D. A. Featherling Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I retired some years ago from a variety of state and private jobs, mainly as an administrator. I owned my own home staging business for six years until a couple of years ago when I began to devote full time to writing. I live in a small town in Central Texas where rush hour consists of about 30 cars! Bliss after fighting metropolitan traffic for years. I’m single again and have one grandchild who lives in the same town as I do.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. In 1998/99, I read an article in Reader’s Digest talking about what someone would do as a preferred career if they could do anything they wanted – not considering education, time, training, etc. The thought that immediately flashed into my mind was “I’d write books.” It was a surprise since I’d never really thought about it before. I loved to read, but writing? Not on my radar then. It took a while after that before I finally decided to try and see if I could write a book or not.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?
A. I started writing on my lunch hours while still working full time. I attended seminars, acquired an agent for a couple of years, then life intervened – family illnesses – and writing became a dream rather than an attempt at a career. In January 2013 I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that if I wanted to be a published author, I needed to make the effort to publish the five or six books I’d already written. I decided to go the indie publishing route, and since 2013, I’ve published 14 books to date.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Eye of the Storm: The First Token?
A: I have a 12-year-old grandson and I wanted to write something for him to have after I’ve passed on. He loves time travel adventures so I began to brainstorm unused approaches to the topic. There are a lot of time travel novels out there for kids, so I really needed an idea that hadn’t been used before. Plus I am not around kids his age except for him, so I relied heavily on him for authenticity of language, etc. He was a great beta reader as well.

I also just released book 2 in my “It’s Murder at the Office” series. “Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and…Murder” is a continuation of the adventures of a temporary worker in a new job…and now confronting a new killer.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Eye of the Storm: The First Token?
A: As I said, I wanted to write something for my grandson as a legacy. I determined that no one had yet written a series where they send their characters into time via their physical proximity to a board game. So I designed a game board, with 12 different squares on it, and determined that I’d use the illustration in each square as the basis for a story. The first one I decided to use was a ship. I then started looking for an actual historical event that I could put my characters into and was blessed to find a great one that took place back in 1898 which wasn’t well known. It’s really fascinating and once I did the needed research, the story almost wrote itself.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: I really want to connect with potential readers in the 9 – 16 year-old bracket with this story. In the newspaper accounts of the event, it mentioned the crew praying during a storm so I wanted there to be a faith element for the hero/heroine twins in the book. I’m hoping readers will get the message that everyday people do pray, even younger ones their age, and that God hears and answers prayer. Sometimes in mighty ways.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?
A: I like one of the scenes about midway where the twins are captured and forced to row a lifeboat while being threatened by a man with a knife. They prove to be more than worthy opponents of the guy. I won’t say more to avoid a spoiler.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. At the risk of sounding trite, the Lord does. He gives me the ideas, a bit at a time, and when it’s time to start the book, I have the outline of many of the chapters already in my head. When I had my 2013 epiphany, I told myself that before I died or got too old, I wanted to see my name on a book. I quickly discovered I wanted to see my name on many books and, as I said, I’ve seen it fourteen times to date. My goal in writing has always been to see a smile on someone’s face when they finish the last page of one of my books and close the cover. That’s success for me.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?
A: For those who are old enough, I suppose Jessica Fletcher in the TV show “Murder She Wrote” was the epitome of a novelist…famous, fans everywhere, long lines at book signings, people clamoring for her next novel. Reality has shown me writing is actually hard work, takes a lot of effort, and doesn’t always have a line at every book signing. Not a Jessica Fletcher existence for most but satisfying when someone does recognize you at the grocery or mentions a previous book of yours that they’ve read and loved…

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?
A: Read! Read everything you can get your hands on…especially in the genre in which you want to write. I firmly believe if you aren’t a reader, you’ll never be a writer. Also, don’t be bound by conventions. If you want to write in multiple genres (as I do) go for it. My readers have had no problems with switching from one genre to another with my books. I let my imagination have free rein and as a result find fodder for my stories everywhere.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m brainstorming Book 2 in the “Time Game Series” – the kid’s time travel adventure series. It will be “Mission to Mars” where I’ll send the kids to the red planet in the year 2040 or thereabouts. After that, I’m already shaping a romantic comedy that I’ve had on my mind for several years. Just for a change of pace. And then there are a couple of more mysteries needed to make books three in my two mystery series.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. I love to read. Always have. Always will. To me, a book takes me to another world and allows me to expand my horizons into areas/places I’d not have known otherwise. I also like to spend time with the grandson I mentioned and go on the occasional shopping spree with my sisters.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?
A. My website is: www.dafeatherling.com . The kids’ series will have its own website by January 1, 2017. It will be www.TimeGameSeries.com

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. I’ve talked a lot about my new project (kids’ books) but all of my other books have been for adults. I have two different mystery series (one based on my experiences as a home stager), a romantic comedy series, an end times series, a romance, and a non-fiction book about a true cold case murder that took place in the town in which I now live back in 1930. Having a number of chronic health obstacles to overcome (like fibromyalgia) gives me incentive to write as long as my mind’s active and fertile. I hope that continues for a long time to come.