For local self-described indie author DC Gomez, many things fall under the spell of her muse, ranging from cats to a character named Death.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Meet them in "The Intern Diaries" series penned by Gomez, who's found great success via self-publishing. The paranormal romance and urban fantasy collection "Souls and Shadows" that includes her work even recently climbed the USA Today Bestsellers List, landing at no. 128.
"I've been writing over 20 years, at least. I've been a storyteller longer than I've been anything else, whether it's visual, whether it's print or anything else. I went to film school, so I went to NYU. I'm a filmmaker at heart," Gomez said.
She took one lesson to heart: write about your experiences.
"The Army completely opened my life in terms of seeing people for what they are. We get to see the good, the bad and everything in between. You get to see truly what it means to be patriotic," Gomez said. She saw true sacrifice.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Gomez was the first in her family to join the military, and her brother followed her lead. She grew up in Massachusetts after her family moved to the U.S. In the service, she worked as a track mechanic. Her dad wondered how she'd do it if she couldn't change the oil.
"I'm like, they'll teach me. It'll be great," Gomez said. She worked on Humvees, for example: a definite highlight was the ability to put its engine back together all by herself. But there was her creative side to work on, too, while she served in the military. She wrote short stories and scripts.
"I was still trying to find how do I express myself," she recalled.
Ultimately, two years ago she faced head-on her desire to write seriously, to get a book out. She had a stable job, but she was miserable about not getting her writing done. She ran out of excuses.
"It became that question. I'm going to write a book, and I'm going to do this," Gomez said. She did, and the result was "Death's Intern," the first in "The Intern Diaries" series.
"It became this insane journey," Gomez recalled. She decided to just do it on her own, self-publishing on CreateSpace.
"'Death's Intern' is based in Texarkana It is based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The theory behind it is what happens if Death ever knocked on your door with a job offer," Gomez said, noting the work has "awesome fringe benefits."
The protagonist is a young woman, Isis Black, who moves to town. She's an Army vet like the author. She has a dark secret, and now Death is knocking at her door. Her only friend in town gets kidnapped, too. She has to take the job.
"She gets to see the supernatural world. And it's kind of the concept of if Death as a Horseman was real, what do they do?" Anything that stops Death from completing Death's duties is the intern's job to fix. In "Death's Intern," she learns the souls of Texarkana's homeless people are being stolen.
"Plague Unleashed" and "Forbidden War" are also in the series. Book four will bring Famine with Judgment Day for the fifth book, the conclusion. A novella, "The Origins of Constantine," explores the life of a beloved cat character in the "The Intern Diaries."
As the 24-year-old intern for Death, Isis is doing the gritty work. After all, Death has to get those souls to their next destination. "Death has things to do. Pretty much, Death is not going to get her hands dirty," Gomez says, noting she based her main character more on her brother, a musician.
The writer's novella for the "Souls and Shadows" collection is another "Diaries" side character exploration.
Why self-publishing? "Control. You have control and freedom. I think that's the biggest thing for me, specifically," Gomez said. And as a writer, she's eclectic. "I am a little ADD. I have a children's series. I have urban fantasy," she said.
There's a bit of curse with self-publishing blessings. She may have total control, but she has to do all the research. She had to find an editor compatible with her style. She finds cover designers. Then she has to put it all together and stick to deadlines.
"It goes back to how much you want it. What is that passion? What is your drive?" she said. She feels blessed to have an incredible tribe that loves her. They can deal with her craziness, as she put it.
"Being an indie author, you have total control and yet you have full responsibility," Gomez said. If things don't work, she has to look at herself. Publishing provides learning experiences. The marketing side was the toughest to learn, but she has a professional website and strong social media presence. She also networks with other authors. It's a journey.
"You meet different people doing different things," Gomez said about book events, meeting fellow authors. "You have everything from children's to erotica, all in different genres it's exciting to see the passion."
Readers' responses are the best thing ever. Someone compared her to Sophie Kinsella, which thrilled her. She's celebrating the anniversary of her newsletter, The Chronicles of Constantine. She hears from readers as far away as England.
Her day job? She works at Red River Army Depot. "I usually tell everybody I'm a writer who freelances as a federal employee," Gomez said.
She has a new series coming out, her fourth. This one starts Aug. 16 with the release of "Another World," the first in a young adult series of that name. The blurb? It's as follows: "Bullied, unwanted and alone, Madison can't wait to get out of New York City. In a last ditch effort to save her life, she takes a plunge down a garbage chute to get away from her tormentors. What she never expects is to be dropped in the middle of a whole new world."
Gomez says for indie authors to make it and start seeing financial rewards from writing they should have 14 to 20 books out. "That's kind of the tipping point before you start seeing financial independence," she said, describing this next series as "a little bit of Alice in Wonderland meets Merlin."
She'd like to introduce more series in 2020, such as a werewolf assassin series. When you talk with her about her writing, it's clear she's bubbling with ideas. As she put it, "A bunch of new stuff is scheduled." Sticky notes all over her house help her keep track of it all. She's a free spirit with structure.
To keep track of Gomez's activities, check out her website or the DC Gomez Author page on Facebook.
(On the Net: dcgomez-author.com.)