Interview with Herbert Grosshans, Author
January 10, 2020
1)
What were you before you became an author:
To
answer that question accurately I’d have to say I was a student. I’ve been
writing stories since I was in my teens. At first, it was only short stories. I
finished my first complete novel when I was 20. It still sits in my closet
somewhere. Of course, besides writing I was also an avid reader. I read pretty
much everything I could get my hands on, especially when I was a kid. I wasn’t
particular what genre I read. Everything was exciting and interesting. When I was fourteen, I discovered Science
Fiction. A friend gave me a novel and after reading it I was hooked. This was
in Germany. Science Fiction was in its infant shoes and not much Science
Fiction was published. I joined the Science Fiction Club Deutschland. That’s
when I met other ‘crazy’ guys that believed someday we would go into space. We
exchanged ideas and stories and dreamed about traveling to the stars, to exotic
planets and to meet alien intelligences. When I emigrated to Canada, I had to
learn English. What better ways to learn a new language than to read and write?
I became an Apprentice Electrician and later I started my own business as a
Contractor. It allowed me more freedom to follow my passion: reading and
writing. I did that during my lunch breaks. I sat in my vehicle and wrote into a
scribbler. When I got a chance at home, I transferred my scribblings onto
legible pages with my manual typewriter. Everything became so much easier once
I got a computer.
2)
Are you genre specific or general?
I’ve
written Mysteries, Sword and Sorcery, and contemporary Thrillers, but my love
is Science Fiction. Most of my novels contain Erotica. I don’t know if that
could be counted as another sub-genre. My latest novels contain little Erotica.
3)
What is your latest release?
My
latest release is SAVANNA, Book 2 in my series Operation Stargate. It was
published in June of 2019 by Melange Books.
4)
What are you working on right now?
I
took a break this year and finished my autobiography ‘Memoirs of my Life’. I finished
writing it and right now I am in the last stages of editing. Then I’ll have it
printed. However, that book won’t be available for the public. I wrote it for
my family. It took longer to write than I had planned. 82,000 words. As long as
most of my novels. As soon as I’m done with it, I will continue with The Aregon
Files, Book 3 in my series Operation Stargate. I got the idea for that one in
July 2018, but I didn’t start with writing it until spring of 2019..
5)
Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing
career?
I
loved Mysteries, Fantasy, Westerns, History, but after reading my first Science
Fiction novel I knew then and there what genre I was going to write. That
didn’t stop me from writing in other genres, though. I’ve never written a
Western. Perhaps someday I will try my hand at it.
I
had just started with The Aregon Files in 2018 when my publisher suggested I
write a romance novel. I did and I thought it turned out pretty good. My
publisher turned it down, and even my wife, after reading it, said the last
part was good, but the first half was crap. She suggested if I wrote a
completely new beginning, I may have a chance to get it published. Somehow, I
don’t feel like it. I spent a lot of time writing the story and to change so much
just doesn’t seem right. It would be a different story. It would mean possibly
to kill a couple of characters, which I can’t do. They are my creations. So it
sits in my closet with my very first novel waiting…waiting…The way it looks, it
will wait there forever. Too bad, because I hate to have invested and wasted so
much time on something I’m obviously not good at—romance. I will have to leave
that to female writers.
Some
of my favorite writers are Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Leigh
Bracket. I’ve tried to imitate their style, but women write differently from
men. They write with feelings a man can never duplicate. It is something I
accepted a long time ago. My wife suggested I read a few romance novels to get
the feel of it, but the desire isn’t there for me. And so romance novels are
not a genre I will try to write again.
6)
Where can we find you?
You
can also find me at Amazon, Smashwords, and other outlets
