August’s interview is with the wonderful, multi-talented D J Cooper! Dee, I am thrilled that you took part in this interview with me, and I want to take the opportunity here to thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given me in regards to my own work. D J Cooper is a force to be reckoned with, but in all the good ways! Read on to find out more…

·        How and why did Angry Eagle Publishing begin?

o   It’s a funny story (or perhaps tragic). In October 2014, I wrote my very first book and published it in just a few days over a month. Feeling very proud of myself, I was on a personal high, until… I got a review on Amazon. A scathing review that no author should ever receive. While it was pretty awful and I cried for yet another month, I’m not one to kick over the table and walk off in a self-important huff and was determined to see what was amiss. I went to the manuscript and sat down to read it to see where this jerk got the nerve to poo poo on my masterpiece. I recall this moment vividly. I got about halfway through the book and paused. Looking up, I said, “Who the hell wrote this shit?”

o   I knew right away the reviewer was right. It was crap and has since gone through major revisions. I'd made every mistake an author could conceive. From prose to cover design, formatting, and layout, it was all bad the only thing I thought was good was the story itself. I rewrote it and then three more, trying to learn along the way.

o   In 2016 I did two things; I started school and the publishing company. I am a person who tries to give back and while it was started as an umbrella for my own books, soon I was working to help others.

·        What would Angry Eagle’s ‘Mission Statement’ be?

o   Angry Eagle Publishing, LLC always looks for new authors, glorious storytellers, and wordsmiths but the mission is always to bring that positive force and desire to help independent authors on their journey. Our tagline says it all. "We all become better, when we work together." Because of this, our mission is to be a creative, entrepreneurial, independent publisher of books and media who seeks to encourage, inform, educate, entertain, and inspire readers and authors alike.

o   We are committed to helping authors, both new and established, create original and powerful works across an array of genres and subjects for readers and learners worldwide, sharing ideas, knowledge, experience, and sometimes challenging conventions. To be well known for the desire to elevate the independent author.

o    

·        How many books have you published? Which was the first book and what prompted you to write it?

o   I myself have written 24 books under two pen names in two genres. Additionally producing six anthologies and the WordPeddler Magazine.

·        What is the name of your most recent book?

o   Cincinnati Fall 3 (I have a newer one in Romance but it is not ready yet.)

·        Why apocalyptic/prepper fiction?

o   I think because I grew up hearing stories about the Great Depression from my grandmother and found myself watching old war movies with my grandfather I have somewhat of a fascination with it. Add to that the Book of Revelation that promises the demise of a corrupt society. Apocalyptic / dystopian literature and movies have always been a fascination. I recall reading Alas Babylon and watching the story that would become Lights Out develop in a message board, reading each chapter of the Karate Man as it developed and being inspired.

o   I remember September 11, 2014 vividly, as it marked the first time since September 11, 2001, that nothing occurred. Right? Nothing! In the United States every year on the anniversary of this event, someone, somewhere, would choose that day to do something nefarious, but not in 2014. Nothing happened, and we’d been so conditioned to watch for something that the fact that nothing happened was surreal and had to mean something had to be bad. How sad is that? On that day, I sat down to put my anxieties into words as I often did with short bits of writing, but something did happen, that book emerged that set me on this path.

·        Tell us about WordPeddler, it sounds exciting!

o   The WordPeddler Society was founded as part of the Angry Eagle Media Network to fulfil a need in our mission. To help others be visible and provide a safe, well moderated network for independent authors to reach readers. Everyone works to maintain the standards that allow each of us to share bits and bobs of what is going on without having to deal with the next hot topic. “Just the books folks,”

o   It is comprised of reader focused groups, a magazine, podcast, and networking opportunities. Its only goal is to elevate the independent author.

·        Of the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?

o   Rita! My first series of books depicts things and characters that were all very personal to me. She reminds me that first impressions and the commentary of others might not be true.

·        You have written a non-fiction book about being prepared for the apocalypse, called ‘Ready, Set, Prepare.’ Are you a prepper in real-life?

o   Indeed. Have been all my life. My mother instilled in us something crucial to life. Many say Prepper like it is a bad word, but it simply means to not take things for granted. It means why suffer when you can continue without worrying when bad things happen? And frankly… Bad things happen every day! Pandemic, tornados, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes tornados, civil unrest, hacking. Good grief, the list could go on for days. My question is why doesn’t everyone?

o   Back to gramma, in the 1930’s in the midst of the Great Depression, why is it people think that the poor, self-sufficient people didn’t seem to have as bad of a time? Everyone did, but some were far worse off than others. I give a seminar that talks about information overload where I speak on this and the simple fact is that those who didn’t rely on all the latest gadgets, services, fast food, and whatever fared better because they knew how to take care of themselves. They already used what they had, gardened and preserved food they didn’t have to search for it or worry about it until the crops failed during the dust bowl. But even then they may have lost everything but had a resiliency to move and start again. THIS is what it means to be a prepper. It means not asking where is the government to fix my woes but being prepared to handle it.

·        In America you have the advantage (in the context of an apocalypse) of having guns at your disposal. How are you with a gun?

o   In the words of Scarlett O’Hara, “I can shoot straight, if I don’t have to shoot too far.”

o   On that note, understand that yes, here in America we have the right to defend ourselves and that means owning guns. Our forefathers identified the complexities of governments and their proclivity toward oppression. Someone always thinks they know better… sigh. They were careful in the drafting of the constitution to include the amendment that states NOT that we had the rights, but that the government did NOT have the right to infringe on our rights in this matter. Which, to the chagrin of those who always think they're always right, has been an impediment to the demise of this ability. They knew and planned for an overreaching government and provided this clause not to ensure hunting or even protection, but protection from oppression.

o    Countless books and movies warn why absolute power corrupts absolutely. Hunger Games, Divergent, 1984, Atlas Shrugged, the list goes on. And George Santayana said it… “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” World War II is a pretty good example of why citizens should not blindly follow every fad or whim without question. We are working hard at repeating history again, even now.

·        You have so many things going on; you are an author yourself, you run Angry Eagle Publishing as well as several Facebook pages and more besides! How do you find the time?

o   Beats me… Honestly, I don’t know. Lots of folks help out. The groups run themselves with a select group of authors who moderate them and I highly recommend no matter which group people are in that they follow and read these authors because they dedicate lots of time to provide this space for readers. The podcast hosts run their shows. I have editors to help with the book publishing. I spend time writing, building book covers for authors, editing [which affords me free reading] and doing the technical side of publishing while also going to school. In 2025 I will graduate with the ability to teach at the collegiate level.

·        What do you do to chill out?

o   Chill out? That’s an actual real thing?

o   Watching the grandbabies do their things. I am an awesome Dance gramma and super soccer granny. I do like to read, edit or write at the beach or while camping. My sister and I have been planning adventures and last September trekked on an expedition from Colorado to Maine to see all the things. Even camping along the banks of Plum Creek [those who get this are my kind of folks]. Kind of like Thelma & Louise (but without the crime, we don’t do crime, and no cliffs, not driving off a cliff).

·        I was asked this question a while ago and I loved it. I would love to credit the person who asked me it, but I can’t recall who it was! (If you are reading this, please let me know!) If they were to make an action figure of you, DJ Cooper, what three things would it absolutely have to have to be an accurate representation?

o   Coffee cup in hand, pen behind the ear, glasses perched on the end of the nose, hair in a bit of an unruly pony, my demon cat. Oh, and don’t forget a superhero cape.

·        What is next for DJ Cooper?

o   Something big!! Huge!! Ok well, maybe just some more books. I am working on the next set of apocalyptic books, but they are different. I wanted to explore some things and with my graduate degree; I have to write a book as my capstone. I planned a book but now want to do things backward. Or is it forward because it was backward? Either way, I am working on a world for these books. It will eventually be nine books (or more, nine are currently plotted), with various short stories in places that connect bits of it together to shed light on different aspects of the whole. The first short story in this world is coming out in the Gates of Hell anthology later this year.

o   It is something I’ve been working on for the better part of two years while writing other things like the Cincinnati Fall series and my pen name series that is currently getting ready to release book three. I frequently write multiple books and stories at a time, so I am also juggling book three of that same romance series as well.

·        Where can we find you? Drop as many links as you like.

o   On the web https://authoroftheapocalypse.com

o   Linktree will offer all the links in one place. https://linktr.ee/AuthorDJCooper

o   Angry Eagle Publishing

§  https://angryeaglepublishing.com

§  https://Dauntlesscoverdesign.com

§  https://wordpeddlersociety.com

§  https://book-asylum.com

o   Prepper stuff

§  https://Thriveselfreliance.com