My Guest this week will have your heart thumping in your chest as you read one of his fast-paced action thrillers. But what makes an author choose to try to give you a heart attack? Ladies and Gentlemen...
Wolf Schimanski
My Writing and Motivation Influences
I
really cannot say I have any experience in blogging whatsoever so I thought I
would share some ideas and facts about how I came to write and who and what has
influenced me along the way. My Mom was an insatiable reader and devoured books
by the hundreds if not thousands throughout her 94 years on this planet. That
passion must have been genetic as it was certainly passed down to me. Anything
that looked remotely mysterious and suspenseful, I picked up and tore through. After
some time, however, I started looking for that unique blend of excitement,
suspense, action, spice and humor that only the Masters of my action/thriller
genre could provide.
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I
call them the Masters not only because of the millions of books they have sold
world-wide but because of the way they have touched, motivated, inspired and
influenced me. There is a long list of them but I have really concentrated on
four to whom I am extremely grateful. First and foremost is the late and great
Robert B. Parker whose dry wit, short sentences and unique stories amaze me
every time I read one of his fabulous books.
Secondly, the amazing James Patterson; not so much his current work but
his earlier Alex Cross series just blew me away and still gives me spine
tingles every time I re-read those books.
Thirdly,
Greg Iles has now become my favorite current author. His vivid descriptions of
life in the deep south along with his scorching plot lines keep me turning
those pages in awe. And last but certainly not least, John Sandford, just a
terrific novelist and master storyteller of whom I can never get enough of.
Steven
King, Dean Koontz, John Grisham and so many more have also managed to touch my
thriller soul and to these authors I will always be thankful for what they were
able to share with the world and myself. Because of these great writers, I was
sitting around reflecting a number of years ago and a strange, wonderful and
exciting thought came to me. “What would I like to read next?” And with that
came, “Why not write the story I would like to read most that my favorite
authors have not written?”
Now
that I had a mission, how was I going to fulfill it? I started with a
correspondence course on the essentials of writing as after all, just being a
reader, what did I know about writing? I
had written some articles for a high school entertainment paper years ago but
that hardly qualified me as a writer. So after learning the basics and being
tutored by a successful author in his own right, the “Meter” series was born. Once I finished the first book, 'Meter of Deception', my problem was now what do I do to get the message out to all the
people out there that just could not wait for it, right?
Wrong.
I had to figure out how to publish and market the book as well. After some
unanswered query letters, I decided to take the book by the horns and do some
research into what type of options were available for someone like me, eager to
see my stories in print and get it into the hands of thriller fans. I
found one such company called Createspace who designated a talented team of
professionals to work with me on shaping and creating my dream, my first novel in
print.
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The
lessons learned from the first book were transferred into the second one, 'Meter of Corruption' which was published in early 2014, using the same characters
from the first book. The reason being that I felt the characters had much more
growing and experiencing to do so why not see what happens to them 5 years
later? And so far my readers have agreed with my decision which has led me to
work on my third book 'Meter of Redemption' to be completed sometime next year
hopefully. This will complete the “Meter” series and give these unique and
interesting characters the closure they deserve.
Anyone
that has read Parker, Iles, Patterson and Sandford and then my books, will see
where my influences and inspirations come from. I have never hesitated giving
credit where credit is due. I owe them an immeasurable debt of gratitude along
with my wife who is also my editor and staunchest supporter and all the readers
and reviewers who have read and enjoyed my books so far.
This
whole journey has been a learning experience to this point and there is nothing
more gratifying when a happy reader stops me or sends me a note to say, “I
loved your book and cannot wait for the next one.” It proves that out of a
crazy, totally obtuse idea, magic can happen; not only magic in my own life but
magic in other people’s lives. It’s exciting to know I have the power to do
that through a keyboard and some dear people that believe in me.
So I will continue on
my quest to write the most scintillating, exotic, thrilling and exciting page
turners that I can and will never stop paying homage to the great writers that
have inspired me and so many others, the Masters of my Action/Thriller genre.
BIO:
Wolf
Schimanski is a man of many interests and talents. He has trained in martial
arts, enjoys a variety of sports and is an accomplished guitarist and musician.
Professionally Schimanski worked many years in the information technology, management
and financial planning industries.
An avid reader turned breakthrough
author, Schimanski brings his own unique spin to the action/thriller genre and
thus far has released two exceptionally gripping, fast paced works of
fiction - 'Meter of Deception' and 'Meter of Corruption'.
Schimanski lives with his wife Terri and divides his time between their lakeside
home in Mount Forest, Ontario in the summer and their winter residence in
London, Ontario, Canada. He is currently
working on his third novel, the final installment in the Meter trilogy.
Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/Wolf-Schimanski/e/B0094JVA8O
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7066889.Wolf_Schimanski
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wolfschim
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorWolfSchimanski
Thank you, Wolf, for talking about a subject most writers seem to shy away from, the Masters who've influenced their own work. Best wishes for book 3 in the series, 'Meter of Redemption'.
Eric @ www.ericjgates.com
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