Angie: How long have you been writing and when did you
decide to indie publish? What was the biggest hurdle in going it alone?
Trevor: I’ve been writing for about five years now. I like
the idea of indie publishing because of the control it offers. I can write
whatever I want to write, choose my own cover and set my own price. However, it
also means I have to do all my own marketing. And there lies the biggest hurdle
– the one I always trip over.
Angie: In Feb 2014, you published Reflection. Can you explain the
idea behind the book? Where did the inspiration come from?
Trevor: Well, I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of
clairvoyance. And I thought, what better vessel for seeing your own future than
a mirror? It just made sense.
Angie: Reflection is your first urban fantasy novel. Do you plan
to write more?
Trevor: Another UF story? Possibly. I want to branch out into some
other types of Fantasy plots first, though.
Angie: Ben Clawson is the hero of Reflection. Can you tell us more
about the character?
Trevor: Ben’s kind of an unassuming guy, a bit of an underachiever
in many respects. He’s a twenty-something who kind of fell into that ‘lost’
category. He didn’t have a privileged upbringing, but he never had to work
extremely hard for anything either. That leaves him feeling like he doesn’t
know what he wants to do with his life. Enter a mirror through which he can see
his own future.
Angie: What drew you to urban fantasy as a genre? Do you plan to
branch out to other genres as your career progresses?
Trevor: I’m very comfortable working within city-scapes, especially
big cities. I like how they’re at once full of life and hope, and also a little
dystopic. As for other genres, I’ve begun writing a Victorian era Fantasy
novel.
Writing in the time frame of the present seemed like a good
first step.
Angie: How do you come up with the names for your characters?
Trevor: Quickly. I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on names. I
kind of think about the general nature of the character and then choose between
a few names that pop into my head. Ben is a down-to-earth guy from the city. He
wouldn’t have friends with names like Hunter or Mason. Calvin and Jonah seemed
more appropriate.
Angie: Chicken or the egg question. Do you create a character and
build around him/her? Or do you imagine a concept and create characters which
fit the idea?
Trevor: I began with the concept. It all revolves around the
supernatural mirror.
Angie: How do you avoid writing a Mary Sue or Marty Stu when most
writers can’t help falling desperately in love with their creations?
Trevor: Although it’s a Fantasy piece, I still wanted the main
character to feel real. I wanted him to have faults and experience ups and
downs. It would be pretty easy to say – hey, with a gift like that, life would
be perfect – but that wouldn’t be very interesting.
Angie: Do you use anything to inspire you while you’re writing?
Music, visual aids, etc? Also have you found ideas come to you more freely in
particular places or at certain times of the day?
Trevor: I like to write while listening to music through a good pair
of headphones, but that’s probably more out of necessity for focus than for
inspiration. It’s hard to write with a lot of distractions going on in other
rooms or even the same room sometimes.
Angie: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or
plot it out first?
Trevor: I write first. I usually have some places I want to go with
it in mind, but I also like to let the story develop as it goes along.
Angie: When you read less than fawning reviews, how do you know
when to use the critique to improve your future writing and when do you chalk
up the criticism as different strokes for different folks?
Trevor: I always try to use critiques to improve. I try to learn
from my mistakes in everything I do.
Angie: I’ve read criticism from particular bloggers (Fangs for the Fantasy being one) about the lack of people of color and different sexual
orientations in fiction. Do you take this lack of diversity into consideration
when creating plots and characters?
Trevor: Yes, sometimes. I’m not a person of color, so of course, I
write what I can relate to. However, I’d be lying to myself if I said my Urban
Fantasy plot was realistic when all the characters were white. In fact, they’re
not. Calvin is a black character.
Angie: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books
top out at around the same lengths?
Trevor: It does mean something to me, and I struggle with word count.
I had to push myself to get this one to two-hundred pages. The plot moves so
much and there’s so much dialog that it’s difficult to have a lot of words.
Angie: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do
to shake it off?
Trevor: It’s not a huge deal but when it happens, I usually take a
short break from writing – anything from a couple of days to a week.
Angie: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?
Trevor: I started reading The Fault in Our Stars. Amazing writing.
Angie: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope
take off?
Trevor: The death lottery could be buried again for a little while.
Angie: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?
*****
Trevor Tomlin is the pen name of author Jonathon Kane.
Find Reflections at Amazon.
Contact Trevor here.
