Today, we meet Rick Kurtis, a United States-based author, writing books for all ages and genres. We worked with him on one of his last books published on Amazon - Twisted Bwitch, for which I created the cover.
Greed, sex, intrigue! A captivating thriller with unexpected twists and turns around every corner. Are you intrigued? Then read what’s next.
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Rick, you’re an author of many books, but can you tell us more about yourself first. How did you get started writing? What do you do when you’re not writing?
Good Morning, Donika.
Thanks for having me on your blog.
I started writing at the age of fifteen, but it all fell to the wayside because of life, marriage, work, and raising five children. I still scribbled things down periodically and kept them filed away. It wasn’t until recently when the grandchildren came over to play that I wanted them to have fun and something to do, so I made adventure games for them to act out in the backyard, which led to writing them down. Then I would make it into a readable book so they could learn to read, and to relive that adventure over, and over again. This hobby strengthened my passion, and I brought out all those scribbles from long ago and filled in the blanks. I took a few writing courses, and here we are with eighteen published books so far.
My normal nine to five job is being a porter for a coffee shop inside the Las Vegas airport. One of the assignments given in writing class was to write what you know, which in turn brought about the book, Airport Terror. That was a fun one.
Among your books, we find thrillers, children’s books, love stories, as well as novels on religious themes. Did I miss anything? Tell us, what motivates you to write all these stories? From where do you get your inspiration? And in which of all these genres do you like to write the most?
My religious series Day of the Cross came to me in a dream where I was that boy who walked with Jesus. I vowed to publish that first. During that time religion was being taken out of schools and many kids ran out of control with lax-a-daisy guidance. I remembered when I was young and my mind was open, my parents raised me with good Christian values, to which I have passed down to my children, who now pass it on to my grandchildren, so I have a Children’s series to not only teach children to read, but to give them a quality set of values to live by. The only reason that they are not out yet is I need drawings for children, but they will get there soon.
A lot of my inspiration comes from dreams, like Little Lost Girl, Day of the Cross, Monkey Skull Mountain, Daniel Peters, And of course, Twisted Bwitch. The children’s series, Jesus in my Pocket comes from real situations in my life when I was very young.
I really don’t have a favorite genre, and all my books have had high praise. The Wild Boys series was inspired by my own children, and I had a lot of fun bringing them to life. I think writing for children is my best genre, because, I guess I still haven’t grown up, even though I am sixty-four, now. I always say, “A child’s happiness comes first.”
What a great motto. Tell me more about your book, Twisted Bwitch - I love this title! It looks terrific on the cover. Very catchy. I would like to know more about this novel, which was released in February 2021, and will there be a sequel?
Yes, you did a terrific job on designing the cover. It went so smooth, and you understood exactly what I was going for. During college, our professor wanted us to write a screenplay using only four characters or less, a Fem Noir, intriguing, hot, and exciting. At first I didn’t know what I was going to do, but then had this wild and crazy dream where a rich couple moved out to a secluded two million dollar home, next to a lake. They were getting settled in, and a neighbor dropped in for a visit. She was hot, sexy, and had her own agenda which took the couple off in a whole new direction. My professor wanted a twist toward the end, a surprise, so I gave this screenplay a triple twist of intrigue and mystery. Just thinking about it makes my heart thump. Many people who read it as a screenplay said it was so good they wanted me to write it as a book, so I did, adding much more detail, drama, and suspense. At the end, I tied it up with a big bow, but left it open for a possible second book, Twisted Bwitch Revenge. Again with three characters, and a triple twist scenario. It gets better, but not until I get time to write.
The writing life often is tough and lonely. What kind of obstacles have you faced along the way, and what have you done about them?
The writing is the easy part, it flows from my pen like water, and everyone who have read my work have thoroughly enjoyed my books. I have learned a lot, and now publish my own work after being hornswoggled by vanity publishers. The only hard part is getting noticed in a sea of over ten million other authors. Advertising only makes other companies rich with very little sales for us authors, and we have already invested thousands just to share our work. I know that my books have sold as far away as England, Germany, China, Japan, and Australia. I have friends in Canada, Brazil, Ukraine, and all over the United States who love what I post. But posts do not always make a sale. The computer helps to connect, but getting the right algorithm, or the right keywords is an ongoing process of trial and error, taking up a lot of time away from writing. For me, that is the hard part. Last year I posted once a week all the problem and solutions that I faced in order to help other authors, saving them from high costs, or to let them know what to look out for. It is still on my website for anyone to read for free.
Yes, marketing requires time and constant research, because nowadays algorithms change every day and everything is constantly improving. Tell us, what can we expect next from your keyboard?
At the moment I have just finished up with the Wild Boys fifth book, Coming of Age. Depending on the demand I might do a family reunion with them coming home with their own children and have a whole new adventure. I am waiting on my cover art to be done. Also I have started a new children’s author, PJ Richards who is trying to release up to ten books this year. They are all great stories, and adventures for kids. They teach wholesome moral values, and still excite and delight children from around the world. PJ Richards’ first two releases are already for sale, Dick Flick, Super Adventurer; Lost in Time, and the second book, In the Galapagos. A master detective with a bullwhip. Next is a little wood elf named Twinkles who has to save his village from an evil overlord, despite his small size.
Sounds interesting! And where can people buy your books? How can readers contact you or learn more about you and your books?
All my books are available on Amazon and Kindle in twelve and fourteen countries under Rick Kurtis author page, and PJ Richards author page. I keep my prices low, even though Print on Demand and Amazon take the biggest cut, and I make very little. I just want to share, and give people a great read. You can read short stories, and a few books for free on my website. On my website you can stay connected by signing up for my newsletter, or following on Facebook, the only way I can afford to advertise my up and coming books. If you are a reader and want more than just me, I have set up a group site on Facebook called Rick Kurtis Books Forum where I am trying to help other new authors to get noticed. I do what I can to share my advice and knowledge with others who are also struggling to be noticed.
Thank you, Donika for the wonderful, bewitching cover that you did for my book, Twisted Bwitch. It does get people’s attention, and thank you for taking this time to give me a shout-out, to all your fans. I truly appreciate the time and effort that you dedicate to your clients.
Thank you for participating, Rick. I believe that the readers were interested in learning a little more about you and your books. I wish you success!
