Indie Publishing Group Author Interview with International Author, Lee Davis Jr.
Welcome to Indie Publishing Group, Author Lee Davis Jr., and welcome to our author interviews! Please start by introducing yourself to everyone, where you’re from, and a few of your interests and hobbies.
I’m Author Lee Davis Jr., a Florida native who now calls New Smyrna Beach home. By day, I work in IT infrastructure, which is about as boring as it sounds. My family and friends are the center of my world. My wife, D’Yan, and I have five adult children, three grandchildren, and a Bernedoodle named Bodhi, who would probably object to being listed last.
I’ve always loved good stories, and eventually one got stuck in my head and refused to leave. That became my first novel, Oath of the Osprey.
Outside of writing and the day job, I love traveling with my wife, spending time near the ocean, reading, and finding new adventures with family and friends.
What inspired you to start writing?
Stories, in every form. I love hearing them, reading them, and watching them on screen. I’ve always been drawn to stories that evoke real emotion.
I thought about writing for a long time before I finally gave it a real shot because I honestly wasn’t sure I could pull it off. But Oath of the Osprey was a story in my head that simply would not leave me alone. Eventually I decided the only way to find out whether I could write a novel was to actually write one.
What is your preferred genre to write in?
I write character-driven suspense/thrillers. Oath of the Osprey uses danger and suspense as the engine, but I care most about the characters. I like mixing tension and mystery with emotion,
friendship, loyalty, sharp humor, and ordinary people making difficult choices under pressure.
What is your writing process?
Messy. But I’ve learned quite a bit during this process. I’m taking a more structured and organized approach with Book 2.
With Oath, some scenes were in my head from day one. I knew roughly where the story started, where I wanted it to end, and even a few things that would happen in the middle. Then I had to connect the dots. That took a ridiculous amount of time, research, and brainstorming. So much that I’m concerned I may not have enough healthy brain cells left to write Book 2. Just kidding! I’m already on it.
Basically, I need enough structure to know where I’m going, but enough freedom for characters and unexpected ideas to change the route. Some of my favorite characters and moments were not part of the original plan.
What is one thing you wish you knew now that you didn’t know when you started writing?
That it’s completely normal to wonder what the hell you’re doing. LOL! I spent a lot of time feeling as though everyone else knew some secret about writing and publishing that I had somehow missed.
I quite literally fumbled, stumbled, and Googled my way through the process. I wish I’d understood sooner that you don’t have to know everything before you start. Learn the craft, listen to good editors and thoughtful readers, fix your mistakes, and keep moving forward.
What was the hardest part of self-publishing?
For starters, I’d probably change the question to, “What IS the hardest part of self-publishing?” because I am neck-deep in it right now. Every single day. It’s exhausting, LOL!
For me, the hardest thing is being patient. I don’t mind doing the work. Outreach, social media, podcasts, live events, interviews like this one, even speaking engagements. I know in my heart that the work will eventually pay off because I genuinely believe Oath of the Osprey is a great story that will resonate with a lot of people.
I just want the results today, not two years from now.
The other challenge has been setting realistic expectations and protecting my mental health along the way. I have to remind myself to take breaks, exercise, step away from the computer, and occasionally do something that has absolutely nothing to do with selling a book.
I still have a day job and a family, and juggling all of that with everything involved in self-publishing can sometimes leave me feeling overwhelmed and anxious. I’m learning this is a marathon, even though I’d much rather it be a sprint.
But one thing I know about myself: I’m persistent.
I will not stop until Oath of the Osprey is everywhere.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
I do read, although not as much as I want. A busy life, including writing and marketing a self-published book, is a huge time suck. I enjoy a variety of genres, though, and typically consume them via audiobooks. I tend to gravitate toward books with strong characters, momentum, suspense, and a story that makes me want to read one more chapter when I should really be going to sleep.
As a kid, I loved The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs, especially the Tarzan and Mars series. In my teens, I was a big Stephen King fan and loved the horror genre.
My bookcases are mostly full of books written by Ken Follett, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, Robert Ludlum, and Tom Clancy.
I am an unashamed huge fan of the Harry Potter wizarding world. Did I read all of the Twilight books and watch every movie? Yes! Same thing with George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Don’t even get me started on The Lord of the Rings. Love them all. I listened to all of Robert Jordan’s books in The Wheel of Time fantasy series.
Some of my favorite more recent authors are Andy Weir, Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, Jack Carr, and Gillian Flynn.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on book two. I probably shouldn’t say too much yet because I’m still at the stage where ideas are moving around, and characters can wreck my plans. What I can say is that I’m very much back inside that world, and I’m excited to spend more time with it.
How do you handle a bad review?
Well, first I groan, LOL! But then I step back and try to really understand their perspective and opinion. Then I decide what to do with the criticism.
Sometimes I just chalk it up to the fact that not everyone is going to like my story or the way I wrote it. Done. Other times, I stick it in my pocket because I think there is probably something I can learn from it.
I fully expect to get bad reviews. I’m an IT guy who loves reading and good stories, and one day decided I could write a book. I had no formal training, and when I started, I genuinely had no idea what I was doing. I learned along the way, made mistakes, listened to people who knew more than I did, and kept working to improve the book.
I also spent hundreds, probably more than a thousand, hours writing, researching, revising, editing, and polishing Oath of the Osprey. So while I know it won’t be the right book for everyone, I’m pretty damn proud of what I accomplished.
A bad review might sting for a little while. But it doesn’t get to take that away from me.
If you could choose one superpower, what would it be and why?
Time travel, for so many reasons.
I’d go back in time and make some very smart investments, so my family and I could be financially secure, but more importantly, I’d want to use that wealth and influence to do some real good in the world.
This answer could probably go on forever. Young Hitler might have a very unfortunate “freak accident” before he ever had the chance to rise to power. I’d look for ways to derail slavery and colonization, prevent wars before they started, feed people who are hungry, help cure diseases, and make sure every pet somehow ended up with a safe and loving home.
Then I’d travel into the future. I’d want to see my loved ones, meet the generations that came after us, and find out what became of the world.
And eventually, I’d have to know the big one: did humanity figure things out? Did we survive? Did the planet?
So yeah, time travel. I could keep going for hours.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do an author interview. Take a minute to check out Author Lee Davis Jr. in the links below:
Author Lee Davis Jr. Instagram
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