K.S. - Hello and welcome to the blog. I am very excited to have you here. Why don’t we start off with a small introduction? Tell us a little about yourself.
S.C. Lang - Thanks, Katie. My name is Scott Lang, but you can call me Scott for short. My pen name is S.C. Lang, which are my initials, because it's a little more catchy than just plain 'ole Scott.
K.S. - Any interesting writing quirks or stories you would like to share with my readers?
S.C. Lang - I am a total eccentric. My wife bought me this Sony voice recorder machine, and it has become my constant companion. I'm forever talking into, leaving plot notes, or even dictating actual portions of the book. It's great fun when I use it in public. Oh, the looks I get are priceless. People are never sure if I was talking about them or not. I, of course, don't clue them in either. That's just how I roll.
K.S. - When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
S.C. Lang - This is embarrassing. I wrote Original Sin on a dare. I was reading a very poorly written novel, I'll leave the title and author's name out of this answer, and was complaining about it. My friend looked at me and said, "If you can do better, then why don't you?" With those words a monster was born.
K.S. - What genre do you write?
S.C. Lang - In a word: murder mystery/thriller/action/suspense with a touch of romance.
K.S. - What would you say has inspired you most in your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
S.C. Lang - My family is my biggest inspiration in everything I do. My wife is miles and miles above being just supportive. She's active. She reads my work and doesn't let me get away with any, as she calls, laziness. I'd be lost without her. I love you, honey. My favorite author is Ken Follett. I love how he blends the lives of his characters together. Not everything that happens to the hero is good, and not everything that happens to the villain is bad. In some books, you're almost rooting for the antagonist. That's good writing.
K.S. - What does your family think of your writing?
S.C. Lang - Oh, I think I might've answered this in the previous question. They love the fact that I write. My kids call it "Wicked Cool," which I assume is good. They all promote me on their Facebook and MySpace pages, and drag their friends into the book store to buy copies of my novel. My wife has access to a lot of people during the day and she always finds a way to get a plug in for me. It's very cool.
K.S. - What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book?
S.C. Lang - That a book will pretty much write itself and you, as the author, are actually just taking dictation. I call it being in "The Zone." I sit down and have a very precise idea of where I want the story to go. However, once I start typing, something completely different comes out. I have no clue where it came from, but there it is. The funny thing is when I read it back, it's always better than my original idea. I've learned to trust it, and not to fight it.
K.S. - What inspired you to write your novel?
S.C. Lang - Money! No, seriously, I wanted to write a book that hasn't been written ten million times before. I know that sounds simple enough, but really it's much more difficult than you might imagine. Coming up with an original idea is tough. Just ask Hollywood, they're making movies about Saturday morning cartoons and comic book superheroes.
K.S. - Can you tell us a little about your novel?
S.C. Lang -
The Mission, a powerful and secret society, has declared war. A war not on drugs, or on crime, but on sin! Their cause is a radical one and in order to win in their battle against sin, radical measures must be taken.
The Mission sends one of their top agents, an assassin code-named Brandy, into the world of Internet chat rooms to wage the Mission's war against the devastating sin of adultery.
Brandy gains the trust of these wretched sinners, sets up meetings with them in low-rent motel rooms, and then brutally "Purifies" them.
When Brandy's first victim is found, spread-eagle and naked, filleted by a butcher knife with the word "sinner" crudely written in blood on his forehead, newly-promoted Chicago detective Dallas Holden is brought in to conduct the investigation.
As the case progresses, Holden is thrust head first into the fascinating and highly seductive realm of online chatting. Holden must fight off the temptation of being an in-room star, and the flirtatious attention of three separate women, in order to do his duty and find the killer.
Danger mounts as Holden finds himself entangled in an intricate web of love, betrayal, and power that inevitably leads to a confrontation with a trusted ally and the leader of the Mission. It's a showdown that will bring the unexpected, and change Dallas Holden's life forever.
K.S. - Where can we find your novel?
S.C. Lang - Wherever books are sold online, at www.sclang.com, or you can order it at your local bookstore.
K.S. - Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that we can visit?
S.C. Lang - I have a web site, www.sclang.com
K.S. - Do you have any closing advice to aspiring writers?
S.C. Lang - Write for yourselves and not what you think other people will enjoy. Follow your instincts and learn to take creative criticism with a smile and a thank you. Remember, writing is very time-consuming and difficult. However, it's supposed to be difficult, if it were easy everybody would do it. Be proud of your work and fight for it.
THE BOOK GIVEAWAY!
S.C. Lang has made available ONE free copy of his book Original Sin!
All you have to do is leave a comment, indicating you want to enter, and your email address.
Only one entry per person.
S.C. Lang will pick one lucky winner (at random) from the comment section.
If you do not wish to leave an email address, please make sure you are signed in to your blogger profile so we have some way to contact you.)
Winner will be announced no later than Monday March 29th.
Good Luck!