Bobby Nash’s author bio:
Bobby Nash is an award-winning author, artist, and actor. He writes comic books & graphic novels, novels, short stories, audio scripts, screenplays, and more. Bobby is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, International Thriller Writers, and Southeastern Writers Association. On occasion, he appears in movies and TV shows, usually standing behind your favorite actor. For more information, please visit Bobby at www.bobbynash.com, www.ben-books.com, and across social media.
Introduce yourself; who are you and what types of books do you write?
Hi. I’m Bobby Nash. I have been a professionally published author for almost thirty years now. Yikes! Where did the time go, huh? I write novels, comic books, graphic novels, short stories, full-cast audio dramas, and a few short film scripts. My books tend to be character based with action/thriller elements. I have been fortunate to be able to write in multiple genres, which is fun. I write crime, thrillers, action, adventure, pulp, horror, sci-fi, media tie-ins, and more. It’s a fun job. I love it.
What are your books about?
My books tend to focus on characters. Plot’s important, but it’s how the characters deal with the plot that makes the story. I love writing stories about good vs. evil, good guys and bad guys, solving a mystery or a crime, usually with action and adventure. I love writing action.
First and foremost, my goal as a writer is to tell stories that entertain readers. I’m not pushing agendas or anything like that. Sometimes, those things fall into character, but my goal is simply to tell a story that readers will enjoy. It’s all about having a good time. That’s what I look for when I decide which book to read so that’s how I approach writing. I want my readers to enjoy themselves.
What was the inspiration behind writing your first book?
The very first novel I wrote was a sci-fi story and it was hot garbage. I didn’t really know what I was doing so it came out fairly cliched and lacking in any real character development. That said, I finished it, which gave me the confidence to write another one. I learned a lot from the failures of my first attempt. I also took a night writing class while working on my second novel. That became my first published novel, Evil Ways, a suspense thriller which debuted in 2005. Before that, I had been writing comic books exclusively. Evil Ways really kicked my writing career into high gear. It holds a special place in my heart because of that.
What did you learn while writing your second book?
After Evil Ways, I took what I learned, both successes and failures, and used them to write a new story, though I played it safe and stayed in the same genre. Deadly Games! is also a thriller, but where Evil Ways was a suspense thriller with a mystery, Deadly Games! was an action thriller with a mystery. A real gamble, I know. Ha! Ha!
With Evil Ways, I started learning how to create characters and make them feel real. In Deadly Games!, I learned how to trust those characters, which opened up some amazing story possibilities I hadn’t originally planned for in the beginning. Those moments made the story so much better than originally plotted. Those wonderful moments only happened because I allowed myself to trust my characters to get me where I needed to go. I just listened to them and wrote down what they said. Easy, right? The lessons learned writing that book still help me to this day.
What is the most rewarding part of being an author?
Being an author has allowed me to meet some wonderful people who I might not have encountered otherwise. I get to travel for conventions, signings, and events thanks to my writing. I have encountered many wonderful people in my travels. Many have become great, lifelong friends. If writing gives me nothing else, having these people in my life is more than worth it.
What elements do you think make for a good story?
For me, everything starts with character. I get to know my characters very well. They become real people to me. That way, when I drop a character into a plot, the character and how he or she handles the plot determines how the story unfolds. A friend once told me that story was when plot and character meet and I absolutely believe this to be true so that’s where I start. Plot is also important, but when writing a series, it’s the characters the readers respond to and want to come back and read in a new story. Location is also important. Where the story is located sets a tone as well. Those are great elements to start with and then build on.
What is the hardest part of being an author for you?
Finding an audience. I am fortunate to have a small reading audience. I love them all. Part of my daily work is trying to find new avenues to expand my audience and reach new readers. Part of that is marketing and promotion. Another part is outreach. I do conventions, podcasts, virtual panels, interviews, radio shows, TV talk shows, give talks at libraries and bookstores. Things like that. All of that is part of my job as a writer. Making time to write can also be a challenge. I make sure to carve out time every day devoted to writing or writing-related work.
What is your current writing project?
I always have multiple projects going at any given time. At the moment, I am writing a five-part comic book series for one publisher, a one-shot comic script for another, doing two serialized novellas for Patreon (a chapter of each every week), a short story I’m researching, and doing edits/rewrites on a novel. Plus, there are pitches to be written and sent out for future projects and you never know when edits or notes on an old project will come in from the publisher. I like to say that writing isa lot like juggling.
What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Someone once impressed upon me the importance of learning how to promote and talk about my books and gave me a few pointers to help get me started. I was asked, “Who cares about your books more than you?” That was an eye-opener. Absolutely stellar advice. Publishing has changed in regards to marketing and promotion. Authors are expected to do the vast majority of it. You have to be able to get out there and share your work. It’s vital. Social media is only a small part of it. Social media only allows you to reach a small audience. You have to get out there where the readers are so they can see you, see your work. It’s a learned skill. When I started, I was very shy. I had to teach myself how to get out there and talk to people. You are the best advertisement for your writing.
Where can readers discover more about you and your books?
I am all over the place. www.bobbynash.com is the hub for all things me and my work. You can find book write ups, covers, links, reviews, interviews, events where I’ll be, art, acting news, etc. I keep it updated on a fairly regular basis.
www.ben-books.com is the home of my indie publishing house, BEN Books. These are the books I publish myself.
Some other links that might be of interest:
www.facebook.com/AuthorBobbyNash
www.instagram.com/bobbynashwrites
www.threads.net/@bobbynashwrites
https://bsky.app/profile/bobbynashwrites.bsky.social
http://amazon.com/author/bobbynash
www.goodreads.com/author/show/211548.Bobby_Nash
www.youtube.com/channel/UCrf2hFXHxYac6y9KRT2nfFw