Harney: First off, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Warren: I was born in Brooklyn during the Depression. My father was always unemployed and that’s what really spurred me to take control of my own destiny. I never wanted to be dependent on someone else for my happiness and well-being. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 16 years old and I never let that dream fade, no matter what I did for money.

I’m an entrepreneur and always have been. I juggled running my own ad agency and owning multiple radio and TV stations with writing. My first novel wasn’t published until I was 46 years old. 27 of my novels were traditionally published with major publishers, but I later saw the power of digital publishing decades before it became what it is today, and I decided to take back all the rights to my catalog in the early 2000s. My middle son, Jonathan R. Adler, runs Grey Eagle Films, where he has the right to develop all 50 of my novels and hundreds of short stories and plays into films and television series. I’m heading to Rome in November for my stage adaptation of “The War of the Roses.”

Harney: Why is writing your passion?

Warren: I don’t really have an answer to that. Why are we called to pursue any art or craft? What I do know is that I have a burning desire to tell stories. My fiction reveals human truths, no matter how dark and uncomfortable they can be. It’s what we are made of, so it’s important to face it head-on. I have a powerful imagination and memory, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

Harney: Please list your top tips for writers/aspiring authors.

Warren: My number one tip is to learn to cope with rejection. You will get turned down but you can’t ever let someone else’s opinion of your work define you. I’ve been turned down by more people than I can count, but they’re all either in real estate now, or dead. Go figure. Another tip I have is to not share your work with others until it is finished. If you ask ten people what they think of your novel or short story, you’ll get ten opinions back. Don’t let anyone dictate your creative vision. You have only one life, one span of time. Make the most of it. It flies by.

Read the full interview here.