Feature Friday: Dan Haring

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE FREEDOM TO READ GIVEAWAY/HOP, GO HERE.

Dan has been drawing and writing for most of his life. He earned his degree in animation from BYU and has worked on such films as The Incredible Hulk and Disney's Tangled. He's from a tiny town in Utah called Goshen, and currently lives in Southern California with his wife and children...However, I've recently learned that Dan is going to be moving to Connecticut.  Three cheers!

The Interview:

A.L.:

What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Dan:

Read, write, live life. Explore and take chances and let your

experiences inform your work.

A.L.:

What’s your favorite book and why?

Dan:

Oh wow, that's hard. I'm going to have to cheat and say it's a tie

between On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.

I love traveling, I love going out and seeing things, and On the Road

really speaks to that part of me, that hunger for seeing what's out

there. And The Lord of the Rings because I love fantasy and it's

amazing. I hope to someday create a world as incredible as

Middle-Earth.

A.L.:

Have you always wanted to be a writer? What came first, the desire to draw or the desire to write?

Dan:

Drawing came first. I grew up surrounded by people who could draw. My

grandma, my mom and dad, and my older brother and sister were all

artists of one sort or another, so that developed at an early age and

was always something I was drawn toward. I didn't ever really think of

myself as a writer until I started writing Oldsoul a few years ago.

But all through high school and beyond I wrote a ton of poetry, and I

even recently found a fantasy story that I had started in 8th grade.

So I guess the writing has always kind of been there, but art was the

primary pursuit.

A.L.:

Scale of 1-10, how absolutely awesome is your job?

Dan:

Haha. There are times, especially toward the end of a movie, when

we're working 80-hour weeks and things are breaking and the director

is giving ridiculous notes, when it's probably about a 5. (Because

really, I can't complain too much about sitting at a computer and

making movies for a living) But the rest of the time, especially being

able to work on a movie like Tangled, and seeing how much people love

it and knowing I was a part of creating that, then it's much higher

than a 10.

A.L.:

Where did you get the idea for Oldsoul?

Dan:

It basically started with the term “old soul”, meaning someone who is

wise beyond their years. I thought that someone who had a bunch of

dead people’s spirits living inside him might have reason to be

considered an old soul. It was something that I didn't think had been

done before, and it just kind of grew from there.

A.L.:

Did you experience any issues when writing Oldsoul? How did you

overcome them?

Dan:

There were a few points where I got stuck and didn't know where to go.

(I had a very, very loose outline and just pantsed the rest) I would

stop writing, sometimes for a week or two, trying to figure out how to

move on. But without fail, whenever I actually sat down and got back

to the manuscript and started writing, I was able to sort things out.

So I learned that I need to write my way out of those situations, even

if I don't end up solving the problem right away.

A.L.:

Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Dan:

Most of the poetry I wrote was pretty emo stuff about girls and

relationships and things of that nature. About ten years ago I got

married and went to school for animation, and between being happy in

my relationship and working like crazy to get my degree, the poetry

fell by the wayside. Then one night, about four years ago, I sat down

and wrote what ended up as the first chapter of Oldsoul. I enjoyed

doing it, and decided to try to write a whole book, and it went from

there. It's still kind of weird to think I wrote a book.

A.L.:

So, your main character, Jason, is able to channel many different souls at once. 

 How did you manage this? Did it feel a little bit like writing a schizophrenic?

Dan:

Though he can channel all the souls within him, Jason really only

interacts with one of them, a girl named Erin, so it didn't get too

hectic. The hardest part was making sure it was clear who was doing

the talking. It was actually really fun going back and forth between

the two of them.

A.L.:

Which of the characters in Oldsoul is your favorite and why?

Dan:

Jason and Erin. I really like the relationship they have, and think

they make a great team. Neither would be complete without the other to

play off of.

A.L.:

What are you working on now? The sequel? Something new?

Dan:

I just finished up the first draft of a Middle Grade fantasy that I'm

really excited about. But I can't really say anything about it.

Hopefully soon though. There's definitely another Oldsoul story

bouncing around my head, but it's fighting with another MG fantasy and

a graphic novel and some other stuff, so we'll see which one wins.

The Giveaway:
We're giving away a copy of Dan's debut novel, Oldsoul!

Oldsoul: Jason Gouvas doesn’t want to believe he has special abilities or that he's an Oldsoul-- a vessel for the souls of people who have passed away, but the dead girl in his mind can be very persuasive.

Her name is Erin, and through her Jason is able to access the knowledge and skills of the souls within him. And with a group of power-hungry immortals bent on destroying the Oldsouls and overthrowing humanity, he's going to need them all.

Read Goodreads reviews.
Buy it on Barnes and Noble.
Buy it on Amazon.


How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter.  Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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