Our SPFBOX interviews continue with David Hankins, author of Death and the Taxman.
SPFBO (the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off) is a free online contest run by author Mark Lawrence. 300 authors compete across ten judging teams to see who will be the winner! You can read more about the contest [HERE]].
INTERVIEW WITH David Hankins
Tell us a little about yourself and let our readers know which blog you’ve been assigned to for SPFBOX!
I am an award winning author of lighthearted fantasy and science fiction because that’s what I love to read and—this is the important bit—there’s not nearly enough humor in the world. I intend to change that, one story at a time.
I am in Kitty G’s group for SPFBOX with my debut novel Death and the Taxman.
What inspired you to write this book?
Death and the Taxman started as a multiple award winning short story of the same name which I wrote off the writing prompt “winning the rigged game” after SFF legend David Farland/Wolverton passed. Death is the ultimate rigged game, but what if the Grim Reaper lost. What if he became human? Would he cling to life as tenaciously as we do? Thus was the story born, which went on to win Writers of the Future and was named Best SFF short story of 2023. I expanded that short story into the novel which published on Tax Day 2023 (Apr 15th for those lucky souls who don’t have to deal with the IRS).
Can you tell us a little bit about your writing or editing process? What’s most exciting to you about writing or editing?
I am very much a plotster. I try to plot, I really do, but then my characters take the reins and I just hold on for the ride, plotting furiously to try and keep up.
“There’s not nearly enough humor in the world. I intend to change that, one story at a time.”
Who or what have been your major literary influences?
What makes your SPFBOX book unique?
Do you have a favourite character from your SPFBOX entry? Tell us about them!
“Death is the ultimate rigged game, but what if the Grim Reaper lost. What if he became human? Would he cling to life as tenaciously as we do?”
How does your work fit into (or challenge) its genre?
I…may be an auditor for the US Army in real life. But I swear I didn’t get that job until after I wrote the book.
Oh, wait, you weren’t talking about my day job, were you? Death and the Taxman fits neatly alongside such lighthearted authors as Terry Pratchett, Jody Lynn Nye, and Robert Asprin.
What do you hope readers take away from your SPFBOX entry?
What are you currently working on?
I just typed “The End” on the sequel, Death and the Dragon. It’s the wild ride through Hell that Dante wished he’d had.
David Hankins writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats. David joined the US Army after college and, through some glitch in the bureaucracy, convinced Uncle Sam to fund his wanderlust for twenty years. He has lived in and traveled through much of Europe, central Asia, and the United States. Now that he’s retired from the Army, David is devoted to his passions of writing, traveling with his family, and finding new ways to pay his mortgage.
You can find him at https://davidhankins.com
