Interview With Author IB Holder
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a bit of a recluse. I don’t like crowds of people, but I do have an affinity for animals of all types. Put me in a pen with fifteen golden retriever puppies and I will not bother you until next March. I have written three books. I am recording the second one now. It is a follow up to Ransom X.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Blood Expressionist is my latest book. It was published in June. When I say published, I mean that it is available on all formats for download. It was inspired by the need to follow up Ransom X and see how the main characters developed. I also have a close connection to the art world through my friends at Cal Arts. It was fun making a murderer from the building blocks of an artist.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write in the cold sometimes. I’ll go to the ice rink and sit with my laptop. There will be pucks flying as I revise.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Arthur Conan Doyle, Dick Francis, James Joyce to name a few. I also like Issac Asimov quite a bit if I’m in the Sci-Fi section. Shuggie Bain is something new. I lived in Scotland for a tick and it made me interested in fiction based in the area.
What are you working on now?
Personal sanity. Along with that I’m writing a book about kids who have no boundaries and figure that out at the worst possible time in their lives.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like to drop my books off of large buildings and hope that the people below catch them.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do the audiobook for your novel before you publish. I found that reading my work out loud meant that I had to concentrate on each sentence in a way that my reading style does not always demonstrate. It’s not something I’d advise in the early stages, but right before you put out the work, read it for the public.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Kids think you’re stupid. Use that against them.
What are you reading now?
Shuggie Bain.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Dereliction of duty, illicit affairs, drunken nights and useless self-promotion.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would probably bring survival books and books that gave step-by-step instructions on how to get off of a desert island.