Interview with William R. Potter, Author of Lighting the Dark Side - Page 3

For the police procedural, "Prominent Couple Slain," I studied as much information about police detective work as I could find. If you don’t have access to a real life detective, the Internet is a good alternative to learn about weapons and law enforcement tactics.

Researching for the novella Surviving the Fall was a sad experience for me. Ashley Metcalf is a fourteen year-old prostitute who was put on the street at age 11 to finance her mother’s drug addiction. I found numerous stories from around the world of girls as young as nine forced into this nightmare world of fear and violence.

Why did you choose your particular genre? 

The stories of Lighting the Dark Side cover a wide range of genres from action adventure to romance. I wish I could say that the variety of fiction was the result of some grand scheme, but it wasn’t. The stories were written between 2001 and 2007. Some of the ideas were years, even decades, old while others were brand new. Despite the differences in genre, each story has the underlying theme that everyone has a darker side, and each of us must recognize these weaknesses to overcome life’s worst circumstances.

How do you deal with rejection? 

I tell myself that rejection is a normal part of the publishing process and I try to remember the stories I’ve heard from best selling authors who often talk about their many rejection slips. Still, each time it feels like a kick in the stomach.

Do you write mainly by day or by night? 

I do the majority of my writing on Saturday and Sunday between 5 and 9 A.M. I get up at 4:30 in the morning most weekends and fuel myself with gallons of coffee and then type away on my laptop until the kids wake up three or four hours later. I have a full time job and my wife works evenings - throw in two kids under six and you can see how my writing time is very limited.

Do you ever get writer’s block and what do you do when that happens? 

So far I’ve never had writer’s block. Actually, you could say I have the opposite. I have too many ideas and not enough time to work on them all.

How long did it take your book to be published from the time you submitted and was accepted to the time it was finally released? 

From the time the manuscript was submitted to publication was about six months.

Can you tell us a little about the publisher who published your book?  How have they been t o work with? 

Article Author: Dorothy Thompson

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