Author Interview: Roy Huff

Who are you?

​Roy Huff is a research scientist, author, and teacher who overcame the hardship of a family plagued by severe poverty and mental illness.
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After graduating high school as Valedictorian a year early, he moved to Hawaii at the age of seventeen with only $100 in his pocket to start a new life.

Roy Huff

He has since earned five degrees in four different disciplines spanning liberal arts, history, education, and geoscience. He has worked on projects such as forecasting volcanic emissions from the Kilauea Volcano and training on geostationary satellites for NASA's GOES-R Proving Ground.

His co-authored peer-reviewed research has graced the cover of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), but his foray into creative writing did not occur until the age of thirty-four when he began writing a creative paper for an English class while working concurrently on his fourth and fifth degrees. That paper later became the first chapter of his first book, which grew to be an Amazon number-one international epic-fantasy bestseller.

Subsequent books in the Everville series have also gone on to become bestsellers and continue to win awards for both cover art design and content. Roy Huff remains an optimist. He enjoyed weathering the eye of Hurricane Hugo at the age of twelve, skydiving, and marathon running but still dreams of climbing Mt. Everest, circumnavigating the globe, traveling into space, and discovering the secrets of the universe.

His interests are eclectic and range from the arts, extreme sports, economics, hard science, movies, traveling, and the outdoors. Roy Huff remains committed to promoting education, applied science, individuality, and creativity. He grew up on the East Coast, but has lived in Hawaii for more than half his life where he currently resides and creates new worlds with the stroke of his pen.
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Where do you live?

I live in Waikiki, Honolulu Hawaii.

What's your home life like?

​I’m recently remarried with a wonderful and supportive wife. I have a daughter and step-son who are now adults. 
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What genre(s) do you like to write? To Read?

I read primarily scifi/fantasy and nonfiction (science and self-help/motivational). I write the same. My current projects include my latest book, Think Smart Not Hard, and I have a time travel rough draft I’m polishing up. 

​Why did you start writing?

​It was by accident. I had to write a creative paper for an English class while working on my fourth degree. We were required to share our work to get feedback, and one of the comments from that paper was someone wanted to read an entire book about it. I thought it was something I could do, then I decided to write the book, which eventually became the first book in the Everville series. 
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​What do you do when you’re not writing?

I work as secondary science and math teacher, and I also work as a research scientist.
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​Where do you like to go when looking for a new book to read?

I like taking the suggestions from John Lee Dumas’s EOFire podcast book suggestions. I also look in the current bestsellers in the genre I’m interested in reading. 

​At what point do you call it quits when reading a new book?

I’ll decide before the end of the first chapter if I’ll finish. After that, I commit to reading to book for good or ill. 

​How many books/stories have you published so far?

I’ve published five books. 

​What book/story are you currently promoting or working on? 

The current project came out of a divorce, bankruptcy, and other personal problems. It was my struggles through the rough times and the challenges I used to overcome them, what worked and what didn’t. 

​What’s the elevator pitch?

Think Smart Not Hard is your no-nonsense guide for finally grasping the life you were born to live. If you like real-world applications, optimizing your existing strengths, and honest accounts from a self-made man, then you’ll love Roy Huff’s energizing resource. It's "A simple, effective plan to change your life and attain your goals." - Jim "The Rookie" Morris, Athlete, author, teacher and inspiration for the movie, The Rookie.
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​How long have you been working on it?

I wrote the book in 24 days last June/July 2016. I spent 8 months pitching it to publishers and it was proofed and edited numerous times during that period. 

​When will it be available to buy? Where?

It’s available now on Amazon.

How to follow Roy Huff:

​Twitter: @evervillefans 
Goodreads
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Anything you'd like to add?

I’m currently running two promotions. The first is a paperback giveaway contest on Goodreads which ends June 22nd and can be found here.
The second is a $300 Amazon Gift Card Rafflecopter contest which can be found here.

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My heartfelt thanks to Roy for taking the time to participate in this interview. My review of Think Smart Not Hard posted last week on the Laughable Blog.