BLOGWORDS – Thursday 1 July2017 – CHAT THURSDAY – MANLY MAN BLITZ – STEVEN JAMES
CHAT THURSDAY – MANLY MAN BLITZ – STEVEN JAMES
““Steven James gives us a captivating look at the fine line between good and evil in the human heart.” – Ann Tatlock”
“When I was young, I grew up on a steady diet of stories. Whether it was my uncle telling us ghost stories around a campfire or the short story collections I devoured in my early teens, or the Stephen King books I later found myself engrossed in, stories have always been a huge part of my life.”
rem: Hello, Steven, welcome to my little nest. Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
STEVEN: I’m a husband, father, author, storyteller. I love coffee and trail running and science fiction movies. I hail from the great white north where I was born in Wisconsin, but now live in and love my home in Tennessee.
rem: Tell us three things about yourself.
STEVEN: I love Cheetos, I write standing up, and I’ve never been to Liechtenstein.
rem: Cheetos, check; writing standing up—what???; and Liechtenstein? I don’t even know where that is… Cookout—steaks or burgers?
STEVEN: Burger with cheese, mayo, and ketchup. Medium rare is the only way to go.
rem: Gimme some tomato on that bad boy! Beatles or Rolling Stones?
STEVEN: Beatles. My elementary school music teacher was in love with the Beatles, so all the songs we sang were Beatles songs. It became part of the fabric of my childhood.
rem: Love me some Beatles. If you could have any super power what would it be?
STEVEN: I’d love to be able to walk through anything.
rem: Save a lot of time not having to go around everything. Fishing or hunting?
STEVEN: Fishing.
rem: My grandmother LOVED fishing! What do you think is significant about Christian fiction? How has being a novelist impacted your relationship with Christ?
STEVEN: I think it’s hard to define Christian fiction, just as it would be hard to define Christian photography or Christian sculpture. I think that if fiction tells the truth about the human condition of the world, then it’s honoring to God. Writing has helped me to explore many facets of my faith, especially the ideas of forgiveness and justice.
rem: Steven, this may be the best answer ever! (‘specially since I don’t write Christian fiction, but I write my faith into my fiction) When reading, what makes or breaks a story for you? Your fiction pet peeve?
STEVEN: Believability. As soon as something happens that I don’t buy, I tune out the story. Also related to this, when things happen without proper motivation, it annoys me and I eventually put the book down.
rem: Rhyme and reason, right? Which is more important: plot or characters?
STEVEN: A character with a meaningful pursuit is always the most interesting. Plot is the map that a character takes, so there will always be a journey, but a journey without a character can’t exist, and a character without a quest isn’t interesting.
rem: Oooh, I like that—“plot is the map…” What would you do if you weren’t writing?
STEVEN: I think I would be a family entertainer and tell stories for a living.
rem: When the stories is there they finds a way out. What are you reading right now?
STEVEN: The next book on my pile is the Marsh King’s Daughter.
rem: Looks so intense—and it’s in my TBR mound also. What do you munch on while you write?
STEVEN: Cheetos. Or Kit-Kats.
rem: Both yummy choices but gimme the chocolate and no one gets hurt. Tell us a little about your writing journey.
STEVEN: I started writing for magazines and then nonfiction books in the late 90s, but eventually found my wheelhouse when I began writing novels in 2006.
rem: And never looked back! You spent time in Kazakhstan. Tell us about that experience.
STEVEN: Over the years, I’ve had a few opportunities to teach ministers and children’s workers around the world on principles of creative teaching and storytelling. My visits to Kazakhstan have always been positive and I love the enthusiasm of the pastors and educators I’ve met there.
rem: Gotta admit I’m a little envious, combining the two elements of storytelling / creativity with teaching and ministering! What is the strangest or most peculiar research or interview you’ve ever done for research?
STEVEN: For my book The Pawn, I consulted with one of the three people who was still alive who had survived the Jonestown massacre in the 1970s. That’s one interview I’ll never forget.
rem: Color me duly impressed! What is your Writing Routine? Where do you write: In a cave, a coffeehouse, or a cozy nook?
STEVEN: Mostly, I write in my basement listening to electronica or trance music. I work from a printed page, typically stand, and do most of my best writing in the morning or late at night.
rem: Late into the night here, every time! What makes you struggle as an author? How do you handle it?
STEVEN: There are so many obligations to being an author that have nothing to do with storytelling. For instance, marketing or social media posting. All of these end up distracting me and making it harder to focus on my work-in-progress.
rem: Oh.my.goodness.YES! (like this interview?) Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? Why?
STEVEN: Creating. At my heart of hearts I’m a storyteller, not an editor. I like coming up with and expressing ideas, and while editing is important, it’s definitely not my passion.
rem: Without a good story (created) there’s not much point to editing is there? What do you mean by “Story Trumps Structure,” the title of your book on the craft of writing?
STEVEN: Story actually trumps everything—grammar, structure, all of the rules that we’re taught about plotting or outlining. Every great story breaks at least one of them. Rather than teach people formulas that might not work, I like to teach storytelling principles that always do.
rem: My motto is, I know the rules—and I know how to break them. What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
STEVEN: God made me to be a storyteller and I can’t imagine feeling fulfilled doing anything else.
rem: A to da MEN! What was the hardest thing about publishing? The easiest?
STEVEN: Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with many editors, some who were excellent but many who were not. Fixing the mistakes of poor editors is the most exasperating thing for me in the world. The easiest thing about publishing is coming up with ideas for books.
rem: So.many.ideas. So.little.time. What are your top 3 recommendations for a new writer? What 3 things would recommend not doing?
STEVEN: 1) Keep everything believable. 2) Don’t fall in love with your first draft. 3) Tell stories that explore moral dilemmas. Three things I would recommend not doing: 1) Plotting out or outlining your story. 2) Joining a critique group. 3) Publishing your work before it’s ready.
rem: Pantzer here! (don’t think anyone has ever said to NOT join a critique group before!) How do you choose your characters’ names?
STEVEN: In a sense, I feel like while I work on the book the names reveal to me. Some names just feel right for some characters and there’s no logic or specific process that I know of behind it.
rem: My [main] characters “introduce” themselves to me. Do you think of the entire story before you start writing?
STEVEN: Absolutely not. I write completely organically. I typically don’t even know how a scene will end when I start writing it, and I’ve never started a book that I’ve known the ending for beforehand.
rem: And it works very well for you. Tell us a little about your latest book? What is your current project?
STEVEN: Every Deadly Kiss released this summer. FBI special agent Patrick Bowers grapples with a baffling series of murders in Detroit—and discovers a terror plot with roots that stretch back centuries.
rem: Interesting enough—and then there’s that hook, “… with roots that stretch back centuries.” What is YOUR favorite part about the book or why do you love this book? Why should we read it?
STEVEN: The plot twists and turns are one of my favorite aspects of Every Deadly Kiss. If readers like suspense and enjoy a story that they can’t predict the end of, I think they’ll really dig Every Deadly Kiss.
rem: Go ‘head, readers, go get your copy! Tell us about why you wrote this book.
STEVEN: I was intrigued by placing a story in Detroit and one of my trips overseas helped me see the bigger picture, and the geopolitical storyline emerged.
rem: Love how seeming random, disconnected things come together [in our brains] to form a story. Please give us the first page of the book.
STEVEN: Here’s a link to the first chapter:
http://www.stevenjames.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Every-Deadly-Kiss-Sample-Chapter.pdf
rem: Even better! What is one take-away from your book(s) that you hope readers identify with?
STEVEN: That redemption and hope are available but they are not cheap. They always come at a cost.
rem: Nothing worth having is cheap, maybe especially hope, and definitely redemption. Anything you’d like to add?
STEVEN: Thanks for taking the time to meet with me. I hope that all of your readers will have a great summer full of great books.
rem: Steven, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us at my little nest today!
http://www.stevenjames.net/
https://www.amazon.com/Steven-James/e/B001IU0RQS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1497465537&sr=8-2-ent
https://twitter.com/readstevenjames/
https://www.facebook.com/sjamesauthor
www.thestoryblender.com
“Some people outline their books and go through dozens of drafts; some people write organically and hardly have to edit the manuscript at all. Some of it is skill, artistry, intuition.”
#Blogwords, Chat Thursday, Author Interview, Manly Man Interview Blitz, Steven James, Every Deadly Kiss, Story Trumps Structure, Troubleshooting Your Novel, Checkmate, Opening Moves, Curse
