Interview with Bobby Nash — Operation: Silver Moon

An award-winning author, Bobby Nash writes novels, comic books, and short prose tales for a number of publishers and clients. Publishers including IDW, Sequential Pulp Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Random House, Moonstone Books, Airship 27 Productions, Pro Se Press, Raven’s Head Press, Stark Raving Press, Farragut Films, Dark Oak Press, Radio Archives, and more.

Bobby’s most recent offerings include the novels, Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt, Domino Lady “Money Shot”, Snow Falls, and Fight Card: Barefoot Bones as well as work appearing in several anthologies, with many more projects scheduled for release throughout 2015. Bobby’s first screenplay debuted recently with Starship Farragut’s “Conspiracy of Innocence.” A comprehensive list of Bobby’s titles can be found at http://www.bobbynash.com. Bobby is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers.

Between writing deadlines, Bobby is an actor and extra in movies and television, including appearances in Deviant Pictures’ upcoming Camp Massacre (formerly known as Fat Chance), FOX’s The Following, USA’s Satisfaction, AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, Dumb and Dumber To, and more. He is also the co-host of the Earth Station One podcast.

Interview with Author Bobby Nash 
author of Operation: Silver Moon 
1/22/2015

Tell us about your newest release or series and where should a new reader of your books be best suited to begin reading their way through you back catalog?

In Operation: Silver Moon, (graphic novel) Nazi agents have discovered a long lost army of the undead that they plan to unleash on an unsuspecting world. Agent Lupis is sent in to deal with the threat, which brings him into contact with the vampire lord known as Vlas. Can Lupis and Vlas put aside their ages old differences and work together to stop the Nazi’s Army of the Undead?—the amazing and beautiful artwork is by Rick Johnson.

I’ve had three stand-alone releases (novels, novellas) out in recent months. Domino Lady “Money Shot” for Moonstone Books, Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt for Raven’s Head Press, and Snow Falls for Stark Raving Press. Anyone not familiar with my work might find those a good place to start.

Domino Lady “Money Shot” is a pulpy political thriller set in the 1930’s featuring the saucy pulp adventuress Domino Lady, who was created in the 30’s as well. Money Shot picks up on some threads sewn in both the original Domino Lady stories as well as some of the Domino Lady tales I’ve written for Moonstone. If you’ve read those stories, this is a continuation of Domino Lady’s story, but if you’ve not, the novel stands pretty well on its own. Everything you need to know is in there. I love this character and had a blast writing her. I’m not sure what the future holds in terms of more Domino Lady Novels, I presume that will depend on how well this one sells, but I am working on some Domino Lady comic book stories for Moonstone so more fun times to come.

Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt is the first book in a series of pulpy paranormal stories featuring real-life ghost hunters Alexandra Holzer, her father, Hans Holzer, and a cast of cool and quirky characters as they take on hauntings, possessions, and monsters in 1960’s New York. I had so much fun getting to know about the real Alexandra and the Alexandra that appears in our book. She brings a wealth of experience and extra zing that really adds layers to the paranormal elements of the book. Book 2, Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: A Haunting We Will Go… is scheduled for a 2015 release and I’m working on it now.

Snow Falls is the first in a series of modern day action/adventure thrillers. A child of the 70’s and 80’s, I grew up with action heroes on TV like Jim Rockford, Thomas Magnum, Matt Houston, Steve Austin, and the like. This is my ode to those kinds of stories. Book 2, Snow Storm is scheduled for a 2015 release and I’m putting the finishing touches on it now.

 

 

It seems writers today have to publish more often than in the past to really make a living. How do you manage your time? What length of works do you write…mostly novels, novellas, short stories, or flash?

It is very hard to make a living as a writer. I was a full-time writer for a few years, but I eventually had to rejoin the corporate world and took on a day job. The 60 hours a week (I have a lengthy commute) I’m away does put a crimp in my writing schedule so I do most of my writing on the weekends or, when I’m on a deadline, on my lunch hour.

I write in many different formats. Since I do a lot of work for publishers, there is usually a word count in place before I begin so the size is really dependent on what the publisher requires. On my novels that I complete then shop around or publish myself, the length varies and I give the story as much breathing room as it needs. Within reason, of course.

Authors today seem to need a social media platform that covers everything from Q&A posts to video; what do you think the fledgling authors need to focus on to get on the right track with social media?

This is so true. Social media is a big part of the writing business. You have to build your brand, which is you just as much as it is the book(s) you’re promoting. The trick is being able to balance between promotion and networking. If all you post are “Buy My Book” links, you’ll turn away potential readers. Q&A sessions, meet-n-greets, contests, sneak peeks, photos, all of that is important to connecting with people instead of just trying to sell them something. I don’t want to come across like the cliché of a car salesperson. I don’t like it when people do that to me so I make sure not to do it to others.

If you could go back in time to when you were just starting out, what advice would you give yourself? What pitfalls would you steer away from?

Well, I would have told myself to make a plan. I spent a lot of time floundering. I also let outside influences sway me from the path I’d charted for myself. I wish I had not let myself get detoured as much as I did. I would have also laid off the snack foods and joined a gym a lot earlier.

How important is it that authors do the Convention circuit? When in a career do you think con appearances become a valuable tool?

Conventions are a very important tool in my marketing campaign. I can show off books, meet new people, make lasting friendships, share knowledge, learn new things, and generally enjoy being surrounded by creative people. There’s no feeling like it in the world. Oh, sure, it’s hard word and I’m exhausted when the con is done, but I walk away from every con with some great experiences. They are a great way to, much like with social media, work on building your brand and making connections with people who may want to read your work.

Do you consider yourself a indie/traditional/both?

A little of both. I’ve worked with large publishers, mid-level publishers, small publishers, and I’ve done some self-publishing. I go where I need to go to get the story in front of the audience.

Getting books into audio is the latest thing that writers seem to be learning how to do. Are your books available in audio format? And if so how was the recording produced?

Audio is a fun new area I’ve worked in recently. I wrote a few things for Radio Archives (Nightbeat: Night Stories and Box Thirteen – Adventure Wanted!) with the intention of writing them for audio. It was fun. Raven’s Head Press also converted Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt to audio as well. It’s an interesting sensation, hearing something I wrote being performed. I even tried my hand at reading one of my short stories for audio. You can listen to Midway, which is part of the Frontier collection, at http://www.bobbynash.com for free. Look under the Audio tab. That was a unique experience. I don’t think my voice is the right one for reading them, but people keep telling me that no one likes to hear their own voice so maybe I’m being too critical of it. You can judge it for yourself if you give it a listen at my website.

If you enjoyed this interview with Bobby Nash be sure to read other posts on this site about him: Frontier and Major Lacy. You can get more information about Bobby Nash and his books on Amazon, and updates about his writing on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, G+, Ben Books, Lance Star, Rick Ruby, and on his website.