Rob Howell Interview with Author J.F. Holmes

The former author of the infamous PowerPoint Ranger, J.F. Holmes, released his latest book last Christmas, The Irish Brigade. Here’s a share of his 2019 interview with the legendary Rob Howell. In Howell’s words: [Holmes] is a really talented military science fiction author and editor. Check out the wild ride in this exerpt and the full interview on Howell’s webiste.

This is a repost from Ian Michael’s site for independent authors and writers, Reading Junkie.

Rob Howell is the author and creator of the World of Shijuren and an author in the highly acclaimed Four Horsemen Universe, having contributed two short stories and the Amazon bestselling novel The Feeding of Sorrows. All of his novels are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions. His author pages are here on Amazon and Goodreads.

J.F. Holmes is a retired Army Senior Noncommissioned Officer, having served for 22 years in both the Regular Army and Army National Guard. During that time, he served as everything from an artillery section leader to a member of a Division level planning staff, with tours in Cuba and Iraq, as well as responding to the terrorists attacks in NYC on 9-11.

From 2010 to 2014 he wrote the immensely popular military cartoon strip, PowerPoint Ranger, poking fun at military life in the tradition of Beetle Bailey and Willy & Joe. In 2018 he founded Canon Publishing, dedicated to producing the best in science fiction, fantasy, and many other genres. Last Christmas Holmes published The Irish Brigade, his first entry in the Fallen Empire saga.

Howell: What is your quest?

Holmes: My quest is to tell the story. I have a boundless imagination, fueled by Tolkien and Asimov, and there are dozens of stories running through my head at any time. Show me an object and I will, on the spot, make up a story about it. So I guess you can say that I need to get it all out.

Howell: What is your favorite color?

Holmes: 1968 Ford Green, as painted on a Mustang. I like to tell a story by character interaction and character action. I hate information dumps; I’d rather know by what a person does or says.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?

Well, one thing I’ve learned is to follow the Soviet Army doctrine. Reward success, starve failure. If I write a book that maybe I loved but didn’t do well in the market place, then I doubt I’ll ever do a follow up.

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

Small unit interaction and combat. Both of which are about the people involved in them, nothing else. How do they feel? What emotions are driving their actions? When people ask me about Irregular Scout Team One, I tell them that it’s not about the post apocalyptic world, it’s about the Team.

Browse some other J.F. Holmes books, or see them all on his Amazon page

This isn’t a story about the undead, or the Apocalypse. It’s the story of the Team, how a small group of men and women deal with combat in a world gone mad. This book contains ten of the books in the Zombie Killers series, from 2017 Dragon Finalist Novel “Falling” to “Patient Zero”.

When the Gate connecting America’s first colony in the stars was shattered by a nuclear war back home, seventy thousand civilians found themselves dependent on the US Army’s 9th Infantry Regiment for their survival. But their desperate fight to the death had only just begun.

The world has fallen, but America fights on… Nine months after the Apocalypse devastated the US, a small band of scouts, military and civilian, lead the way back out into the wilds. Infected swarm and warlords rule while everyday men and women try to survive.