Interview: Mel Odom - Page 2

When you were young who were some of your favorite authors? How do you think they have influenced your writing career?

My favorite authors were Edgar Rice Burroughs (primarily the Mars books, but Tarzan as well), Robert A. Heinlein, and Andre Norton.  They each taught me to get a story up and running and keep it running.  It’s really strange because I’ve already written more books than all of them.  Didn’t know I would ever do that.

You have written over 100 novels, do you have a favorite?

I love the work I did on Hunters of the Dark Sea , The Rover, Blood Evidence and Apocalypse Dawn.  I think they’re all about characters in trying times that rise to the occasion.

What do you believe is the most important part of piecing a novel together?

The most important parts are character and pacing.  Plot seems to come naturally to me, and I always have plenty of it.  But I want to make sure the characters are clearly cut and understandable, and that the story yanks the reader into it and keeps him turning pages at a frantic pace.

Do you have any projects right now that  you are working on that you would be willing to share?

We’re going to contract on a 4th Apocalypse book, and there will be a 3rd NCIS novel.

Visit Mel Odom's website for more information on this fantastic author.

Article Author: Katie Trattner

Ms. Trattner works for a non-profit agency where she is thankful for any internet time she can squeeze into her day. In her free time she reads one of the thousands of books stacked in her tiny apartment.

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