KEEP CALM and CARRY ON WRITING with GERALD BRANDT

IN KEEPING WITH THE THEME of what writers do after they've finished a book, I've been asking a few of my friends if they take a break or move on to their next project. Gerald Brandt, who's debut novel The Courier through DAW Books (and which I thought was terrific), has this to say:

"When I'm in the middle of writing a novel, I can't think of anything else. When I'm finished a novel, I want to think about anything but. I've been away from the real world and my family for so long, especially near the end of the writing process, that all I want to do is relax and just be for a while. I'll avoid going into my office, and if I do, I just do Facebook and email, maybe some Twitter.

Eventually I'll notice my six foot by four foot white board is still covered in sticky notes. My office floor is layered in paper. I've got a box in the corner that has every printed copy of the novel in it, complete with edit marks. I start to go crazy.

The first thing to go is the sticky notes. They've all been transcribed into a spreadsheet months ago anyway. Then the place gets a general tidying. Almost everything goes except the box in the corner. It's waiting for copy edits from my editor, maybe an ARC, and the finished book before it gets put away.

For book two of the San Angeles Series, The Operative, I didn't have time to unwind. My schedule was tight, and I had to get book three started right away. My body found ways to enforce the required time I needed to unwind, and in doing so, actually made the down time longer than what I was used to. I'll know better next time."

Thanks, Gerald. His next book in his San Angeles series, The Operative, through Penguin Group USA, will be available November, 2016. If it's as action-packed and thrilling a read as his debut novel, The Courier, it's going to be a fantastic book.

Gerald's Bio: Gerald Brandt is an international best-selling author of Science Fiction and Fantasy. By day, he's an IT professional and coding guru. In his limited spare time, he enjoys riding his motorcycle, rock climbing, camping, and spending time with his family. You can find Gerald online at geraldbrandt.com.