Eric Malikyte
Eric Malikyte was raised on a healthy diet of science fiction, fantasy, and a fear of the unknown. Thanks to shows like Sightings and The Art Bell Show, Eric developed a mixed interest in the sciences and the paranormal. He lives in Northern Virginia, where he spends time working odd hours and talking to his cat while he writes his novels.
Interview:
1. Will you tell us about your most recent published work?
Echoes of Olympus Mons is a cosmic horror novel set on Mars. It's basically as if Andy Weir's The Martian and H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness had a baby.
Olympus One colony students Hal Leon and Akio Sato have made history. Their invention, a camera that images dark matter, has had its first successful test; but what it reveals may put human life on Mars in jeopardy.
The strange animalistic silhouettes hidden in the dark matter web appear to look to the sky at some invisible threat before they’re wiped away, like fading images on a video tape.
That is, until something else appears in the dark matter web, and colonists start dying under grisly circumstances. Does the dark matter camera somehow hold the key to the mystery?
Once they see you nowhere is safe.
2. What personal challenges do you face as a writer?
I face challenges all the time. My life is full of them. But, those challenges have shaped me, and they've made me a better and more honest author. Storytelling is one of the few places where things can go terribly wrong in just the right way.
3. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Finding time to write or illustrate all the things that are bouncing around in my head. I wish day light savings wasn't a thing, and that days were 48 hours long.
4. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
Time. At the end of the day, that's really what it takes. Time, humility, and the ability to look introspectively.
5. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I took two years to write Echoes, it took 9 drafts to get it right. The biggest thing I took away from it was my voice. I feel like this is the book where I really found my voice as a writer. Even the short stories that I published on my patreon helped to get me there, but this is the book where I felt like everything really came together.
I wrote a book back in 2011, and it was terrible. I'll never release it, but it taught me so much about the process. Echoes is actually the third book I've written, the second book is coming soon after more developmental edits are completed. Weird, right?
6. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Will you tell us about them?
Just the two I just mentioned, and a first draft of an eldritch fantasy book which is meant to kick off a four book series. There are a few short stories and scene fragments that never went anywhere too.
7. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I do. I have a thick skin, so as long as they're honest, I don't mind learning from them. That being said, you can't please them all.
8. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
I do. Or do I? I guess you'll just have to read them to find out.
9. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
D. William Landsborough (who just launched his first book) has been massively supportive and has taught me a great deal about editing and self-editing. He's been there from day 1 of my patreon, beta-reading through my madness. Then there's Chris Fox (more recent, but hopefully he's okay with me mentioning him as a friend), his 5000 Words Per Hour and other books have transformed my creative process. Made it more streamlined without sacrificing quality.
10. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don't stop. Just keep writing. Write as many stories as it takes. You have them in you, you just have to sit down and look for them.
11. What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Over tinkering. We all do it, or did it. Toiling away at that 20k manuscript until it's "perfect." This is murder to the growth of a writer. You grow through experience, your failures, learning from them, not from perfecting one piece. The biggest lessons I've learned are from my mistakes.
12. What’s the best way to market your books?
That's a heavy question. I'll get back to you when I've figured it out.
13. What is your favorite childhood book?
Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. I read the first series every year.
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