Interview with Author John Otte

Today we welcome John Otte who has taken time out of his busy (and rather chaotic schedule) for a short interview.  And in case you hadn't heard, he has a book releasing tomorrow (which is why he's been one of the trending topics on my Facebook Page).  But before The Hive is set free tomorrow get a glimpse into the man behind it.

1) This series now has two books Numb and The Hive which cover do you like best and why?  

I have a favorite but I'd like to know if you as the author do.

 

   

Wow, that’s a good question. I like both of them for different reasons.

    

The cover for Numb was part of a contest on 99designs. My publisher at the time, Jeff Gerke, wanted to try that out and see what we would get from it. And we had an interesting range of entries. Some were good, a lot...well, weren’t. A few even were violations of copyrighted material. But when that cover popped up in the contest, I just about fell out of my chair. I loved it the moment I saw it. Thing was, we were going to open the design contest to the public and ask them to pick the best one. So I made sure to vote for it, and then asked as many of my friends as I could to vote for it as well.

    The cover for The Hive, though, was the brainchild of Steve Laube. After I pitched the book to him, he got really excited and told me that he just saw the cover pop up in his mind’s eye. His excitement was contagious. And again, when this cover showed up in my e-mail box with the question, “What do you think?” I about fell out of my chair again.

    So I like both of them pretty much equally, but if I have to pick a favorite, I’d go with The Hive. It’s attention getting, that’s for sure.

 

2) When you're in the process of bringing your story to life do you have a song that goes through your head?  If so does this set the mood for the story?  Or is it like a theme song for your character?

 

    Not really, no. I do listen to music when I write, but I tend to stick to generic music without lyrics. It helps me focus on just writing without getting distracted by whatever the singer is trying to say.

 

3) How many books do you see this series going?  I realize the prevailing trend is three, but I like series that continue past that point.

 

    I’m not sure. Right now, I have an idea for a trilogy of stories that would be set in this same universe and would pick up after The Hive left off. I’ve been working on the first book and I’m in the middle of my first round of revisions. No contract for it yet, but there you go. If I get those three published, then I don’t know. It really depends on what my brain gins up.

 

4) Do you see yourself in any of the characters you've brought to life?

 

    A lot of them, actually. I see a lot of myself in Failstate, my teenage superhero. And I see glimmers of myself in both Crusader and Scorn.

 

5) Would you spend time with any of these characters outside of the story-verse you've created for them?  And if so when and where?

 

    From The Hive, the one “person” I’d want to hang out with would be Hopkins, Scorn’s apartment’s AI. I just really love the way he turned out, especially his sense of humor. Plus, having a virtual assistant like him would be really cool.

 

6) With the new Star Wars movie fast approaching who is your favorite character in Star Wars? (This can be either from the films or the books)

  

    Oh, that’s easy. Corran Horn from Michael Stackpole’s Rogue Squadron series. I love Corran, especially after he became a Jedi. It was such a different take on what it was like to be a part of the order, and I really appreciated the way Stackpole put him together.

Once again, John, thank you for taking the time to take time from your busy schedule to answer a few questions and sharing with my readers.

 If you haven't checked out my review of The Hive 

you can do so by clicking here