Dave Bowlin, writer and web-guru, can be found at Sintrigue.org (SDO).

Dave: There are many people trying their hand at writing these days, especially with the fast and affordable print-on-demand and e-publishing. If someone were to ask why they should read your stories instead of the other countless thousands readily available, a lot of them for free, what would you tell them?

Steven: I'd say, want to hear a good story? I can tell you a good story. Give them a try and see if you want to read more.

Dave: Fiction writing is an art that takes a lot of practice. How often do you practice, and do you think it's important to keep a writing schedule?

Steven: I think trying helps one get the craft done better. The more one writes, the more advice one gets and the more the mistakes become obvious. One has to be willing to learn. The thickness of the skin must be developed. Once you get past the fact that you are not Hemingway or King, you can decide that you are YOU and develop a voice of your own. Yes, a schedule is good. Write everyday. Even if it is a little bit.

Dave: From time to time, you delve into other areas of writing, including poetry and essays. Of all the different types of writing that you do, which do you enjoy the most, and why?

Steven: Probably the barbarian/historical things I write. This may sound weird, but it is so effortless, as if someone else is doing it. There are tales that just pour out in that vein. The Dack/mystery stuff is harder to write, oddly enough. The barbarian material is like I am telling what the historian didn't get down. This medium allows me to put these historical facts in my brain into action, so it is fun. There is a natural aggression that flows when I write it.

Dave: What is your favorite time to write, and what is your least favorite?

Steven: Heh. Funny you should ask that. It used to be from noon until 3 before I went to work, but now that my shifts have changed, it can be early in the morning. My least fave? Probably really late, only because I am about mentally burnt from the day by then.

Dave: Your writing tends to be a very eclectic mix of genres and styles. For instance, you have written many tales about a secret society within the United States government that handles all sorts of clandestine missions which tend to be extremely violent and bloody, and then you have written poetry that some claim is somewhat godly or holy. Do you find this transition from styles hard to accomplish, and which do you enjoy most?

Steven: The change in styles is unproblematic. I can discuss religion, politics or sex as easy as any topic. Aside from a flip answer to say that one must be versatile, I find that love, death, violence, or religion are all in a days work for the human being. Look at the Bible. The folks there are good, bad, indifferent, evil, etc. I think we are all that way in some ways, just some are more willing to admit it than others. Johnny Cash has a great song called THE BEAST IN ME about maintaining his darker side. But admits "...I've seen him out dressed in my clothes..."

Besides, it is just fiction. I can write about Thor or Dack strangling a crack-head and then write my wife a poem about how much I adore her in the next sentence. Both works contain emotion. Each emotion is real. One is an act of fiction, the other is an expression of emotion. Come to think of it, the fiction is an expression of emotion, too...hmm...

Dave: Some characters you have created, particularly those of Majestic Services, have attracted a somewhat large fan base, which has brought quite a bit of political and religious scorn on you and your family. How have you handled this situation in the past, and how will you handle similar experiences in the future? What advice would you share with others going through similar situations?

Steven: Hmm. I handled the situation in the past, well, heck, I had to play the hand dealt to me. It wasn't a good one and I folded. I had no choice. However, every writer has a comeback in mind. My advice is, don't put yourself in a position of weakness and then trust folks to adhere to their religious principles. It is hard to take some folks serious when they accuse one of sin, then commit greater sins to bring one under the heel.

As always, I will fight.

Dave: Of all the characters you have created, Dack Shannon is probably the most famous and widely read. How do you feel about this?

Steven: I wish more folks knew of him. For all of those who have heaped scorn on me for creating him, so many more love him and his flawed ways. All I can say is, even more folks will find out about him in the future. I think Dack is interesting and is a character that needs even more exploration.

Dave: Does your character Dack Shannon reflect any of your own personal traits? If so, which ones? Is he based on an actual person, or is he purely fictional?

Steven: Well, I saw a tall albino in the mall when I was a kid while waiting for Santa Claus. He was all in black and grinned at me. That probably didn't help. Dack came about when my father suggested I quit writing sci-fi "Crap" and write about a detective. Dack Shannon isn't based on any real person. My attributes? Some folks say he reflects my cerebral side, whereas Thor Alexander is my ego or aggression. Dack is tall like me, but he is thinner. I would say he also dislikes the bad guys like I do, too.

Dave: The Majestic Services stories you write tend to be violent to the extreme. Some no doubt feel these stories are too harsh and violent to be considered quality fiction. How do you feel about this?

Steven: Everyone is their own judge of quality. However, none of my Dack material goes to the level of Clive Barker, I don't think. Some tales are rough, but most are no more at the level of a LAW & ORDER show. They are action, suspense tales, meant to be told in the vein of a pulpy realm. I am not going for the Pulitzer Prize here, but hope that the tales are entertaining with a few hooks of plot in the violence. If one cannot deal with the brutality of life, buy an ARCHIE comic.

Dave: Which character that you have created has given you the hardest time in writing, and why?

Steven: In the Dack realm, perhaps Judy Spears because she isn't a likeable person, but a very real person. She is a good foil for Dack, but not a pleasant gal. I keep her in because she is real. Not all real folks are nice.

Maybe Irv, the scalp-hunter biker in ALL CRANKED UP...he wasn't a nice dude at all.

Dave: Do you feel loyal to your fans to the point that you would change a story if the majority of them considered it too violent or harsh? Why or why not?

Steven: Hard to say. I'd hate to offend someone, but one has to stand by what they do. That is why I let you, Dave, read things. I wager if you are stunned, it is ok. Someone once advised me they couldn't see Brittany Brennan doing something, and I agreed. One has to be open to change, but not be a slave to it.

Dave: You have been known to write heroic fantasy fiction. What future plans can you reveal about this genre for yourself?

Steven: My barbarian collection DEPTHS OF SAVAGERY will be released from DOUBLE DRAGON this summer. I have two major barbarian novels in the works, one nearly perfect. GODFORSAKEN is probably the best work of my life. Let us hope some others think so. Any fans of this type of epic fantasy will be pleased with it, I think.

Dave: If you could trade places with any one of your characters for one month, which would it be, and what would you do differently than that character?

Steven: While a few of my fans would scream to trade places with Dack just on the Brittany idea alone, I would chose Hank, the head of MAJESTIC SERVICES. Why? He knows everything and controls everything & everyone. That alone would be fun, to know all his secrets...but to have that power, I may want to push his secret agenda forward faster...or create one of my own. That is a lot of power for one man to wield.

Dave: How do you know when a story is completed?

Steven: When I write THE END, naw, just joking. It is a mental thing, it sorta snaps shut. There are always revises or whatnot, but after a season, there can be only so many bells and whistles added. That and most folks have an ending in mind when they create a tale.

Dave: Being your own judge when deciding if a story is good enough to submit to a market is tough. How do you decide when a story is ready to submit?

Steven: Oddly enough, I let a few close friends read them. My friend and photographer, Mark Boatman, is a great judge of what sucks and what does not. Another friend, Chris Heath, is a great stickler for details. And for great feedback, good or bad, there is always Dave Bowlin. Sometimes a tale is about as perfect as it gets, but at times there is a nagging feeling that I missed something. That is when one must ask a friend, "Does this look like steak or rancid cheeseburgers?"

Dave: Rejections happen to everyone. How do you handle a rejection when you thought the story was perfect for a particular market?

Steven: I'm human. Sometimes, it makes me cross for a spell, but I get over it. Usually, I go back and see if I made and error or can improve the tale. If NO REASON is given for a reject, that ruffles me a tad, for, I am human. "shrugs" Life is short, so one rolls with it. My acceptances far outweigh my rejects. There are always folks asking for a tale. One must try again and again.

Dave: Writing crime can be a tricky business, particularly when the author wants to get a true sense of the world they are writing about. Since you can't very well murder people just to see how it's done, what other forms of research and trial and error do you do when writing your stories?

Steven: Just the imagination, visualization etc comes from the ether of the mind. I have looked at many aspects of the human body and know what it can take and cannot. I have been in enough struggles to know when a body bruises or bleeds. Plus, read, read, read, everything. Newspapers, books, medical journals or other crime fiction. One always will pick up some tidbit.

Dave: If you could co-author a novel with anyone in history, who would that person be, and what would you choose to write about?

Steven: Robert E. Howard. Probably about Conan when he was old or Cormac Mac Art drifting off into America. Either that or we'd drink beer and write that great western he always wanted to do.

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