Jeffrey Littorno is an indie author slowly building his brand in the self-publishing world. Recently, he talked with Where Zombies Come to Read about his zombie series. Along with horror, this diverse author wrote a paranormal novel titled Soul Hostage. Let's learn more about Jeffery and his writing...
Q: How long have you been writing and when did you decide to indie publish?
A: I have been writing for as long as I can remember. My first published work was a short story for the school district when I was in second grade, Leo the Lion Tamer. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, right?
Q: What was the biggest hurdle in going it alone?
A: As far as being an indie writer, the toughest part has been the need to spend time marketing my books when I would rather just be writing... Oh, other than this interview, of course. Self-publishing these days is like throwing a pebble into a huge pond. It’s very difficult to make much more than a ripple. On the one hand, it is great that self-publishing has become such a viable and accepted way to get books on the market, but it has also resulted in a huge wave of titles. Without effective marketing, a small book like mine can easily be swept away.
Since I have no experience going the traditional publishing route, I have no idea whether it is any different as far as marketing.
Q: In 2013, you published Soul Hostage. Can you explain the idea behind the book? Where did the inspiration come from?
A: I have a really tough time in pinning down precisely where my ideas or inspiration come from. I get a lot of my ideas in the shower. Go figure.
I know that a seed on an idea came from watching a homeless guy outside of a coffee shop. I wondered about the guy’s past and what exactly put him on the streets. I toyed with the questions what if he was on the street by choice and why would someone choose to live on the streets. In my mind, the idea took a sinister turn, and the plot for Soul Hostage was the result. I wrote the book without a title. One day I heard a television reporter use the phrase sole hostage regarding a bank robbery. I thought soul hostage was a decent play on words so used it.
Q: What drew you to paranormal fiction as a genre? Do you plan to branch out to other genres as your career progresses?
A: I have always been a big fan of the paranormal and horror genres in books and movies. It seemed like a very natural path to take. The main element which draws me to the genre is the way a well-written story can cause readers to suspend belief. A truly great horror story has the power to make readers accept the presence of ghosts, zombies, or devils as part of their everyday lives.
As far as branching out to other genres, it is a definite possibility. I do have some story ideas that are more literary. I will have to wait and see if those stories grow into something more.
Q: Can you tell us about the main characters in Soul Hostage?
A: The main characters are Thomas, Joey, and Louis. Joey and Thomas have been very close friends throughout most of their lives. And they have had lives filled with a great deal of trouble. As readers get to know the pair of less-than-upstanding men, it becomes clear that the only thing they have been able to count on is each another.
But this close bond changes after Louis Stoaffer comes into the picture. The apparently feeble, homeless old man soon makes it clear that not everything is as simple as it appears.
Q: How do you come up with the names for your characters?
A: Most of the time, I take friend’s names and twist them a little. Or I just come up with names that sound good to me. With Louis Stoaffer, it was a little different. I knew I wanted a name that meant more, held a clue to his identity. If anyone remembers the movie Angel Heart, it is similar to Robert De Niro’s character.
Q: 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?
A: For the most part, I get some idea or character floating around in my head. If it sticks around for more than a day or two, I know that I have to write a story around it. That said, I think my first book Bloom’s Desk sort of started with both a concept and a character. I had the idea of a young teacher being possessed by the spirit of a killer, and the story started from there. So the best answer is probably both.
Q: How do you avoid writing a Mary Sue or Marty Stu when most writers can’t help falling desperately in love with their creations?
A: Most of my characters aren’t that nice so I don’t have a problem with this.
Q: 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?
A: Oh, so we are back to the shower! I am not sure exactly why I get a lot of ideas in the shower. Maybe it’s the combination of steam, soap, shampoo, and water. Of course, most of the ideas that I get in the shower disappear as soon as I dry off. But a few stick around. I have to admit there is one idea that had been banging around in my head for several months. I just haven’t had time to get it out yet.
Q: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or plot it out first?
A: I definitely don’t start immediately, but I can’t say that I plot it out first. With Bloom’s Desk, I actually tried doing an outline and all the other organizing tools that writers are supposed to use. But I soon found the constraints of an outline frustrating. As ridiculous as it may sound, the story just told me where to go. Maybe it’s voices in my head or a muse, whatever you want to call it. There just seemed to be a direction that made sense to me, and the direction had nothing to do with where I thought it was going to go.
Q: 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?
A: Fortunately, my first two books had very good reviews. I should have known this streak wouldn’t last.
I just released The Most Uncommon Cold I: Life in the Time of Zombies and received my first really negative reviews. I wish I could say that I just shrugged them off. But after reading them a few hundred times, I moved to the positive reviews. It’s easy to say that no everybody is going to like your book, but it is another thing to see it written out in front of you. I did take a few bits of the criticism to heart and will try to keep them in mind for future writing. But other than that, the negative reviews are forgotten… Not really.
Q: 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?
A: I try to make my characters a reflection of society. So yes, I suppose I do take diversity into consideration, even if it is not always a conscious decision.
Q: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books top out at around the same lengths?
A: No, the word count is really secondary to simply writing until the story is told to my satisfaction.
Q: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do to shake it off?
A: I don’t think writer’s block is what I get. It’s more like writer’s resistance. And I can let my brain convince me that I have other things to do than write or that I can’t come up with ideas. However, most of the time if I just force myself to sit down at the keyboard, I can write. I have found that reading the last five or ten pages written puts me on track to write.
Q: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?
Well, I just finished a book called The Hand that Feeds by Michael W. Garza which was enjoyable. I reread Catcher in the Rye for about the twentieth time. I have read a number of books about selling more books, but I can’t say that I truly enjoyed those. I am in the process of editing Fires of Gehema by Justin Ordoñez. It is science fiction which is something new for me, but I am enjoying it. And I am looking forward to reading Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining.
Q: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope take off?
A: Well, I am pretty tired of vampires. I am not sure how long the zombie craze will last. Hopefully, they will still be popular when I finish The Most Uncommon Cold III!
As far as new trends, I would like the next big trend to be reading everything written by Jeffrey Littorno.
Q: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?
A: My plans for 2014 are the same as my plans for 2013, keep writing and marketing and writing some more.
Find Jeffrey's books at Amazon.
