Friday, August 9, 2013

Author Interview – Steve Wilhelm

at 11:00 AM

Do you intend to make writing a career? I would definitely like to make writing a career. But I am also honest with myself that right now, until I can make a dent in the publishing world, I must keep a day job that pays the bills and keeps me alive so that I can write.

Have you developed a specific writing style? I think right now, I am better in the first person writing style. That’s the style of my first book, “Another Time – Another Chance” as well as the “Tales of Nick” series.

What is your greatest strength as a writer? Personally I feel my greater strength is dialogue. I still need a lot of work in descriptions and the non-dialogue portions of the story. That’s where my writing collaborator, Jamie, in invaluable. She started working with me in the first “Tales of Nick” and will continue to work with me now.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Who hasn’t had writer’s block? Of course I have. I used to stare at the screen and try to imagine the words as they should appear, or will my mind to work, but that didn’t work. What I do now is back off and do something else. Put my brain to work on something else, be it another idea, or project or even watching a movie or going outside for a walk. My brain always works on the current project in the background and sometimes will suddenly click and an idea comes out. Hopefully I am near something I can use to put the ideas onto paper, or a laptop or whatever, so I don’t forget.

Can you share a little of your current work with us? I am currently working on the first sequel to the “Tales of Nick” book. It continues the adventures of Nick and the path his life is taking. It begins south of the border as he has decided to take a break from his current routine in the aftermath of what happened in the first book. I am really excited about this project as it is a little darker and I think better crafted than the first. But it wouldn’t have been possible without the first.

How did you come up with the title? Titles are more difficult to me, and I labored over “The Tales of Nick: The Seduction of Sera” for quite a while. I wanted it to be a representation of what happens in the story, but I didn’t want it to be trite, or common place or dull, or all of the aforementioned.  It probably took me a month to come up with a title. Don’t even ask me about the book cover!

Can you tell us about your main character? Nick? Well, he is a first time author, who got a break with his first book in that it hit and became a hot item. Nick has an agent, Sue, who is a big help to him. She’s really not just his agent, but she’s a friend as well. She’s tough though, doesn’t hold back on her comments or thoughts. Nick is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for five or six years. He doesn’t keep track of the days anymore, he just lives life each day. Nick works at a hotel as his day job and has a best friend, Barry, who he trusts with his life. Nick lost his mother years back and his father is his only family. They all live in the Seattle area, except for Sue who lives with her daughter, Gwen in Los Angeles. I can’t really get too much into more detail without starting to tell you the story. That would spoil the read of the books!

How did you develop your plot and characters? The characters were developed from my life and friends. Jamie, my collaborator, will often call Nick me when we’re discussing plots and things. I always laugh, but I really have patterned Nick after myself. We are very similar, except in age, and the fact that Nick sees way more action and adventure than I ever have. The plot came about when I wondered what I would do if faced with certain situations in life, if my own writing career took off the way Nick’s has. How would I react when faced with the circumstances and decisions that Nick has to deal with? That’s the fun part of writing. I get to imagine what I would do and the consequences of my choices.

Who designed the cover? Didn’t I say don’t mention the book cover? Haha. The cover photo came from a friend of mine on Facebook actually. I saw the picture in one of her albums and fell in love with it. I asked her if she minded if I used it and she happily agreed. My housemate who I have known and work with for the last six years put the words and fonts together. He is very meticulous and took a long time to finalize things before he would sign off on the deal. It is the second cover he has helped me with, the first being “Another Time – Another Chance” where he did the whole thing himself.

Who is your publisher? I publish myself. The last two books have been eBooks and I will continue to go this route until something better comes along.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? The character was near to me and I wanted to see where he would go with the challenges he faced.

 

The Tales of Nick

Buy Now @ Amazon @Smashwords

Genre - Thriller/Romance

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Steve Wilhelm on Facebook

Website http://stevemutt.wordpress.com/

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