Interview with EJ Liston, Author of Kings and Killers
30 Mar 2021
What can you tell us about your new release, King and Killers? Other than it’s the first book of a series (Scarlet and Gold Series), I wrote this debut novel of mine for the excitement of the plot, but more so and mainly for the characters. I devoted a good share of the novel to character development because I wanted potential readers to care about them. So much so to the point where they’d probably wished they’d actually known them and had friends like them. What or who inspired you to become an author? I’ve always had an imagination. Since high school, I thought film school was the medium for it. I went through it, out in LA, but it wasn’t until halfway through it that it didn’t feel like the right challenge for me. It didn’t feel fulfilling. Then it hit me, “I’ve always been good at English Comp.,” so I began writing the first draft of my first book. Several drafts and years later, I’ve finally released it on Amazon. What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read? The Stand by Stephen King, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The King of Torts by John Grisham, The Enemy by Lee Child, Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder. Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask? Jesus Christ. If I could ask only one question, I would want to know how He and His Father created the universe. A follow up to that would be “Is the Big Bang Theory correct in how they made it?”. Maybe for a second or third, “Is there life out there other than mankind?” What’s your favorite thing about writing? Creating the dynamic between the characters. Also those times of “inspiration”. When you finally learn your own style of writing, it can be exhilarating. What is a typical day like for you? Writing generally about 6-8 hours a day. Working out. Keeping up my personal romantic life. Keep in touch with family and friends when I can. What scene from King and Killers was your favorite to write? Probably the jovial party scene at the end of the first chapter, and when Sanderson told his Mideast story to Nina and Michelle with Mike in attendance. I always get a kick out of those sorts of good-natured social exchanges between those characters. Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by? “Writing that’s worth a damn and earns your time to read. For any legacy, that’s good enough for me.”
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