Straight from the Mouth of 'Knight of Flame' Scott Eder

Since he was a kid, Scott wanted to be an author and explored many genres through high school and college. Fantasy, though, captivated his soul. Tales of Knights and magic, dragons and elves filled his dreams. After greasing the gears of the corporate machine for many years, he escaped the Information Technology vortex to focus full-time on writing. The stories he’d envisioned years ago—of nobility and strife, honor and chaos—demanded they be brought to life.

Scott lives with his wife, two children, and a giant Chihuahua on the west coast of Florida.

 http://www.scotteder.net/

Thanks for letting us interrogate interview you! Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

I have stories to tell. I love writing. I love taking a nebulous thought and turning it into a story. I love hearing a reader's reaction, good or bad, to something I've written. And, I believe, my stories will appeal to a wide audience.

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be? I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

One of the biggest perks is that I get to make stuff up and pretend it's all real. I mean, how cool is that? I breathe life into words on a page to try to elicit a specific response in the reader. Sometimes that works. Other times…not so much; or, it works in a groovy, unexpected kind of way. When a reader loses themselves in something I wrote, I consider it a success. Since this is my debut novel, I can mention some of the newbie author perks like seeing my name on an actual book, and having it show up in Amazon for sale with the expectation that readers will fork over their hard-earned cash to read something I wrote. Soon it will be in local bookstores, and that will rock! The biggest demand is on my time. Balancing the amount I spend on telling the world that my book exists, and writing book two is a huge challenge. Blogging, posting on Social Media, making contacts online, talking to anyone who will listen…it all takes time. And that's time away from writing my next book. Most of the pros will tell a newly published writer that his best promotional tactic is to write the next book. And I'm doing that, but I can't just let Knight of Flame sink or swim all alone in that wide ocean of published novels. I have to help it along.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

I'm a traditional kinda guy. I wanted to find an agent or editor who believed in my story and talent, but it was a tough road. The submission process was brutal, especially when the rejections piled up. I started to doubt almost everything—my decision to pursue traditional publishing, my writing ability, the praise from my beta readers. The one thing I didn’t doubt was my story. Through it all I believed in my elemental knights, and wanted to share them with the world. I held on, made the right connections, and found a publishing home.

Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

From a family support standpoint, I am one of the luckiest writers in the world. They support everything about the process, and want me, and the book, to be successful. From writing late into the night, to dealing with my distractedness, to attending conventions and seminars, they understand there's a lot that goes into making a successful book. My wife is my first reader. The kids get involved too, but not so much in the early stages.

Do your pets actually get their food on time or do they have to wait until you type just one more word?

Luckily my dog can't tell time, but she knows the general time frame in which she gets fed. And it's definitely a window of food opportunity, not an absolute. When I'm on a roll, she waits until I'm done, or manages to guilt my son into feeding her. She likes to stare at us to get her way. Sometimes I can feel her little brown eyes boring into the back of my skull while I type. Most of the time, I can put up my anti-dog shield and write on. And other times…yeah, she's got us trained pretty well.

In writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?

I didn't have to worry about a boss because I parted ways with my IT career several years ago. Now I write full-time. I ignored the house phone, still do. Nine of out ten times it’s a solicitation call. For something of substance, the caller can leave a voice mail. The same goes for my cell phone. I don't turn it off. With kids, I don't feel comfortable doing that; but, that doesn't mean I answer every call. Caller ID is a wonderful thing. Ultimately, when I'm writing, I try to tune out my surroundings and immerse myself in the world I've created.

What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process?

Getting a cover quote from my mentor, International best-selling author David Farland, blew me away. Also, it's still crazy to see a person's reaction when I tell them about my book. Watching his or her expression evolve from crinkled skepticism, to relaxed interest, to lighting up at that "holy crap this guy is serious" moment never gets old.

How about the social networks? Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

I spend most of the time on Facebook. Between posting from my author page, or participating in different writer/reader groups, it can take a good chunk of time. I don't do much with Twitter, though. I don't like having to communicate in 140-character word blorps. I'm too wordy for that. I like to explain things at a more leisurely pace, and if takes a few extra words to get my meaning across, so be it. And then you have Goodreads and Google+ and Instagram. I've worked some on Goodreads, but not a whole lot. A writer can easily spend all his time working the social media sites instead of writing. For now, I'll stick to Facebook with the occasional foray into Goodreads for a change of pace.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

Knight of Flame is out there, world. Find it. Read it. Love it. Let me know what you think.

Okay, too much sugar for you today! Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in. Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

More sugar, please, and a double espresso. I need the energy boost. There aren't enough hours in the day to get done as much as I need or want to. Being a published author is amazing, but I've just begun this journey. One book does not a career make. No time to lounge on the beach, I've got books to write. Thanks for having me, but I gotta go.