Interview with Alaskan author Basil Sands

Interview Basil Sands has been weaving stories for anyone who would listen since he was a child.  From humble beginnings over 40 years ago on a rural homestead in interior Alaska and his school years among the cornfields of Ohio he grew to become one of the most popular new audio book talents on the web.   He nearly became a professional stand-up comedian but the big break came too late.  He had already enlisted in the US Marines. After only six months though he broke his ankle and found himself out of a job. Unsure of what to do he worked in a wide variety of fields (many simultaneously) including restaurant manager for the National Security Agency (chef to the spies), owned a computer shop, worked as a carpenter, farmer, stage actor, lumberjack, tv voice, Wilderness Medic, network manager, Boy Scout leader, university teacher, IT training specialist, radio talk show host, computer forensics technician, and youth minister.   After 9/11 he spent three years as a Coastal Scouts sergeant in the Alaska State Defense Force patrolling the coastline around Whittier Alaska and was named Alaska Soldier of the Year in 2003. He started writing military action novels relatively late in life, at 37 years old.  With hopes and aspirations of becoming "The next Frederick Forsythe", he boldly leaped into the circus that is publishing only to find himself humbled and rebuffed by nearly a hundred agents.  One agent took him on, but after a year of working towards publication retired and left him hanging. Undaunted he decided it was time to find a new way to get his name out there.  After discovering a free audio books site called podiobooks.com Basil took it upon himself to produce his first two novels as free serialized audio books.  He wrote and podcast two more and has started on a fifth novel.  The episodes have had over 350,000 downloads. He currently lives, works, and writes in Anchorage Alaska with his wife and three sons, a bongo, a djembe and two bodhrans.   Please visit Basil Sands web site at: www.basilsands.com Music at www.magnatune.com: Walking Home by Eternal Jazz Project