the author's bio: Larry Gerovac was born and raised in the Midwest. He is a first generation American, U.S. Navy Veteran, ex-Air Traffic Controller, and a retired nuclear worker. He loves science, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

an interview with the author: 

When/why did you decide to become a writer?

I think I was about twenty-two when I thought to myself, one day I would like to write my own stories. I was in the U.S. Navy and living in Spain. Back then there were only two Spanish television stations and there were no English broadcasts. The actual time on air was only a couple hours a day, so I did a lot of reading. I thought it would be fun to entertain people like the authors of the time were entertaining me. I have always enjoyed telling stories to my friends and family. I found it fun to mix just enough truth to a story so that they didn’t know if it was real or one of my fabrications.

What authors inspired you when you were younger? 

It’s going to sound a little strange, but the first person to inspire me was probably Stan Lee of comic-book fame. When I was a child I read thousands of comics. They use to be ten cents each or three for a quarter. I would go through garbage in alleyways looking for pop bottles. You could get 2 cents on a return. I mowed lawns, did whatever I could to get money for comics. After my love affair with the fantasy world of comics, I would say the next author that really impressed me with his fantasy stories was Tolkien. For horror- it was Bram Stoker and his Dracula character- he scared the pants off of me when I was young. In the genre of Sci-fi I loved Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein and Ursula K. Le Guin.

What books do you enjoy reading today?

First let me say, I’ll read anything by Orson Scott Card. With that said, since I have recently started to write stories, I have joined several writers groups. Because of meeting so many authors of my genre, I am reading many books written by new authors. I also enjoy reading science related books just to stay current with new concepts, but that’s hard work because I usually take notes. For entertainment I read Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror.

What's your latest book about?

The One Path is about the end times and how God’s last prophet attempts to stop Lucifer from creating the Antichrist. Thomas is a reluctant prophet and feels that God has made a mistake in picking him. Eventually, he accepts his role and chases Lucifer through Europe in an attempt to thwart him. Thomas’s worst fears are realized as he comes face to face with demons and even Lucifer himself.

What was the inspiration behind your novel?

I love stories in which the underdog, an everyday, average person, must perform heroic acts to stay alive or stop something horrible from happening. For my novel, it was mostly movies that got me thinking about the story. The Seventh Sign directed by Carl Schultz, The movie Constantine the one staring Keanu Reeves and directed by Francis Lawrence, The Omen directed by Richard Donner and the epic Ten Commandments directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

Tell us about your previous work?

The Great Angel War is the first book I wrote and is the first book in The God Chronicles trilogy. God has seen enough, he sends an archangel to the earth to identify and train as his last prophet. The setting is the time before man, when there was only Heaven. As The archangel Raphael explains how Lucifer went to war with God, he is actually preparing Thomas, God’s last prophet, for his upcoming battles with Lucifer and his fallen angel army.

How do you develop characters?

You have to know your plot to develop the characters. Are they nice, evil, plotting, full of hate, kind, or smart? How do they interact with the other characters? They could be shy, outgoing, have a driving need to be the alpha in the room, introverted, or perhaps they are a bully. Physical characteristics could include, male, female, handsome/beautiful, average/ugly, old, young, physically handicapped. Certain characters need to develop or grow as the story moves on. Here’s a big tip I learned writing a short story. NEVER kill off a main character. The reader invests too much time and thought for you as the writer to end their life.

What's your "go to" genre?

That’s a hard question for me to answer because when I write I like to include some fantasy, Sci-fi, and even a little horror. Usually one genre will be dominant in a story. Since I love science so much, I am anxious to write some science fiction… if I had to guess, I think that’s where I might end up more often in the future.

What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I have been giving some thought to political satire. Things are such a mess politically in this country or around the world for that matter, that one could easily write about one party or the other, with little effort. The problem is I don’t want to make people mad, I just want them to laugh.

Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I would like to be writing and publishing one to two books a year.

What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

Reading, more yard work, learning a couple more languages, learning how to play the piano instead of just plinking songs with my right hand.

Can you tell Us what you are working on next?

I just finished writing the fourth chapter in Armageddon, the third and final book of The God Chronicles. I am also working on a horror story that I would like to convert into a novella, it’s called, The Vampir A New Harvest. The story begins in Romania at a military complex called Poenari. Those of you familiar with Bram Stoker know the story of Dracula started in Romania. Then there are the true legends of a man called Vlad the Impaler. His hometown was Poenari. Vampir is the Romanian word for Vampire. I’m having some fun writing this story. It’s about genetic manipulation inside a government lab gone horribly wrong. The end result is that man will no longer be the dominant species on the Earth.

What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I’d give up every hair on my head (there’s only a few left so they are very valuable) if I could work with JRR Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Stephen Donaldson, or Frank Herbert.

If the book was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading role?

Bruce Willis would make a perfect last prophet of God. I like the humor he brings to the screen. He’s already played characters that have to fight seemingly insurmountable odds. He creates very likeable characters.

What are your greatest challenges as a writer?

My editors say I need to work on my tense. I tend to fluctuate between past, present, and future. The other challenge that I have is keeping my two Yorkies happy. I have a male and female. My male will bark at me to get some attention while I’m writing or he will stand on his hind legs and rest his front legs on my thigh while I’m at the computer. Then He gives me the puppy dog eyes. My female will come into my writing room and start coughing to get attention. Then when I look at her, she rolls onto her back waiting for me to give her belly whoppers (a belly rub).

Do you have a Writing routine?

Yes, but it changes seasonally. In the winter I get up, let the dogs out. Then I have coffee and watch news for about an hour. Then I get dressed and take the dogs for a 1-2 mile walk. When we come home, I feed them. By about 1030-1100 a.m. I am usually writing. On days I don’t feel like writing, I will do some research. In the summer, it’s kind of the same routine but I don’t start writing until about 1pm.

What advice would you give to a new writer?

Write, write and write. If your school age, then I recommend taking some writing classes. If you’re older, you should join some writers groups or clubs. Start paying attention to how great writers put words to paper. When you start looking to get published and no one seems to want what you wrote- write some more. You weren’t born knowing how to walk. You didn’t give up the first time you fell down. The more you write, the better writer you will become.

What's been the biggest lesson you have learned on your writing journey? 

There are so many big lessons it’s hard to pick out only one. I guess I’d have to say writing is much more then having a good storyline. If I had a great story but I read it to you in a monotone you would probably hate the story. When writing you have to create tension in the story or the reader will get bored. You need to consider pace or the reader will get confused, sometimes you need time to digest information and pace helps. Don’t try to impress the reader with your amazing vocabulary- it’s not fun stopping to use the dictionary in the middle of a sentence. Don’t get fancy replacing the word “said”. Readers tend to ignore the word said. If you use something else you risk the reader focusing on your word instead of the story. There is so much more to writing that I could write a whole book on it-