billyz@williamzanotti.com
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