Wednesday, March 30, 2016

STOPWATCH STORIES by M. Todd Gallowglas

I first met Mr. Gallowglas at an author event, and not only has he been instrumental in motivating my writing, I've learned a great deal from him in a short time. His new flash fiction book, Stopwatch Stories Vol. 1, debuted at the beginning of March, and he will be publishing one a month for the rest of 2016. He also has a few published series that are extremely well-written, and worth checking out.


Brevity is the soul of wit. - Shakespeare

Within this book you will find thirty-one stories written with this quote in mind. For 2016, I decided to challenge myself to create a flash fiction story every day for the whole year. So far I've been on track. You will find these stories brief, and hopefully some of them witty as well. This is a complete collection of the stories I wrote in January. Going forward. I will publish each month's stories as an ebook, and then collect them all in an omnibus edition, available in print and Ebook in early 2017.



You've published multiple series, including books with WordFire Press. What is your method for balancing a wide variety of projects, and how do you decide where to prioritize your focus?

First: What do I have specifically on deadline, because bills have to get paid. After that, really it's whatever I'm having the most fun with. If I'm not having fun writing, the reader probably isn't going to have reading. I know some of my readers would like me to get back to some of the series that I haven't put out in a while, but I think in the long run, they'll be more appreciative of something that's full of the wonder and imagination when I'm having grand time composing.

Retaining the fun is definitely one of the most important things an author can do. In what ways has flash fiction enhanced your craft, and what have you learned from doing it?

Flash fiction forces me to get down to the core of an idea. With a piece that's striving to be a couple hundred words, a thousand at most, I don't have any words to waste. It also allows me to experiment without the commitment of a short story or a novel. It's easier to play around and push my limits and boundaries.

At Silicon Valley Comic Con, you did an excellent job of moderating a writer's panel. What suggestions, if any, do you have for newer authors interested in being on panels?

Contact the event and let them know that you are interested in doing panels. Let them know what subjects you feel qualified to speak on. Don't try to get on any panel that comes up. You do better by speaking well on one panel that you're well acquainted with than you are four panels were you don't have much to say. Remember that at the beginning of your career, you're a small fish in a VERY big pond. Show up. Speak well. Don't try to dominate the conversation. Do that, and you'll gain more notice and pretty soon, events will contact you to come and speak. Putting out quality work helps.

Very useful tips! What are some of your current projects?

Continuing my flash fiction story a day, which I'll be putting out in my Stopwatch Stories collections. Vol. 2 is releasing April 5. I start grad school in April as well. As soon as I finish the rewrite of my first two Tears of Rage books for WordFire press, who picked up the series, I'm going to try and tackle Halloween Jack and the Red Emperor.

Sounds like you have a lot of irons in the fire, and having read the first in the Halloween Jack series, I'm excited for more! Thanks so much for your answers! 

For those interested in some gritty fantasy, Mr. Gallowglas's serialized novel Dead Weight is available on Amazon. Or, feel free to check out some of his other series:

First Chosen Once We Were Like Wolves Arms of the Storm
Tears of Rage (3 books)
by
3.88 avg rating — 377 ratings

Halloween Jack and the Devi... Halloween Jack and the Curs...
Halloween Jack (2 books)
by
4.07 avg rating — 129 ratings



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