Darren Simon

For some inexplicable reason, at the age of 52 I have decided to try my hand at golf. I have never really played golf—maybe the miniature kind now and then, and I think once like 15 years ago I might have played a round of actual golf really poorly. So believe me when I say, I suck at it. I’ve been hitting a local golf range for about two weekends now as I am in no way ready to actually play the game of golf. Still, I’ve been going on each weekend morning around 6:45 a.m. to hit a couple …

Where did you get the idea for this novel? You know, I wish I could remember. I just know that I wanted to write a story about a young man struggling to overcome a health-related issue and somehow rising above it to realize some kind of destiny. I didn’t set out to write a superhero origin story; the story just kind of evolved into that. Right now my writing is very much geared toward fantasy, and for now I need to follow that path, so even when I have an idea about overcoming a health issue, it blends with my …

This morning I did something I haven’t done in a while. I went to my community’s skatepark in the early morning – before the kids and teens get there – and just had some fun riding my old school street board around the park. Didn’t do tricks (I don’t know how to Ollie or any of the other tricks that come once you learn the Ollie). Quite honestly, at this stage the best I can do on a board is cruise and carve. I also have found the skatepark a little intimidating because I’m not a skilled skateboarder. I didn’t …

It has been a busy summer with the release of my book, Guardian’s Nightmare, through my publisher, Divertir Publishing. I have enjoyed doing a series of book presentations at local libraries throughout the Valley, to the Brawley Rotary Club, and a book signing in San Diego. I have appreciated all the support and again I would like to thank all of those who have purchased a copy of the book. But Guardian’s Nightmare is only one reason the summer has been busy. For two years I have been working on a young adult book that I have given two working titles to—Recipe for a …

Once again, it has been a long while since I have blogged and once again, I am vowing to try to do so on a more consistent basis. But just because I haven’t blogged in a while doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing—I most certainly have as writing continues to be a big part of my life. In the last two years, I have treaded into the world of horror fiction, writing two horror shorts that were included in the 2020 and 2021 horror anthologies published by Tell-Tale Publishing. It’s never been my goal to be a horror writer, but …

1. Why did you choose the pirate theme and male protagonist? To be perfectly honest, I didn’t set out to write a pirate novel. I was raised in Redondo Beach, California, and spent a great deal of time at the beach. Like my lead character, the ocean is where I feel best. However, professionally life led me to a Southern California desert community. One summer I hadn’t had much time to make the 150 mile drive to the ocean, and I was missing the coast. As a result, I sat down at the computer to start writing about the ocean. …

Again, it has been a while since I’ve written an entry for my blog. I apologize for that. I just get so caught up in my other writing that I let the blog go. That said, as every writer knows, communicating with our readers is a critical part of building our author brand, so I really need to settle down and spend time on my website. For this entry, I wanted to talk for a moment about my youngest son, who is ten. This year he has really discovered his love for reading, and it shows in the amount of …

A co-worker of mine recently asked how I find the time to write given that I have a full-time job in government affairs, teach writing two nights a week at the community college in my area (and as a result must grade papers on other nights) and, most imporantly, I am a father and husband. The question was—what do I sacrifice? As I thought about it, I came to the realization that other than a few hours of sleep, I don’t think I sacrifice anything to be a writer. My priority, of course, is my family. I try to write …