Holy cow – what an honor to have today’s 3Q’s Special Guest here!

I’ve said it a number of times, but it blows my mind when some of the authors I reach out to agree to do these and it warms my heart to see them have fun with it and participate. Today’s author has written some of the most powerful fiction out there over the last number of years. His work moves the reader, frightens them and makes them question why they read it and when can they read more.

I’m so excited to welcome Nathan Ballingrud!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Nathan: I work best in the mornings, but I’m not militant about that. Sometimes it’s mid-day, sometimes it’s at night. It depends on the circumstances. I try to hit a minimum of 500 daily. Usually I’ll go over, but on days when everything I write seems like garbage, 500 is an achievable goal. Even though it might take me a while to get there. I also have several projects going on at the same time, so if I get bogged down in one, I can switch to another. I leave myself no excuses that way. Something is going to get done.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?
Nathan: I would absolutely share it. Art is not meant to be hoarded.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Nathan: My first novel is The Strange, coming in March of 2023. It takes place on Mars in 1931, and is about a girl whose life is turned upside down first by a catastrophic event that affects the whole colony, and then by a more specific attack on her family. Unsatisfied by the response of people around her, she decides to seek restitution herself. It might not be the story people expect from me, but I think if people give it a chance they’ll see it’s coming from the same place as everything else I’ve written: conflicted characters, an uncertain moral center, and the loss of preciously held assumptions. And there’s an undercurrent of horror in there too, because I am who I am.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?
Nathan: The Gargoyle. I could hang from the sides of walls or perch atop buildings, watching everyone around me with a sympathetic objectivity. I would yearn to be one of them, but my distance, horrible countenance, and stony heart would make me forever grotesque and unapproachable. It’d produce some good stories though.

What an amazing response!

Thank you so much, Nathan!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBallingrud

Website: https://nathanballingrud.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Ballingrud/e/B00E7I2OGY