I am a self-published, full time author who specializes in  writing sci-fi/fantasy and young adult fiction. In my spare time I enjoy gaming and reading.

Muse: First of all, Whispers of the Muse welcomes you to the site. Tell us a little about yourself. What part of the world do you live in? Tell us about your background?
Mr. Alderman: I currently live in Gilbert, Arizona, a little suburb of Phoenix. I first fell in love with writing in junior high when I was given a class assignment to write a short story. Now I’m 31 and am still writing about those characters!

Muse: Who are your favorite authors?
Mr. Alderman: Mark Twain was my first favorite author and the one responsible for getting me interested in reading with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I love most of Stephen King’s writing, especially his Dark Tower series which I’m about halfway through. I’m a fan of some of Ted Dekker’s books, mainly the Circle series, Tosca Lee’s Havah and Demon: A Memoir. I like A.C. Crispin too and his The Han Solo Trilogy - brilliant stuff.

Muse: Why do you write SciFy/Fantasy?
Mr. Alderman: I grew up with Star Wars and writing. What I loved about Star Wars was the breadth of the universe and the variety of characters portrayed in the films. When I was in high school, I started to read a lot of the Star Wars books and I just loved how each book was individual, yet added its own part to the Star Wars universe. I decided at that time that I wanted to write in the same vein, with each book, each story, adding its own small piece to a much bigger picture.

Muse: What is your writing regimen? How often do you work on a book? Do you set daily time or word goals? What keeps you meeting your deadlines?
Mr. Alderman: I’ve used National Novel Writing Month for the last six years to complete the drafts of most of my books. I try to put aside 3-4 hours in the mornings to edit/write material, and I usually do marketing/social networking in the afternoons. I’ll admit I haven’t perfected meeting my deadlines yet. I do have an editor that I hire out who I coincide my deadlines with, and that helps keep me accountable and on track for the most part, but it’s a daily struggle to push aside all of the distractions and just write, especially since I’m home most of the day doing this for a living. Facebook is a huge time suck!

Muse: Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?
Mr. Alderman: Yes. My faith, my family, my experiences in romance, the adventures that ran through my head as a kid - all of those come through my writing. My stories have very strong redemptive themes to them, about getting second chances and never giving up, no matter how bleak things look. I do my best to use the drama that has occurred in my life as story fodder. And it works well!

Muse: What are the creative jumping off points for you? Are you inspired by dreams? Music? Nature? The occasional black nightmare? What triggers your imagination?
Mr. Alderman: I do get quite a few story/character ideas from music. I know it sounds odd, but sometimes when I’m listening to a song I’ll just close my eyes and characters will come to life. I attach them to that song and find it’s better to write their parts when I’m listening to ‘their’ music.

Muse: Tell us about Black Earth: End of Innocence. What was your inspiration?
Mr. Alderman: After writing young adult fiction for most of my life, I used National Novel Writing Month one year to write something that wasn’t aimed directly at a PG crowd, something a bit more for adults and those who like gritty fiction. I took the safety off and wrote a short story anthology which included a story detailing Earth’s destruction by malevolent forces both demonic and alien. Black Earth was born at that moment.

Muse: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?
Mr. Alderman: Without giving details that would ruin the story, I think the very last scene in Black Earth: End of the Innocence - Chapter 52 -  is my favorite. It’s emotional, it brings one of my main characters to life, and introduces another character who transcends series. It also sets the tone for the second book in the series, which takes place just hours later.

Muse: Have you written other books?
Mr. Alderman: Yes

Muse: Tell us about your other books?
Mr. Alderman: The second book in my Black Earth series (sequel to End of the Innocence) is available - Black Earth: The Broken Daisy. Continuing where Black Earth: End of the Innocence leaves off, Nathan Pierce searches Tucson for his missing sister, hoping to save her from being executed for a crime of treason. Meanwhile, the nefarious purpose of the fallen stars comes to light and an entity known only as Legion begins to flood the earth with darkness.

I also have a novella - Picture Perfect - that will be released by the end of February and will introduce readers to the upcoming young adult series that I am working on. Picture Perfect is about a homeless boy who is taken off the streets and pledged to marry into fortune, only to realize that selling his soul for money isn’t worth the loss of himself. He eventually becomes a mercenary who is found in the novels of Expired Reality.

Muse: How do you feel about the current publishing marketplace?
Mr. Alderman: I’m a huge supporter of self-publishing. I remember trying to go through traditional publishing routes a few years ago and I had to wait 8 months for 30 rejections, just trying to find an agent. I realized at that point that I didn’t want to wait the rest of my life for readers to experience my stories.