G. David Walker was unexpectedly born in Ulysses, Kansas on a bright, sunny morning in July of 1963, the youngest of four brothers and one sister. As the internet had not yet been invented when David was a young man, he instead devoured any science fiction or fantasy book that he could get his hands on, dreaming of different worlds, fantastical creatures and strange, alien beings. As an adult, he decided to forge into the realms he had only read about, creating his own worlds to explore.

He currently lives in southwest Missouri. For more information, visit his blog, Chasing Dragons in the Ozarks, at http://gdavidwalker.com/

Describe yourself in five words
Hm, that’s not as easy a question as it looks. I don’t think about myself all that often, but I’ll give it a shot. Five words, let’s see… Homebody, analytical, casual, observer, empathetic

What fact about yourself would really surprise people?  
People meeting me for the first time might find it hard to believe that I once performed in a rock band in Las Vegas. Doesn’t quite fit the quiet, mildly reserved image I have now.

How do you work through self-doubts and fear?
Self-doubt is definitely more crippling than fear. Basically, you just have to tell yourself that the only person you have to prove anything to in the end is yourself. I think of a line from “Facing the Giants” where a kid is afraid to try out for the football team. His father tells him, “What have you got to lose? You’re already NOT on the team.” You never have a chance to move forward until you take the first step.

What scares you the most?
Other then some more common phobias, what scares me the most is letting people down who rely on me.

Why do you write?
Too many ideas in my head not to. I’ve got a Word document with almost sixty pages of story ideas, scene snippets, dialogue, character ideas, and more. If I never added another word to the document, I have enough prompts to last the rest of my life. Of course, I’m always adding to it, so I’ll never run out of stories to tell.

Have you always enjoyed writing?  
I’ve always enjoyed the written word, whether that be reading, editing, proofreading or writing. In my younger years, I read voraciously. Then, I finally decided to start creating my own worlds for others to explore in the hopes that they would enjoy my stories as much as I enjoyed others’.

What writing are you most proud of?  
Anything that helps someone get away from the real world for a little while or anything that helps someone deal with problems they may be facing.

What books did you love growing up?   
Pretty much anything science fiction. Although I mainly write fantasy now, I grew up on sci-fi. Eventually, I’ll put some of my science fiction ideas down on paper too.

Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?  
In my younger years, we moved around a lot. My adoptive father was in construction, so by the time I finished fourth grade, I was living in my ninth city in my third state (Kansas, California, Missouri). After college, I moved to Las Vegas for about six years, but now I’m back in SW Missouri.

How did you develop your writing?
Write, write, and then write some more. I’ve read numerous books on the art of writing, even taken a couple of courses. But in the end, as they say, practice makes perfect, or if not perfect, at least better than before the practice.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?   
For me, the marketing is definitely the most challenging. As someone who prefers to stay behind the scenes, putting myself out in front of the world is a little difficult. But, as a self-published author, that just comes with the territory.

Do you find it hard to share your work?
Once it’s in a state where it’s ready to be shared, not really. The hard part is getting it to where I think it’s worth sharing. Rewriting sections, fixing mistakes and typos, filling plot holes, basically going over a manuscript again and again and again until I’m satisfied it’s worth putting out there.

What else do you do, other than write?
I also work as a software developer, at least until I get a movie deal, lol. I occasionally do some editing and/or proofreading for others as well.

What other jobs have you had in your life?
I did the obligatory stints in grocery and fast food in high school and college, along with a summer of putting up sheet metal siding. After college, I moved to Las Vegas and worked in casinos for a six years. Then back to Missouri where I took over a family health food store for a few years. After that, I worked for a door and window manufacturer, first in the glass shop, then as a factory order writer, then a Special Projects AutoCAD draftsman, before ending up in the IT department as an RPGLE programmer.

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?  
Other than writing? Probably psychology. I took a psych class my first year in college and thought it was interesting, but that wasn’t my major, so that was the only class I took on that subject.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I’m actually pretty happy where I’m at, but I would love to visit Scotland someday and have some authentic haggis in a pub.

How do you write – laptop, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?  
I still use a PC for my writing. If I go somewhere on vacation, I’ll move the docs to my laptop, but at home I use the PC. I know some writers feel more connected when they write by hand. I’ve tried it (had to one year when I forgot my laptop’s power cord), but I just prefer a keyboard.

How much sleep do you need to be your best?
I used to be able to function on five hours or so. Anything more than six or seven and I’d drag throughout the day. That was in my 20s and 30s. Now, I need at least seven to keep from being foggy-headed the next day.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?
Well, beyond the obvious answers of writing full-time and being debt-free, my idea of a really successful writing career would allow me to use my income to help others in need and/or to help revitalize our small town. J. K. Rowling money would do it, right?

If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?
These “who would you invite” questions are not as easy as they sound. I had to think about this for a while because there are SO many figures from history who would be fascinating to speak with. Okay, assuming the language barrier is magically removed, I’ll start with (from the past) Nikola Tesla, although he’d have to severely dumb down practically everything he might say. Then add Jules Verne, Mark Twain and Isaac Asimov. From the (currently) living, I suppose Henry Cavill, Liev Schreiber, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Bree Turner (the living are all actors I’d ask to be in the movie based on Jaben’s Rift, lol).

When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?
I read, I’m guilty of a bit of binge-watching science fiction series, and PC gaming.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?
I mainly want people to be able to get away from the world and its problems for a while. If I can make them smile or give them something (hopefully encouraging) to think about, so much the better. I just want them to enjoy their time in the worlds I create.