VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Dan Willis wrote his first work of fiction at the tender age of ten and has been creating fantastic tales ever since. Recently he wrote for the long running DragonLance series. his current project is a Steampunk Civil War series entitled, Dragons of the Confederacy, with NYT best-selling author, Tracy Hickman. Willis lives in Utah with his wife and four children.   VS: What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Dan: I write when my kids are in school & my wife’s at work.   Then, when they all come home, I’ve got dinner ready and we can have family time together.   When I worked and wrote, I’d have to cut down how much writing I did in order to keep my priorities straight. VS: How long have you been writing? Dan: I started writing seriously in 2004, left to pursue other interests in 2008 and came back to it in 2011.   I did write in between, but not seriously, I started several books in that time, but I ...

It has often been said that writing is a pursuit best undertaken as a hobby or a genuine passion, with any financial gains resulting from it being viewed as a bonus. Although almost every writer, whether specializing in fiction or non-fiction, likely dreams of fortune, fame and topping a best-sellers list, the contrasting reality for many is that their writing barely pays the bills, even if they have a supreme talent. The writing profession as a whole is sometimes overly romanticized and writing is perceived to be one of the elite arts, with the printing press offering people a chance of immortality. When people speak of great writers, images of Shakespeare or Milton spring to mind, yet, on the flip side, there are a host of talented writers who have failed to achieve such far-reaching success and influence, or have failed to make money from writing during their lifetimes, despite seemingly having the talent to do so. It is clear, therefore, that the difference bet...