C. E. Denison

Posted On March 19, 2020

• What lead you to write?

I was the youngest of three kids, so I spent a lot of time alone. My older siblings didn’t spend much time with me, so I spent my days making up and acting out my own stories. By the time I reached middle school, I started writing those stories down.

• Was there a particular person that influenced you to pursue writing?

When I was in high school, my tenth grade English teacher and the school Librarian encouraged me to enter a state writing contest. I followed their advice and won second place in my high school, third in the county and honorable mention in the state.

• What is your preferred genre to write?

I prefer to write fantasy, but all of my books contain tons of action. I enjoy including martial arts elements in my writing too.

• What is your favorite genre to read?

I don’t know if I have a favorite genre. I grew up reading the Hardy boys; I enjoy reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz but I really enjoy reading anything fantasy and science fiction. My favorite author at this time is Lindsay Buroker.

• What are your favorite activities or hobbies outside of work/writing?

I enjoy doing almost anything outdoors. I like to fish, but I’m not much of a hunter. I like to target practice. I enjoy playing guitar and singing, but limited in what I play. Music heals the soul. Every chance I get, you can find me out on the highway enjoying the sun on my motorcycle.

• Who is your favorite author and what do you enjoy about their writing style?

As I stated earlier, Lindsay Buroker is my favorite currently. What I like about her books is they are fun. Even with the fight scenes, which can be very technical and dry, she has a way of keeping these scenes fresh and exciting. I love her character development. You truly love or hate her characters. My wife and I still have conversations about the characters from her Fallen Empire series.

• What is one major struggle you have with writing?

One of my biggest struggles is finding time. I work full time; I am married and have two small children, time is precious.

• Out of all of your stories, which one did you most enjoy writing?

My favorite story to write was the prequel The Wizard and the King for my The Chronicles of Sam-Ell fantasy series. I enjoyed writing it because it was fast paced; I didn’t have go into much back story and I was able to concentrate on one aspect of a much larger world.

• What projects are you currently working on?

I just finished The Sword and the Flower Book 2 in The Chronicles of Sam-Ell series. It should be available no later than April 1^st. I am about to begin outlining book 3.

• What has been one of your strongest inspirations for a story?

The Chronicles of Sam-Ell began as a middle school English assignment. Fast forward thirty years and my kids begged me to read it. I didn’t have any more, so I sat out to write down the original five-page story and before I knew I had a series of stories planned. 

• Do you place any of your life experiences into your stories?

Yes, I have trained in different martial arts throughout my life; I use that training to help write the hand to hand combat scenes. I also use my time in the Army to design some battles. I also add places I have vacationed, like the Captain Cook monument in Hawaii. Two of my characters are best friends, I was thinking of my best friend and myself when I wrote their relationship.

• If you had enough money to travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would love to go to New Zealand and visit the locations where The Lord of the Rings was filmed. Wouldn’t it be awesome to run through the fields where Aragorn chased the Uruk-hai to rescue Merry and Pippin.

• What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Not to give up. Keep writing, because if you have a story it deserved to have a voice, and I was the voice.

• What is your dream car?

1968 Camaro v28. I love this car so much it made a cameo in The Chronicles of Sam-Ell book 1.

• What part of your writing is the most complimented?

My characters. I have been told on more than one occasion my characters are not cookie cutter, but they have real attributes and real struggles. It is the characters that drive my stories and keep readers interested.

• What part of your writing, do you feel, needs strengthening?

Character physical descriptions. I am told all the time I forget to describe what my characters look like and I have to go back through and add descriptions for every character through the whole story.

• What is your favorite mixed drink?

Iced Tea or coffee. That is about as strong as I get since my Army days.

• What is one of your most cherished items in your writing space?

A small Superman figurine that my oldest daughter bought me for my birthday. When I look at it, I think of her and it’s like I draw from her imagination.

• What is one thing in anything you’ve read that stood out to you? (Could be meaning or even just sentence structure.)

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step- LAO TZU. I think of this every time I sit down to the blank page of a new book.

• What is your favorite food?

Pizza. I also love Mexican.

• What is your favorite show/movie?

My favorite TV show is Seal Team. My favorite movie is harder to say, I have seen so many over the years. Star Wars ranks at the top, Lord of the rings is there also, but I also love stuff like What Dreams May Come or The Green Mile.

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Website: https://www.cedenisonbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cedenison/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorDenison

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVKF3yjUuWqVxdISJZgQQA

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19739629.C_E_Denison

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/C-E-Denison/e/B081GHC3TV

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