Interview with Fletcher Best, author of 'The Eight Fingered Fiend of Lake Porker' & Win $25 Amazon Card!

Fletcher Best is an American author of humorous fiction and science fiction.  He is the author of the Stranded In Time series of science fiction novels, including Pirates of the Storm, The Corpornation, and the upcoming third installment, Timeless.  His humorous works include Sniffing Out Stink Ape, The Great Chupacabra Kerfuffle, and The Eight Fingered Fiend of Lake Porker.

In addition to his novels, Fletcher Best also writes short stories that are published exclusively for the enjoyment of visitors to his website, FletcherBest.com.  These include the popular, Manatee Vengeance - Blood at the Boat Launch, Alien Invasion of the Zombie Apocalypse, Operation Black Friday, and A Fabulous Business Opportunity.

Born in Miami, Florida, Fletcher has lived in Texas since 1988.  He (or more correctly, his real-life alter-ego George Best) attended Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas before beginning a chiropractic practice in San Antonio in 1992.  He has resided in San Antonio ever since and now lives in sin with his girlfriend and their 4 cats (the sin being strictly with the girlfriend, not the cats). 

Readers are invited to connect with Fletcher through his website at http://www.FletcherBest.com. 

Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

In addition to writing, I maintain a part-time practice as a doctor of chiropractic.  I also run a membership website that provides guidance and treatment advice to people suffering from sciatica.  In my leisure time, I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and fishing, as well as less active pursuits like going to the movies. 

When did you start writing?

I actually began writing as a teenager, but I never published anything from that time.  A few years ago the writing bug bit once again and I started self-publishing my books.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

Probably just making the decision to go forward with self-publishing rather than worrying about trying to get accepted by a publisher.  In the short-run self-publishing means it will take a lot of time and effort to be discovered and to build a fan base, but in the long run it presents a lot of opportunity.

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?

Since I love Roatan, Honduras and the ideas I have for my next book involve a setting on a fictitious Caribbean island, Roatan would be an excellent place to start writing that book.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Since it’s a really nice day today, I’d probably go out to one of the local nature parks and go for a hike. 

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

Probably Japan since the Japanese seem a bit quirky and that vibe would fit with my offbeat humor.

Back to your present book, The Eight Fingered Fiend of Lake Porker, how did you publish it?

As I mentioned, I am a self-publisher, and so that’s the route I’ve taken with The Eight Fingered Fiend.  I initially released it in print through Createspace and it will be released in all major ebook formats (Kindle, Nook, etc.) on March 26, 2014.

In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?

No, in this case the book is set pretty close to home.  I live in San Antonio and I loosely based the town of Lake Porker on various places in Central and South Texas that I’ve been to over the years. 

Why was writing The Eight Fingered Fiend of Lake Porker so important to you?

I started out my self-publishing career with a science fiction series called Standed In Time and part way into the third book of the series, I realized that I really enjoyed writing the humorous scenes in those books the most.  Since I’ve always enjoyed the outlandish humor of writers like Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen, I decided I’d take a shot at writing something like what they write.  As I developed the basic concept of the book, I really had fun with it and I think that’s the direction I’ll probably focus on with my writing for the most part from here on out.   

Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?

My best ideas come from just the things I observe in my daily life that seem a bit odd or amusing and then I make certain associations between them in my mind.  For example, the idea for The Eight Fingered Fiend came from a couple of things I happened to come across within a few weeks of each other.  Part of the idea was from a discussion of Japanese tentacle porn on the Tokyo episode of the television show, Anthony Bourdain:  Parts Unknown, and part came from an online story I read about unconfirmed reports of freshwater octopuses in lakes in Oklahoma.

Other good ideas come from just day dreaming and looking for humorous or oddball takes on the mundane. 

I don’t know of any particular reason why I get my ideas that way, it’s just the way it happens. 

Any final words?

Thank you for allowing me to participate on your website.  If any readers want to find out more about me or my books, or get a taste of my writing from my free short stories, they are invited to visit my website FletcherBest.com.

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