The Ballad of Clay Moore follows two people who investigate the mysterious appearance of a military grade plane near their land and find that certain people are ready to kill to keep it a secret. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

Every story needs a driving force, and I wanted to establish that early. In Chapter One, Clay is walking his dog on a quiet night when a mysterious plane lands nearby. His tranquil world is shattered, and Clay spends the rest of the book running and fighting and trying to get back to that peaceful scene.

Clayton Moore is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

I really enjoyed creating Clay Moore. This good-ol’-boy in over his head. I started playing around with his voice one day and kept throwing trouble at him to see how he’d respond.

Clay was a unique challenge for me because he comes from a world I’m not familiar with. I grew up in Ohio. I wrote this book in Malaysia. I’ve never been a rancher or a Texan or any of that, so it really took me outside my comfort zone. Along the way, Clay became this kind of subversive hero. He defies a lot of the typical action tropes, and I think that makes him really human.

Also his voice is just fire. I can’t wait to see who plays him in the movie 🙂

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

One of the main themes of this story is power. Who has it? What does it look like? What do they do with it? Clay and his friends go up against some nasty folks with outsized means. It seems like they’re overmatched, but through the course of the story they discover their own power to fight back in surprising and entertaining ways.

When and where will your book be available?

The Ballad of Clay Moore is live now on Amazon.com. It is available in ebook and paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFXCYHM3

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