Indie Author Friday – Christopher D. Schmitz #IndieAuthors #fantasy

It’s Friday! Indie Author Friday, to be more specific, and Christopher D. Schmitz is here today with his fantasy books, unusual question from a fan, and excellent taste in Netflix.

After merging with her copy from an alternate reality, college student Claire Jones is thrust into a setting beyond imagine and must fight alongside Zabe, her self-appointed, inter-dimensional guardian. Together they must stop an evil warlock from shattering the laws of existence who, above all else, seeks Claire’s blood as the key to controlling the all-powerful Tesseract. If the evil one gets a drop of her blood he can rip a hole in time and space and summon his dark nega-god into existence.

Buy Links

Wolf of the Tesseract
Dekker’s Dozen: The Last Watchmen
The Kakos Realm: Grinden Proselyte (Volume 1)
The Kakos Realm: Rise of the Dragon Impervious Book 2

The book I’m currently pitching hardest is my paranomal YA adventure, Wolf of the Tesseract. Following WotT coming out with Black Rose Writing, I’ve written two new books and I’m in prewriting for the sequel: Through the Darque Gates of Koth. I also have the second novel in my fantasy series coming out in a few weeks (Rise of the Dragon Impervious.) Readers can get that the first novel for free by signing up for my mailing list on my main website. I’ve also had good feedback from my sci-fi Dekker’s Dozen: The Last Watchmen which is similar in feel to Firefly and Dark Matter, but with a steampunk-time-traveling twist. Plus zombies… in space. There might also be a clockwork ninja. All of my books (plus ten others) are on Amazon or on my personal website.

What’s the most constructive criticism you’ve been given in your writing career?

Kill the passive voice.

What is something memorable you’ve heard from your readers/fans?

I had someone email to ask if a supporting character (Jackie from Wolf of the Tesseract) was based on a real person–if so could I pass on her information? Reader would very much like to ask her out on a date.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

I took up writing short fiction exclusively for several years so that I worked on starting the story, evolving a plot, editing, killing babies, finishing the story, and dropping the mic. It also helped to learn to write succinctly and ramble less–writing shorter sentences for space reasons began to teach me how to write varied lengths and write with rhythms to move the pace and story rather than just impart communication.

Any unusual talents or hobbies?

I play the great highland bagpipes.

What’s the last thing you watched on TV/Netflix?

I watched the entire Gravity Falls series–it’s almost a perfect cartoon touching on great themes and paranormal elements similar to Stranger Things (which might be my favorite show). But I would have ended it slightly different… as I watched it with my teenage children I noted that the ending was good, but I would’ve left Stan Pines as a vegetable and had his brother take him across the world on a sailboat while becoming his caretaker to reinforce the seriousness of his noble sacrifice. (Then my daughter said, “No–you would’ve killed everyone.” She has read most of my library and she might be right. I don’t always play nice with my characters.)

If you could be any character in fiction, who would you be?

I often feel a little bit like Boromir from Lord of the Rings. I wish I was Aragorn, but I know the real me… at least I’m not Sméagol.

Author Bio

Christopher Schmitz has a growing platform and is the author of both fiction and nonfiction. He has a Master’s degree and attends regular conferences and workshops. In addition to a human day-job he also writes for his local newspaper and has produced pieces for online youth resources. He lives in Minnesota with his family, occasionally competes in pro BBQ competitions, and drinks unsafe amounts of espresso.