Q. How long after that were you published?
A. If you mean traditionally published, I was never published that way. I had four different NYC and London agents over the years, and had the opportunity several times, but at the end of the day I am too much of a control freak. I can’t stand the idea of letting other people title my books, write my blurbs, jacket copy, design my covers, and generally market and distribute the book. To me, a book is one entity, and all those things are part of it. Different facets of the final product. As soon as I start writing a new book I start thinking about the title, the cover image, the blurb, the synopsis, and I often stop and work on these things in the middle of the book. This helps me focus. This is the reason I self-published and probably will always self-publish. It’s impossible to have any control over those things in traditional publishing.
Q. What makes a writer great?
A. Lots of readers who think so. Full stop. Writing (fiction writing) is art, and all art is subjective. There is no absolute standard to judge it by. Plenty of experts even think Shakespeare was a “bad” writer.
Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?
A. It’s quite a mess, honestly. It’s being excited about an idea, madly writing about 1/3 of the book, then not being sure of where it’s going, getting all bogged down in the middle thinking it’s never going to come out right and it’s a piece of crap, and finally–after all that chaos–comes order again (for me) I finish the last 1/3. The middle 1/3 is the hardest, at least in my process.
Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?
A. My characters and story generally arrive in my imagination together, as one is so dependent on the other. You can’t really separate story and characters. You change one and you necessarily change the other. They are entwined like the strands in a DNA molecule. A character’s arc is the sum total of all the decisions that character makes in a story. Change one decision she makes, you change both the character and the story. For example, in The Wizard of Oz, if Dorothy didn’t decide to run away from home that stormy day in Kansas, she never would have gotten sucked up into the tornado (hit on the head, actually) and the story would have been completely different. Similarly, if she didn’t run away that day (reacted differently to the same situation), then she would be a little bit different in terms of her character, not the Dorothy we know. So a character’s personality shapes the entire story, and vice-verse.
Q. What inspired your story/stories ?
A. Don’t know, just always liked the idea of doing it. Creating an entire world that seems as real as the one we live in now, and taking the reader on an exciting ride through that world–great fun, and a real challenge! I always say that if I couldn’t be a fiction writer I would design roller coasters for theme parks.
Q. Have you? Or do you want to write in another genre`?
A. I write in several genres–adult thriller & suspense, adventure, romantic suspense, horror, and young adult versions of those genres.
Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
A. Yes, and for you to know it, too–I really appreciate the opportunity here, Trisha, and hope my answers aren’t too boring. Thanks again!
FREE e-book: http://mikewellsblog.blogspot.com Click here to read Part one of this wonderful interview with Mike!
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