Stephen Ross Meier was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the first of many places he would live worldwide. He received his Bachelors in English from Arizona State University. He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Inspired by music, films, books, and the world around him, he is currently working on several projects, with his next book, Teaching Pandas to Swim, ready to be released soon. A huge fan of such writers as Charles Bukowski, Milan Kundera, Irving Welsch, Irving Stone, Chuck Palahniuk, and Brett Easton Ellis, Stephen has always been drawn to writing and story telling.

Having been diagnosed with Heart Disease on May 10th, 2006, Stephen has been reminded that life void of passion is really not a life at all.

For more information please visit http://www.stephenrossmeier.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Stephen. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

For the first time, wish I was multi-published!

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

Teaching Pandas to Swim. Wasn’t published because…well, let’s say I was probably too young, arrogant, and didn’t understand the business. Plus, the constant rewrites my agent had me to drove me to the nut house! Wasn’t ready…but I want to thank Peter Cox for giving me a shot.

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

I was rejected by over 80 agents in the US and London. And then once signed, worked with him for a year, and it never got published. It’s my favorite story, as it was my first, and the one story that my brother says makes him and his friends laugh out loud!

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

At the time, I expected them and knew it would be a tough road. They make you stronger because you have to remember that the best things in life don’t come without struggle. But at the same time, some of the rejection letters were a bit intense!!!

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

I went with Booksurge, a self publishing outfit, and did so because my main goal was to get it made into a movie. So I saw it as a way to pitch the story, by being able to hand them out, and even more important, have them reviewed. That way it wasn’t just me saying how great it was! I’ve gotten some great reviews!

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

It was an amazing feeling! I remember seeing my book available for the first time on Amazon, and just sitting there, like I was in a dream! I celebrated by telling everyone, then taking a long hike to take it all in.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

I announced it on Facebook and MySpace, plus at my local Starbucks, where I gave out postcards of my book. Oh, and I also went to Sundance Film Festival and handed out free books, postcards, and bookmarks to anyone and everyone!

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

Ummm, no, it’s been a great learning process. Not just in business, but about myself as well!

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

No, it’s only been about five months, but I’ve grown quite a bit, by being able to really sit and talk with other authors, about plot and character development, style, etc. Plus, just on the marketing level…I’ve learned so much! Plus, I’ve really begun to believe in myself more as a writer, and someone whom people love to read.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

Well the first thing would be, to really understand the business and check my ego at the door. When i was first signed to a literary agency a long time ago, I was lacking in both of those things. I think another thing to really understand is how writing is the easy part…marketing is the tough part! It takes a lot of time and dedication.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

Having a production company want to make it as a movie and working with a Producer and Director to make that happen (in the works right now)! Life is very exciting right now!

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

There wouldn’t be, but if I had to…a professional soccer player in Europe. I mean look at the cities you get to play in! Either the Spanish or English Premier League.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

Never. Right now I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Hopefully having several books under my belt, and having my own small production company where i could work with my brother and friends to develop great indy films, and books!

Thank you so much for having me!