• Q - I've written an X-Files or a Star Wars story. How do I go about getting it published?

A - Kevin

Unfortunately, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and the various publishers can only solicit new work from authors who are already published and established. What this means is that you need to work on your own writing and your own novels. If you get those published, then there's a better chance the owners of your favorite shows will listen when you drop the hint that you'd be interested in working for them. I started writing stories and sending them to magazines when I was twelve years old, and I have since collected quite a large stack of rejection slips, but I was persistent. It's a long investment of time -- and you can certainly work on Star Wars or X-Files projects for practice and maybe even get some of them published in fanzines -- but try your own characters and universes.

• Q - How long have you been writing?

A - Kevin

Since before I could write. I used to draw pictures and tell stories about them and as soon as I could write I started writing stories. When I was eight years old I had saved up enough money to either buy a bicycle or a typewriter. I bought the typewriter because I knew I wanted to be a writer. So it has always been there . . . it's always been in my blood and I've been doing it since the beginning. I collected 80 rejection slips before I sold my first story.

A - Rebecca

I'd been dinking around at writing for years and years since I was very young, but I never actually finished the stories and sent them out for publication until about 1990, after I met Kevin. He was five years younger than I was and already had books published. It wasn't until then that I figured out no one was going to give me the time to write or finish the stories for me. I just had to get focused, take the time, and finish!

• Q - What is a typical day like for Kevin?

6:45	Alarm goes off, watch the news, get coffee for me and Rebecca. Check e-mail, work out for half an hour every day, make breakfast.
9:00	Review chapter notes for current book, go out with tape recorder and hike various trails while writing two chapters.
11:00	After completing two chapters, return to the office, check e-mail, answer phone calls.
Noon	Have lunch and meeting with Rebecca and other employees.
Afternoon	Edit chapters, proofread typeset galleys, research upcoming projects. More phone calls.
Evening	Evening, watch genre TV shows (hey, it's actually work — a lot of times, I end up writing books for them). Answer more e-mail, MySpace, business correspondence. Often reply to e-mail interview questions, possible phone or radio interviews.
10:30	Read a book for a while.
11:30	Sleep.

Seven days a week, with very few exceptions. That's the way to get the books done.

• Q - When not writing, what do you most enjoy doing?

A - Kevin

I love to go hiking, I love seeing movies, I love reading. I love good microbrew beer. Sometimes I sleep!

Kevin and Rebecca also travel frequently to research books, and appear at numerous science fiction conventions and public events. Even when seeing current movies, driving, or going out to dinner, rarely an hour goes by when Kevin and Rebecca aren't focused on some aspect of writing. There's an obvious answer to how they can produce so many books each year: because they write all the time!