Indie Author Spotlight – An Interview With Lee E. E. Stone

Today on the Indie Author Spotlight at the Seventh Star Blog, we are featuring an exciting new voice in storytelling, Lee E. E. Stone! Lee is the creator of an new series of mythic/dark fantasy tales featuring the Alex J. Hunter character! Discover a writer to watch in the interview below!

How would you describe your writing style to a reader who has never read your work before?

Modern Mythic-Weird Fiction. Percy Jackson for adults meets Constantine.

What genres are you published in, and what do you like most about writing in those genres?

Weird Slipstream Speculative Fiction (that’s a mouthful)

Are there any genres that you would like to explore that you have not yet been published in?  If so, then what interests you about potentially writing in those genres?

I’d love to play in the fantasy sandbox with a sci-fi element, much like the 2008 movie, OUTLANDER, starring Jim Caviezel. I love mashups. But if I were to pick a single genre, I’d be interested in writing a romance. But a word of warning, things would have to get weird… obviously. 😉

Tell us about your latest release.

Alex J. Hunter Vs. The Devil Lords of the Ember Crown: Of Men, Who Were Also Monsters. A planned trilogy, our hero, Alex Judge Hunter is a struggling war vet, bounty hunter, and father, that has his eyes open to the mystical reality that exists alongside our own, and a conspiracy that is eating away at the foundation of Appalachia. A group of Devils is on the hunt for an artifact that would grant them unfathomable power, and Alex and his group must stop them. There are Werewolves; bloodthirsty experimental ghouls; an inconvenient curse (is there any other kind?); otherworldly abominations… and so, so, much more.

What are you currently working on in terms of your works in progress?

I’m working on the sequel to the first Alex Hunter novella. I have another novel in progress dealing with the implications of multidimensional heritage. And I’m plotting a book of flash fiction with a through-story about a strange holler town and the effects the strangeness there has on a new resident as he tries to help his fellow neighbors.

What do you personally find most challenging about the craft of writing?

Like a lot of cub authors, time management is the biggest greased pig in the pen, tied with completing my works. There will always be dead on arrival ideas and concepts that never take root, but you will inevitably find one that serenades you.

What do you view to be your strengths when it comes to writing?

I am grateful for being able to see a story in the smallest things. Before I began my pursuit of writing, I was an illustrator, and since the second grade, my imagination was always running at 11. I daydreamed deeply. It was like freediving into the big Blue Hole. I was hungry to get at the images inside of my head, and writing helped that when I could no longer get that satisfaction from my drawing.

Tell us a little about your path to becoming a writer, including when you decided to pursue writing with a goal of becoming published and what initially drew you toward writing and storytelling.

I had hit a brick wall with my growth as an illustrator, and so I became a comic book inker (not a tracer!) for a while, but I was doing work for others, which was fine, I enjoyed my time, but there was always a voice in my head I could not seem to understand. That’s where my friend Brian Hatcher came into play. A phenomenal Author, Brian introduced me to Michael Knost of RETURN OF THE MOTHMAN, WRITER’S WORKSHOP OF HORROR, and the fantastic LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN STATE series. After seeing, hearing, and learning from these two, I KNEW I needed to become a writer. I was but a squire, but damnit, I wanted to be a knight that would slay the dragon. I’ve been at this for ten years, and I don’t ever want to quit. I love sharing weird stories with fellow weird-os.

What do you find to be some of the biggest hurdles in being a writer today?

If you don’t network, honestly, don’t expect much. I’ve been fortunate enough to have mentors that showed me the paths to take to make my journey easier on me, but that’s not to say there isn’t a lot of work to do, because there is. Also, the bottom rungs of publishing are like a train in India, plumb overflowing with writers, both young and old in the craft. And with the advent of digital self-publishing, the scene has straight-up turned into a mosh pit the size of Texas. But you have got to stay intense and persistent, and you have to learn to relish all the licks you’re going to take because you’re going to need that tough skin.

What do you see as the most important advice you could offer a new writer?

Persistence, acceptance of criticism, and reading. If you’re going to write, you need to read to understand—to see—the flow of the written word. Your weapons are your keyboard and imagination. Use them wisely. Accept how others see your stories; this helps you see things you have become blind to in the creating process. Know that not everything you write will be loved by anyone other than yourself. But understand that there ARE people out there that will care for your baby as much as yourself. Don’t give up. Keep your head down and drive right through the darkness, my friends.

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Connect with Lee online at the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/Lee.E.E.Stone

Twitter

Synopsis of Alex J. Hunter Vs. the Devil Lords of the Ember Crown: Of Men, Who Were Also Monsters: Episode 1: Alex Hunter is tired, angry, and losing his grip on reality until the day reality ups and leaves him altogether. Dragged into a supernatural conspiracy to awaken a long-forgotten entity of unimaginable evil, Alex and his partner Jerry, are cursed and will remain so until they retrieve an artifact for a mysterious heiress with roots in the void between the stars. The fight will take place through the hills of Appalachia, the mythical realm of Undervale, and the deadlands of the Grey Hills. Will Alex Hunter’s fractured sanity doom him, or will his tormented soul be what saves us all?