We’re looking forward to introducing you to Darin Miller. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Darin, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I completely lose track of time when I’m writing. It’s all about dropping into what I’ve come to think of as “The Zone.” I don’t require a quiet corner or special music or anything else, really. Just as long as someone isn’t trying to directly interact with me, I can write in the middle of a noisy, crowded room. It’s the closest thing I can think of to a waking dream state. I’m not a big plotter, so most of the time, I don’t really know where my story is going until I get into that zone, and quite often, I’m surprised where my characters take me. I can lose whole hours doing this. I’ve become aware that the more I write, the more I process real-life struggles, be it sickness, death, or even personal phobias that I have. Dwayne Morrow’s family is based on my own, so I suppose it was inevitable. It’s really very cathartic, and as a writer, I’m often able to provide happier endings than what reality served up. It also gives me the opportunity to preserve the memories of folks who are no longer with me and introduce them to others. The characters may be fictional, but certain aspects of their personalities are not, and I believe that’s why I frequently see reviews that say my characters feel real. It’s the greatest compliment, and it provides a sense of fulfillment I’ve never experienced at any of my previous jobs.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Darin Miller, and I am a writer. I think I’ve always been a writer, but I didn’t get serious about it until just after COVID struck in 2020. Always a voracious reader, my journey began way back in 2001 when I checked out a mystery from a new-to-me author from the local library. While I don’t remember much, if anything, about it, I know that it was completely underwhelming and predictable. I thought I couldn’t possibly do worse. So—I decided to give writing a whirl. I started with several short stories styled like those I’d read in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazines, and promptly sent them out, certain they would be in high demand. They weren’t. But I let that discouragement roll off my shoulders and kept plugging away, looking for just the right idea for a full-length novel. I had recently received an invitation to my fifteen-year high school reunion and was excited to go. My best friend from those days was still my best bud, and as we were inseparable then, I thought it would be amazing to go together. He was between jobs at the time and just wasn’t feeling it. He was afraid everyone would be passing judgment and made the offhand comment, “I’d rather die than go.” Suddenly, I had the plot for my first full-length mystery novel, and I was off and running. I ended up writing the first three Dwayne Morrow Mysteries as well as the first five chapters of the fourth, and the bulk of an unrelated epic horror opus between 2001 and 2003. I even managed to nab a literary agent for a while, but she really didn’t do anything but tie my hands, and self-publishing wasn’t exactly an option at the time. When my day job offered me the opportunity to go back to college to finish my degree on their dime, it felt like a sign that it was time to give this dream up in favor of the one being offered to me. I put away my writing for nearly twenty years and didn’t give it a second thought.
Fast forward to late 2019. I had been with my previous employer for 23 years. In 2017, we underwent a management change that turned the workplace into a toxic mess practically overnight. Feeling burned out and targeted, I left my position in January 2020, just in time for the world to be shut down by COVID. Finding new employment during a pandemic was more of a challenge than expected, so I found myself reading a lot more, and wouldn’t you know it? Got hold of another underwhelming book from the library and thought I couldn’t possibly do worse. This reminded me of the three books I had completed nearly two decades earlier, and I thought it might be amusing to pull them back out for a good laugh. Thing is, once I started reading, I thought they weren’t half bad, and I started to get excited about them. I honestly couldn’t remember much, including how they ended, so it was almost like reading someone else’s work. Aware that I had KDP on my side, I started re-editing as I read, determined to see them through to publication this time. The response has been beyond my wildest expectations. The first five Dwayne Morrow books have won multiple BookFest awards, as has the standalone epic horror piece that I finally finished, and writing has once again become part of my daily life. I’m a little mad at myself for letting it go for so long, as I genuinely enjoy the process. It’s the job I’ve always wanted.
I believe what makes my Dwayne Morrow series unique is that unlike Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, or Alex Cross, Dwayne is just an everyday guy who manages to get himself into a whole lot of trouble with alarming frequency. It’s how he gets himself out of trouble that’s the fun part. He has no special skills or training, just a great big heart of gold and all the good intentions you can imagine. The books are not hard-boiled, but they aren’t cozy mysteries either. They’re a nice blend of mystery, suspense, and humor with an underlying romance.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I grew up in the era of TV superheroes. Adam West’s Batman, George Reeves’ Superman, and Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman were all over my TV screen, and I was completely convinced I was invincible, very probably a superhero who just hadn’t found his costume yet. I had legs like tree trunks and honestly felt like I could lift a car with them if necessary—not that I ever tried. I made a regular habit of jumping off our garage roof and from varying heights of a big tree in our back yard, never using anything to soften my landing. At the time, it was a landing I always seemed to stick. Fast forward five decades, and my feet ache all the time, my legs do well to carry me from Point A to Point B, and I hope to heaven that no one decides to chase me down, because my only defense will be to roll over and play dead. The moral of this story? Early memories of power are at least deceptive and at worst downright dangerous. And never trust a kid who’s carrying a ladder and asked what he’s doing when he says, “Nothing.” Real power comes from within, and it takes most people a long time to figure out what theirs truly is.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I think the fear of not being able to adequately provide for my family is what has held me back most. The privilege of being a full-time writer is one I’ve yet to earn, although I’m certainly making progress in the right direction. The daunting prospect of working a full-time job while trying to develop the career I truly want has taken years to figure out and a fair amount of sacrifice that I didn’t recognize at first. It felt like it was only responsible to chase a dream that satisfied fundamental needs versus creative ones. Occasionally I let myself bemoan the years that I stepped away from writing, but honestly, the experience gleaned in the interim is what has given me the drive to pursue my dreams now and with a much clearer sense of purpose. I wouldn’t want to go back and change a thing, because I wouldn’t be who I am today without that. Of course, life is a lot shorter now than it was then, so I don’t want to waste any more of the time I have left.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
I honestly don’t hold much back from my public persona. What you see is what you get. Making peace with who I am has been instrumental in learning how to promote myself and my work on social media, and while I’m far from perfect, I can’t say that I have too many skeletons in the closet that I would be ashamed to own. I’m a generally upbeat guy who wants everyone to find their true happiness, and I enjoy lifting others up with me along the way. The world is a far better place when we treat each other with courtesy and grace, and I believe that integrity is perhaps the most attractive intangible asset that we all possess.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If immortality were real, what would you build?
Funny question. I’m in the process of building that very thing right now. For me, putting these stories together and publishing them puts them out into the world in a way I can’t take back. They’ve allowed me the opportunity to share people, places, and experiences of mine, even if they are fictionalized. As long as these stories are out there, a piece of me is too, and it’s a thought that occurred to me very early on.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.darin-miller.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darinmiller4628/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DwayneMorrowMysteries
- Other: Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/darinmiller
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20487089.Darin_Miller
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/darin-miller
