Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I got into writing when I was a senior in high school. I entered a poetry contest, and even though I didn’t win, I received great reviews. From then on, I only wanted to write poetry.
I went to the Navy two weeks after high school decided to turn poems into raps. I wasn’t bad, but obviously I wasn’t good enough to make a dent in the music industry. I called my style of rap, psycho rap, and made a song called The Hangman.
When I got out of the Navy, four and a half years later, the writing bug hit me again. I wondered how I could make the Hangman into a novel. However, I wrote two other books before the Hangman, called Cloning Around and Forbidden Love. The love story was dedicated to my sister because she died of cancer, and I wanted to make sure it was the first book I published even though I’d finished Cloning Around first.
I moved to Denver, Colorado and went to college to study creative writing. I got married and had two beautiful daughters, Nadia, and Nicole. I then wrote The Hangman but developed a serious case of writers bloc soon after. It lasted for years. Tragedy struck again when I was shot in the Aurora Theater Shooting. I was shot in the shoulder, which required a metal plate, and in the back, which caused nerve damage and I developed drop foot syndrome.
I thought my life was over until I met a young man named Panhnha Tran and offered to write a book, based off his idea, Then I thought, “I want to finish my own books”. So, with his help, we developed a follow-up book to the Hangman called The Grand Librarian: Life of an Immortal. It was a standalone book, but I tied it to the Hangman story, and the Hangman Universe (HMU) was born. I couldn’t stop writing either. Eight books later, on March 21st, I published The Hangman: Vengeance, book ten, and ended the series. I had a blast.
What inspired you to write your book?
Susan Taki: The New Coven is the eighth book in the HMU series. I didn’t promote it as much as I should have. I always thought of it as just a gateway book between The Death Brothers: A Supernatural Awakening and The Hangman Vengeance. However, a brilliant voice actor named Jeremy Olivier narrated The Death Brothers book. I thought he did an amazing job! He convinced me to continue the audiobook story of the HMU and I agreed. So, Susan Taki lived through his words.
What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
The message I want people to take away from the book is that good can triumph over evil. Love doesn’t require specific genders. And hang the rules. Fantasy is just that…fantasy. If you have a good story to tell, then tell it the way you envisioned.
What drew you into this particular genre?
I’ve always loved fantasy with supernatural elements my whole life. I’m a huge comic book fan. Anyone with abilities or powers… I’m hooked.
If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
If I could sit down with any character in my book, it would Jericho Caine, the vampire slayer. I think he is badass. And I would ask them, why are you such a badass? I think he has the coolest one-liners, and his wit is unmatched.
What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Facebook has been the social media site that has been most helpful in developing my audience. I think it’s because the readers from India and Columbia are the ones that contacted me first about my writing.
What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
My advice to aspiring or just starting authors would be to just get the story out of your head and on paper. Editing is important but save it for later. I can’t count how many times I got caught up so much into a scene I was writing that I smiled the entire time. That let’s me know that it’s a good scene.
What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I believe my future is bright. Right now, I have just released a space opera on Kindle Vella entitled, Hut-Yo Cull: The Hunt Begins. I’m almost finished with the follow-up to Cloning Around called, Special Agent Robert Bassett: Accepting Commonology. I’m also working on another book about people with abilities called, The Bad Guys about a group of villains.
About the Author
Dee Rose was born on July 5th and resides in Denver, CO. He is the father of two daughters. “They are my life.” He says. He attended Metro State University of Denver, where he majored in Political Science. The Hangman is his third published novel and he plans to make it into a series. “Novels like the Hangman are the reason I started writing in the eleventh grade. I love taking readers on an incredible journey.”
https://www.facebook.com/DeeRoseBooks