Cam Crowder is an avid gamer, reader and guitar nut who's had fancies of writing since he was runty little ginger sitting on his grandfather's knee. Finally, he decided to do something about it and chase after his dream, like his grandfather always taught him to.
(He's also plotting to take over the world, but don't tell anybody!)
Tell us a bit about your latest work.
My upcoming project is called Revelations. It's the third and final book in the Broken Bloodline series, which follows a group of bad-a vampires (who don't sparkle) from a "minor" plot to wipe out their race, all the way to large-scale apocalypse-prevention. My plan is for the last book to be as explosive and exciting as possible, bringing every character arc to a nice, satisfying close before the series is done.
What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?
The issues I tend to come back to are trust, betrayal, love, loyalty and brutality. There are others I touch on as well, but those are probably the biggest I deal with. Some, like trust, I don't openly dissect in my work, but instead I engrave the idea deep into the characters and let it show (if you're looking) in the way they act and interact with each other and the world around them. Personally, I think trust is one of the most important values human beings can hold onto, and who we trust kind of defines who we are.
What would be your dream project?
I've thought about that a few times over the past few years, and in all honesty, the only thing I can think of would be a list of authors I'd like to collaborate with, rather than a set project I'd like to work on. Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman and Peter J. Tomasi are a few I'd really like to work with in some capacity. Gaiman especially, I think, just because I get the feeling he'd challenge me to break out of my comfort zone and experiment more.
If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?
I don't have an insanely large body of work to pull from, but what I have written, even given the chance to go back and fix some mistakes I've made, I'd probably leave it all alone. Not because I think it's perfect, but the opposite. No work is perfect, and sometimes what you think might be a flaw is something the reader is really drawn to.
What inspires you to write?
Living, breathing, walking, running, driving, hearing my fiance' say "I love you.", etc. Everything I do or see in life inspires me to some degree, I think. Music is a big factor as well; I can't tell you how many times the tone of a song I'm listening to has given me an idea for a story or character arc. All of that inevitably finds its way into my writing, no mater what, and I'm more than fine with that. If we try to hard to filter the things we go through and keep it from affecting our stories, our writing becomes stale and lifeless. I don't want that to happen to my work. I want it to be as alive as I am.
What writers have influenced your style and technique?
The biggest literary writer to influence me would have to be Robert Jordan. When I was fifteen and picked up The Eye of the World, it blew me away and completely changed the way I look at writing and Fantasy. It was after finishing that book, and I realized the way it had impacted me, it hit me that that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make stories that take people on a crazy-fun ride, while at the same time maybe address things that challenge the way they think. That's the type of writing that's always appealed to me the most. Even if it's a point I don't agree with, I like it when a writer at least makes me stop and think about it. Beyond Robert Jordan, Jon Foreman (the most amazing songwriter alive today, in my opinion) has had a huge impact on the way I think and write. There are a lot of other writers that have influenced me to some degree; Joss Whedon had a hand in the way I write dialogue, Peter Tomasi influenced the way I go about character interaction, Brandon Sanderson gave me great ideas on world-building, and so on.
Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?
I'd say it's a pretty equal marriage. The ideas, the characters, the setting, all of the initial creation that goes into a work, I consider it straight art. Pinning all of those things down on a page, however, comes down to a bit of a science, like it or not. So I'd say the first half of your work is art and the second half is science.
Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?
Once Broken Bloodline is done, I have three other major projects I want to do, the first will probably be a two-part series about a young man given superpowers against his will, and rather than using those powers for good, uses them to retaliate against the government who experimented on him, and eventually, believing he can run the world better himself, establishes a sort of totalitarian regime. It's kind sort of my version of a Superman gone horribly wrong and having to be brought down by the people closest to him that he had complete trust in. (See? There's that trust issue again, haha!)
Saturday gave me lots of time to meet awesome folks and just hang out at my table until about 5:30 when my panel schedule began. But a highlight of the day would most definitely be the time spent with my booth Alices -- yes, two of them! -- Rachael Van Riper and her daughter. Thanks again so much for helping me by making the table sparkle with beauty. After that it was another great day of panels, closed out with the oh-so-much fun panel in which we reenacted the old X Minus One radio script "Student Body" featuring the dumbest space morons to ever undertake a serious mission and doom Earth in the process. 
Sunday came way too early in the morning, and it was off to the races for another day. Hands down, the highlight of the day was Josh Duke and Ali's wedding in front of the TARDIS. The poor guy didn't realize he was marrying Mae West (yes, that's how awesome the bride looked!). Another high spot though was when I played guitar over at Afua Richardson's table and we sang a bunch of songs together. And daaaaaaaaannnnngggg that girl can sing. Wow! I'm just glad she let me sing with her. Hopefully someone captured some footage and you can catch it on YouTube.
Beat it, Beatles! Move over, Monkees! Here come the Lemon Herberts, the kookiest, kickiest quintet of fun-lovin’ musicians ever to hit the Summer of Love! This anthology of tales will cover the very first world tour of the Lemon Herberts, a late-1960s musical group with not only a flair for inventive pop songs, but a pulpy taste for adventure. Each story will be set in a different country along the group’s tour, setting the stage for colorful, groovy plunges into peril for the Herberts. Think Help! plus Head and divided by Donovan and you’ll be on your way to imagining all the peace, love and DANGER the Lemon Herberts could get themselves into in the incredible year of 1967!
Pro Se Productions, a continually expanding and growing company focusing on Genre Fiction, New Pulp, and cutting edge Action and Adventure Books and Anthologies, announced today the addition of a new position within Pro Se Administration- Global Relations and Accountability Coordinator.
"Pro Se," Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se, states, "has grown tremendously since opening our doors so to speak in early 2010. We have every single writer, artist, editor, and administrative person that's done even one little thing to thank for that. With the fact that we intend to produce the most books we have yet in our history this year and next year as well, it's become necessary to bring in others to help handle the growth. To that end, we created a position that actually has two duties- Marketing and Social Networking as well as managing day to day affairs from the Editor in Chief's office. Essentially, making sure I get my myriad projects and jobs done successfully."
Pro Se Productions, an independent press on the cutting edge of genre
fiction, heroic storytelling, and New Pulp, was the first company
formally involved in the New Pulp Movement to enter into the world of
audiobooks with its original line of magazines. Pro Se, in conjunction
with New Pulp audiobook pioneer Dynamic Ram Audio Productions announce
the first audio title for ‘The Voice of Pro Se’ audiobook imprint! 
Airship 27 Productions has once again teamed with Redbud Studio comics to release the second in their on-going pulp comics anthology. The first giant issue in this series won the coveted Pulp Ark Award for Best Pulp Comic of 2010.
