Saturday, May 29, 2021

Interview With Author Tom Deady

 Today we've got another treat, an interview with author Tom Deady

Tom was born and raised in Massachusetts, and has endured a career as an IT professional. He has a Masters Degree in English and Creative Writing from SNHU, and is a member of both the Horror Writers Association and the New England Horror Writers. His first novel, HAVEN, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. He has a number of other titles, including his new one, Of Men and Monsters--


Let's find out more...

Q. So how did this novel come to be? Was it envisioned from the start as a bigger canvas, or did it expand organically out of an idea? Please tell us a bit about the origin.

A. Like many kids growing up in the seventies, I read a lot of comic books. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that I leaned toward stuff like Unexpected and Tales from the Crypt. But what fascinated me as much as the stories and the artwork were those ads in the back. Charles Atlas (yes, I was the kid that got sand kicked in his face), X-Ray Glasses, and, of course, Sea Monkeys. I always wondered, what if they just kept growing?


Q. Did you start with the germ of an idea and start writing to see where it went, or did you map a good deal out in your head (or even outline) before crafting?

A. I very rarely outline. I start, as you said, with the germ of an idea, and let it grow. Sometimes that’s a single scene or even just a character. Of Men and Monsters started out being just a fun “creature feature” story. Kind of a throwback to something you might have found in an old comic book. Then, as often happens with my writing, the characters took over and told a very different story.


Q. What do you feel is the main theme(s)?

A. There is a very strong coming-of-age vibe in the story, and of course the creature plays a role. In the end, I guess the theme is that humans are the real monsters. 

 
Q. Why do you feel this is important, and what would you want a reader to take away from reading this book?

A. I think it’s important for people to see they aren’t alone in their struggle. Domestic abuse is a real problem, and its victims are harmed emotionally and psychologically in addition to the physical abuse. I can’t imagine what it’s like for a kid to go through this, wondering why they’re going through it, thinking they did something wrong. Maybe someone reading this will be helped, even in some small way.

 
Q. What makes a good book or engaging story?

A. For me, it’s all about the characters and creating empathy. If I don’t care about the fate of a character, the best plot in the world isn’t going to keep me reading. That goes for both the good guys and the bad guys. Sometimes, it’s just as much fun to root against the villain as it is to root for the protagonist. What I really like is the gray area in a character’s make-up. The hero who’s done bad things to survive or the serial killer who donates all his money to an orphanage. It’s the complexity of these characters that really intrigues me.


Q. Are there writers with similar themes to yours? Who are your influences (can be writers, or even artists, musicians, or others) and what is it about their work that attracts you? 

A, The coming-of-age theme is prevalent in horror. The “big three” in that category, for me, are:
It by Stephen King
Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons


Q. Each of these classics has had a major influence on my writing. There’s something about the magic of childhood and the importance of friendships that draws me to read these stories and to want to write them. Like King said in “The Body”: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, did you?“

A. Regarding the “people are the real monsters” I don’t think you have to look very hard to prove that one, just watch the news. But it’s also been examined quite a bit in the horror genre. Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a great example. The cruelty exhibited by the townspeople is what ultimately drives the story to its sad conclusion. Revisiting It, Bev’s father, Eddie’s mother, Bill’s parents, and numerous other adult characters represent evil in a different form than Pennywise, but evil nonetheless. I hope I’ve captured some of that in Of Men and Monsters.


Q. Is storytelling mostly entertainment, or does it serve other functions?

A. I hate to answer any question like this, but it can be both. There are stories that retell or modernize fables that include a “moral of the story” or a lesson to be learned. There are cautionary tales and stories with strong themes that really make the reader think. But, as Stephen King said in 11/22/63, “Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke and a story's just a story.”
 

Q. Do you have particular goals other than telling a good story?

A. It really depends on the story. I always start out just trying to tell a good story. Sometimes, certain themes come into play based on a character’s behavior and I decide to use that, to focus on it throughout the story. In Haven, for example, the concept of redemption was evident with Paul Greymore from the start. As the story progressed, I was able to weave that theme into the arc of other characters. Usually, when I write short stories I tend to focus mainly on plot and the recurring themes or morals don’t develop within that word count restraint.


Q. Any other goals you've set for yourself, professionally or personally?
 
A. I feel like I started this journey so late in life that I have a lot to catch up on. I have no shortage of story ideas, and plenty of goals to achieve. I think every writer would like to see their work made into a film or television series, that’s a reach goal of mine. Winning the Bram Stoker Award for Haven was such a surreal and overwhelming experience, I’d love to be in the running again. Mostly, I just want to keep writing, and help other writers or aspiring writers in any way I can. I had a small writers retreat organized in 2020 but the pandemic put an end to that. I plan to revisit that as (hopefully) an annual event that people look forward to. I don’t know, I have a lot of things I want to accomplish!


Q. Some writers write fast and claim not to rewrite much. Do you do this, or painstakingly revise?

A. I wouldn’t say I write fast, but I don’t do a lot of rewrites. I like to get the story out of my head for the first draft as quickly as I can. I’m constantly taking notes throughout the process, and when I do the second draft, that’s when I layer in any recurring themes or add foreshadowing. The second draft is also where I try to create a specific atmosphere for each scene. I bring the five senses into play, add description to the setting or characters, and tailor dialogue to match the mood I’m trying to create. Then I do one more read and fix anything I find wrong. After that, it’s off to the editors for a red ink bath!
 

Q. When you send the book off to the publisher, are you happy with it, or just tired of it?

A. Most of the time, I’m very happy with it. I’m always excited to be “done” with a story and eager to hear how it’s received once it’s out in the wild. There was only one instance where I was getting tired of a story because I’d done so many rewrites. But, it was all worth it – the story was better for all the extra work. Editors know their stuff!


Q. Do you have good editors, and if so, how do they help you? Do they look for particular things? Do you have different people for different editing levels?

A. I have a couple of go-to editors I use regularly, Ben Eads and Linda Nagle. In addition to the fundamental tasks of grammar, word use, and punctuation, Ben and Linda challenge me to dig deeper into a plot or take bigger chances with my characters. I can honestly say that there are very few changes they suggest that I don’t accept. Both really know their stuff and are exceptional to work with.


Q. If a writer came to you for advice, how would you help?

A. I had a lot of help when I was starting out. The horror community is an amazing group of like-minded people who will do anything they can to help an aspiring writer. I’d like to do that as well. As far as advice goes, I think the worst advice for a new writer is the old “write every day” saw. It’s an intimidating and overwhelming concept for someone who is probably working a full-time job and raising a family. I like to modify it to say write as much as you can. Set a reasonable word-count goal and try to achieve it. It’s amazing how quickly those words pile up!
 

Q. Stories can be told by using a different medium. Can you see your book as a film, audio, etc.? How would that alter the telling?

A. Many of my books are available in audio form. I think it’s a great medium, especially for folks who have long commutes. My dream is to have a film or television adaptation done. I think Haven would make a great one-season series on Netflix or Shudder. Of Men and Monsters, on the other hand, would be a great episode of Creepshow. A guy can dream, right?


Q. What's the next step in your writing world?

A. I have my first YA horror novel coming out this summer. The Clearing will be published by Vesuvian Media Group on August 10th. I’m really excited about this one and I’m already working on book two in the series. Next up is the sequel to Eternal Darkness. I ended that book on a pretty big cliffhanger and there are a few fans that may show up with torches and pitchforks if I don’t get the sequel out. I’m hoping to get that one published by the end of the year, early 2022 at the latest. I’ve also got a ghost story novel and a zombie-type novel almost ready to go, and a creature feature novel underway. I just need more hours in the day!


Q. Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

A. I was an extra on the first season of Hulu’s Castle Rock. I was a proud member of the Castle Rock Sheriff’s Dept. Unfortunately, there aren’t any scenes where you can actually tell it’s me. Oh, and the rules during filming were pretty strict (they made us give up our phones) so I don’t even have a picture of myself in uniform. You’ll just have to take my word for it.


Q. Any other information you'd like to impart?

A. I’d just like to thank everyone who’s supported me over the years. Far too many people to name and I’d surely forget a few. As I mentioned, the horror community is amazing and I’m thrilled to be a part of the family. Also, thank you, Dale, for giving me the chance to ramble on about myself and my work.

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Web page: My web site is https://www.tomdeady.com/ where you can purchase signed copies of my books and sign up for my newsletter.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Interview with Author Vin Zandri

Today we have a treat, a chat with author Vin Zandri

Vincent Zandri  is the  New York Times  and  USA Today  best-selling author of more than forty novels and novellas. His books have won the ITW Thriller Award, the Shamus Award, have been nominated for the Derringer Award, and have been translated into many languages. A freelance photojournalist, he is also the creator of The Vincent Zandri Vox. He lives in New York.

He's got a new book out: Paradox Lake, available where all good books are sold.


Let's find out more:

Q. So how did this novel come to be? Was it envisioned from the start as a bigger canvas, or did it expand organically out of an idea? Please tell us a bit about the origin.

A, Paradox Lake started out as one of those writing in the dark experiments, a la Dean Wesley Smith and perhaps even yourself. I used my ex-wife and my daughter as the protagonists. I make a sort of cameo appearance as one of the characters. I also use one of my best college friends as the bad guy, something I often do. Thank God those guys are especially good-natured people. I guess I wondered what it would be like for a mother, who is an art teacher at a local college, to take a fall semester sabbatical and to head up to the mountains, and in particular to a cabin on Paradox Lake. Her daughter would come along and be home schooled, even though the daughter naturally hates the idea of leaving her friends for a few months. But the mother really wants to bond with the daughter, since her oldest daughter and husband have both died. I took it step further and wondered what would happen is the mother ends up falling in love with a general store owner up in the town of Paradox and all does not go quite right. That's about as far as I go explaining. Don't want to give too much away. In any case, I found that the novel sort of wrote itself. Oceanview Publishing picked up right away in a "nice" deal.  


Q. Did you start with the germ of an idea and start writing to see where it went, or did you map a good deal out in your head (or even outline) before crafting?

A. No. Like I said, it was sort of writing in the dark, with just the characters kind of floating around in my mind. I never map things out anymore after writing 50 novels, publishing 40 of them, plus novellas and short stories. I always imagine what would logically happen next and that's what I write, and like the great Hemingway once said, I always know where the story is going the next morning before I finish up for the day. That way you don't get stuck. 


Q. What do you feel is the main theme(s)?

A. One woman and her daughter against the world (this one, like my novel The Remains, is told from the POV of a woman, which I seem to do fairly often). Or if you want a tag line, "Stay away from the Paradox Lake!" 

 

Q. Why do you feel this is important, and what would you want a reader to take away from reading this book? And what makes a good book or engaging story?

A. I think most of my books are a sort of anthropological study in one man or woman up against the most dreadful situations imaginable. How do they manage to get out of it, and stay alive? It's also a study in fear and dealing with that fear. Do they panic and lose it? Or do they suck it up and fight back? I think deep down inside we all wrestle with fear to a degree, and I think that might answer why my standalone psychological thrillers like The Remains, Everything Burns, The Girl Who Wasn't There, and others have sold hundreds of thousands of copies altogether. I'd like to think the plots and the stories resonates with readers. Also, I write short, pithy chapters that keeps the reading going all night. If I can get them to stay up an extra hour, telling themselves, "Just one more chapter...just one more...just one more," than I've done my job. 

 

Q. Are there writers with similar themes to yours? Who are your influences (can be writers, or even artists, musicians, or others) and what is it about their work that attracts you?

A. I haven't read a lot of Stephen King but the little I have read has definitely had an impact on my more scary thrillers like Paradox Lake and The Ashes. Charlie Houston is another great hard-boiled writer who has influenced my more recent fiction, especially his Hank Thompson Trilogy which is just genius. he should have won some major awards for those books. I have to admit, there isn't a whole lot of writers who knock me out, but when I find them, I want to read all their work. I just read a spectacular novel by Jonathan Ashley called The Cost of Doing Business from Down & Out Books. I loved it so much I decided to read all his stuff. But it turns out he killed himself not long ago. I don't think he was 40 years old. I called the publisher at Down & Out to ask if it was true and he confirmed it. He has one more novel of Ashley's to publish posthumously. 

 

Q. Is storytelling mostly entertainment, or does it serve other functions? Do you have particular goals other than telling a good story?

A. I don't think of writing in those terms. I can act all professorial about it and say something like, "Going back to the stone ages, telling stories around the campfire was a way to both entertain and teach..." but we've heard all that before. Oddly, enough, if I'm entertaining myself while writing a novel, I think of it as entertaining the reader. You can tell when an author is just mailing a bunch of shit in just to get a check. 

My goals are nothing more than to write for a living, no matter how humble at times, and to make my fans happy in the process. Is this my measure of success? Maybe. I've been broke as a writer and I've made hundreds of thousands as a writer, and during both periods, I never stopped my word count. Not for even a single moment. 

I recently read a great Bob Dylan quote in a terrific book by Dale T. Phillips, How to be a Successful Indie Writer. It goes something like, a success is someone who wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night having spent his day doing what he wants to do

Note:  (I swear, didn't pay him for that!  :-)  )


Q. Any other goals you've set for yourself, professionally or personally?

A. More recently, and this might have something to do with the Pandemic and literally ten years worth of changes occurring in the publishing business with in 12 month period, I've decided to really fill up my indie list with more short stories, novelettes, and more indie novels. I'm presently working with about five publishers, from small to big, and I'm finding they are having more and more trouble on the marketing end of things. And advances are getting smaller and smaller. I've been a hybrid author for a long time, but I find myself leaning more and more towards indie. As for the personal side of things, for obvious reasons, I haven't traveled at all in more than a year. I'm used to spending three months overseas every year. So as soon as I am able, I'm hopping a flight and not coming back for a long, long time. I'm not married and my kids are grown, so nothing's stopping me.  

 

Q. Some writers write fast and claim not to rewrite much. Do you do this, or painstakingly revise? When you send the book off to the publisher, are you happy with it, or just tired of it?

A. I do very little rewriting these days since I edit as I go. I make sure every chapter is right before I move on to the next one. It's a more efficient way of writing. For a novel I write a first draft, then make a paper copy, go through it with a red pen, make the corrections to the manuscript, read it over once more and then hand it in to my agent who, once upon a time suggested edits, but almost never does anymore. I also work with a really good editor for my indie books. She catches everything and more. She doesn't come cheap but she's worth it. 

 

Q. Do you have good editors, and if so, how do they help you? Do they look for particular things? Do you have different people for different editing levels?

A. Looks like I just answered this one. In a word, they see things and pick up on story omissions that I can't or would never see. You can't put a book out, be in indie or traditionally published, without the help of a good editor. I've also had editors fuck up some of my books. I won't name names but the editor for When Shadows Come, which was put out by Thomas & Mercer, could have done a better job. I'm tempted to ask for the rights back to that one and release the real version prior to their edits. But hey, it was still chosen by Suspense Magazine as one of the Best Thrillers of the Year 2016.


Q. If a writer came to you for advice, how would you help?

A. I think I'd tell them to write a lot. Write all the time, read a lot and watch movies and TV series. But only the stuff they like watching and reading. Then I'd suggest maybe trying to publish a book traditionally, but not give it too much time. Put a limit on it, say, like a year. If the book doesn't get picked up, find a really good editor, get it edited and put it out on your own label. 

 

Q. Stories can be told by using a different medium. Can you see your book as a film, audio, etc.? How would that alter the telling?

A. My agent, Chip Macgregor, is constantly fielding calls from Hollywood producers including Sylvester Stallone, who reads my work. But I have yet to have a TV series and/or movie made. But the good Lord whispers in my ear at times, "Just be patient, buddy. All good things in time." 

 

Q. What's the next step in your writing world?

A. Writing the next sentence, and the one after that, and the one after that. Then heading out for a beer and maybe a Jameson. 


Q. Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

A. I'm five feet seven inches tall and I tower over both Don Winslow and Scott Turrow. I also work out for two hours per day and in the summer, divide my day between writing and fly fishing. Now there's the life, my friend. 


Q. Any other information you'd like to impart?

A. If you wish to become a successful author, avoid politics, religion, trends, and political correctness. Just be yourself and write what you love to read. Thanks for having me Dale. 

Thursday, May 6, 2021

More news- upcoming events! - UPDATED

Hello once more in the merry month of May! It's busy time!  UPDATED

Hope you got your vaccines to keep people safe. 

Many of us are looking to be entertained- so here's a bunch of events to do that! 

I had a great interview with Chris Upton of the Freethinker's Corner, an independent bookstore in Dover, NH. It's now up! 

https://www.facebook.com/freethinkingreader/

Or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXjRvwpSniU


And talented writer Dave Zeltserman was on Friday night. 

More guests throughout May! 


Saturday, May 15, 2021 @ 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, I'm giving an online ZOOM class in Suspense for 

the SEVEN BRIDGE WRITERS' COLLABORATIVE

Hosted by the Thayer Memorial Library, 717 Main Street, Lancaster, MA

https://sevenbridge.org/event/using-suspense-in-writing-with-dale-t-phillips/?instance_id=663


I was on the panel discussing Technology Revolution: The Future of The Self-Publishing 

Wednesday, May 12, at 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM.

https://www.facebook.com/TechnologyRevolutionTheFutureOfNowRadio/videos/314852656800597


On Tuesday night, May 18 at 7pm: I'm moderating the Tewksbury Writer's Night, (sponsored by the library) and we talk about How To Get & Survive Reviews, with special guest Tilia Klebenov Jacobs, the bestselling author of two crime novels, one middle-grade fantasy book, and numerous short stories. She is a board member of Mystery Writers of America-New England. HarperCollins describes her as one of  “crime fiction’s top authors.” Tilia has taught middle school, high school, and college; she also teaches writing classes for prison inmates.


On June 10th, I'll be part of Boston Book Festival's Lit Crawl 2021, on a mystery making panels with Clea SimonElaine IsaakCarolyn Wilkins,   Tilia Klebenov Jacobs, and  Kate Flora.  

We'll be at Starlight Square (which I think is the parking lot behind what used to be Harvest) at 6 PM for a 40-minute set. There WILL be book signings afterward!