Louis Paul DeGrado

I have always been a story teller since the earliest times. I was the kid around the campfire or in the treehouse that everyone listened to for a scary or mysterious story. When I watched a movie or television and I'd want the story to continue or end differently, I'd write it in my head. Music has always been with me as well with first playing the saxophone and now a guitar. I started writing songs and poetry in high school and some of these turned into stories. I

I outlined multiple book ideas in high school but did not proceed to write them out fully until I was out of college and well into a career. Now, I have 15 books out, 5 plays and have written over 60 songs that I play routinely. Both poetry and songs are incorporated into many of my stories.

Most people are very surprised when they find out I have such a creative side because I have a business degree and most of my career has been in production. I'm one of those people that live in both sides of my brain.

My creative side just found all of these avenues appealed to me. In most of my stories, there is poetry and songs. I believe this will help me stand out as I get more readers: they can actually go online and listen to the songs and poetry that's in the books. Just like I have about ten books in my head at any given time, I have as many songs and poems always partially written just begging me to complete them. Without these, I just wouldn't be me.

I have binders with different titles that I keep. Some with book ideas. Others with songs and poetry. Many of these ideas are combined and the songs and poetry become stories. When I have an idea about a story or character, I just write it down and put it in the binder. Eventually, a story will have all the characters and enough scenes that I decide it's time to write it out. I never have writers block, just lack of time. I currently have four ongoing series that I'd like to continue and no less than ten other outlines of stories I'd like to finish but, unfortunately, I do not make enough off my writing to only do that so I have this distraction of a full-time job.

Everyone has a story to tell, most just don't write it down. It's the freedom of embracing out inner writer that allows us to take hold and even change our path by imagining multiple possibilities. Writing fiction in general is appealing because a writer's creative freedom isn't restricted by facts or research. However, many of my stories mix truth and fiction just to make the stories interesting. I grew up with Jules Verne, Frank Herbert, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica! Adventure and Science Fiction were in my programming!

I spend a considerable amount of effort to inspire and also teach without preaching in many of my books. The exception to this is my "Spookable Tales" series which was simply fun to write. I tend to write in action sequences and do not embellish but get to the point. This style is designed to appeal to those who may not enjoy reading, especially young readers. The best example of inspirational work is the juvenile work The Calling of The Protectors series which is a tale where many of the characters have to overcome obstacles such as fear, lack of confidence, strength, trust or self-doubt. It's truly laced with inspiring songs and meant to leave the reader feeling good. I expect to win more awards as I have more time to write. Getting noticed is the hard part.

I never have writer's block, just lack of time. I've always had a full time job and I've been a single parent for over two decades. I will most likely die with multiple stories unfinished the way I am going but have at least twenty more books outlined currently. I often envision the characters from these books as real; they are standing in the corner of my room just waiting for me to bring them to life.

It seems to come natural to me. In the last five years, I started writing plays and these are even more fun to put musing into! Sometimes, the lyrics come as I'm writing and other times, I have a song already written that I incorporate into the story. I've performed my songs at bookstores and schools many times. I also have them on youtube and was hoping this would help bring me an edge- still waiting though.

This is one of my favorite creations as I did all of the work myself, other than some of the background. Here, the reader can find information on my books including a "Behind the scenes look" into the creation of the work. I've spent a lot of time just building this section hoping it will add to the experience. I've also put a lot of poetry, lyrics to songs I've written, and even some information on stuff I enjoy doing including links to websites. In addition to the slideshows, the curious person will find an Easter Egg hidden! I can always tell if someone was really paying attention by the reaction to my slide show on "the Story of My life!"

Although I'm not widely known, I do have some consistent fans and people I've inspired and that makes all the difference in the world. The world needs more positive messages and I'm going to keep at it in my stories. I hope the multiple forms I am using will give me the ability to reach a wider audience being it through a song or a play.

The story was inspired by my relationship with my daughter who is growing up in "Dad's big world." Many of the songs in the story were written prior to the book. It was meant to inspire confidence in young people dealing with life's challenges.

Although I am an animal lover all around, I currently have cats and Mouse was really the name of one of my cats. Part of me wanted to help give cats a good name because there are so many misconceptions about them and even go back into the mythology of how they are protectors of our spirits.

The first book was originally "The Mighty Adventures of Mouse, the Cat," but started with her father so it was recommended that I change it. It gave me a lot of motivation to continue the series. I'm now working on the third installment.

Ah, my childhood. This story is based loosely on true events that happened to me when I was growing up. It was fun to write so I zoomed through it. I thought it would appeal to the local market as it takes place in my home town and for the most part, some of the schools took to it. I tell adults I wrote the story for my Fifth Grade self because so much of what the school had to offer was boring. This is an adventure story with some supernatural elements that keeps the reader interested.

Rewarding is when I've moved someone. Every once I a while I get a letter or comment from someone that really makes it all worthwhile. The most surprising aspect I've found is the lack of respect for authors as a whole. It's a shock and shame that society, parents specifically, don't support reading more. I'm also disappointed at the industry as a whole: It's almost impossible to get anyone to really look at your work unless you are already established or a celebrity of some type. And the scams are endless.

Do it for the joy and don't give up your job. Understand your message and target audience. Beware of the scams, there are more people trying to make money off of you without the ability to get you true results.

I will not be sticking to one story but will be continuing with a variety!

I've had no bad experiences with AllAuthor. It was an easy site to join and helped me spread the word about my work. It further allowed me to connect with other authors.