Ten Random Things about John W. Otte

Hey there, everybody. My name is John W. Otte, and I’m one of Marcher Lord Press’s newest authors. I wanted to take an opportunity to introduce myself to all of you. But rather than bore you with dry, biographical data, I thought I’d do something a little different. Here are ten facts about me, the first ten things that pop into my mind:

1. I’m tall and pretty much always have been. I’m 6′ 6″, which means that I’ve been constantly mistaken for someone who likes basketball. Unfortunately, I lack the physical coordination to play any sport worth anything.
2. I love playing video games. Maybe a little too much. My personal favorite gaming franchise (as of right now) is Mass Effect. The second game was awesome. The ending of Mass Effect 3, not so much. I thought it was so bad that I even made a video to help vent my ire about it.
3. My musical tastes have changed over the years, but my favorite musical artist has remained the same: “Weird Al” Yankovic. I once went to a concert and he came out into the audience and was less than six feet away from me. I even came up with a plot for a Broadway musical inspired by his music. Hey, have you signed the petition to have him perform at the Super Bowl Halftime show yet?
4. I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. The first book I ever wrote was a poorly drawn comic book about stick figure aliens. It was an exercise of creative plagiarism in which I blatantly ripped off Voltron, He-Man, and Spiderman. I actually wrote about thirty or forty of these books before moving on to prose. Unfortunately, I have no idea where those books are now. I’m hoping that means they’ve been lost to the ages forever.
5. I once met Gordon from Sesame Street. My brother-in-law had to meet him at the Flint airport because he was coming for some sort of children’s festival. We wound up sitting in a restaurant while he ate a meal. It was a really cool experience.
6. My favorite Gospel is Luke for a variety of reasons, but mostly because Jesus is a storyteller. Out of all the parables, the Prodigal Son is my fave.
7. I once witnessed a race riot that was instigated by the Ku Klux Klan. Seriously. I have pictures and everything. If you want to know the full tale, I wrote it down here.
8. I majored in theatre in college. I met some wonderful people. And I even got to direct, as a student project, my favorite play in the world, A Company of Wayward Saints. It’s an awesome little play that touches in some fun themes about God, faith, and ministry. And it’s a riot to boot. If you ever get the chance to see it, do so.
9. I watch waaaaaaay too much reality TV (given the plot of Failstate, is that much of a surprise?). Right now, I’m looking forward to the new season of So You Think You Can Dance. But the one that I’m ashamed to love is America’s Next Top Model. Yes, I know. I’ll turn in my man card later.
10. Someday I want to write a Star Wars novel. I even have an idea for the plot.

So there you go. It’s a pleasure to meet you all and I hope we can get to know each other better.