Taylor Stevens
If there was one author you could co-write a novel with (they can be alive or dead) who would you choose and why?
Oooh,
that’s a really hard question. I think maybe Jack London. He was a prolific
writer, king of adventure stories, and a master of his craft at a level I can
only dream of aspiring to. But more than that, I would like to think that since
he and I both wrote our way out of rough-and-tumble, uneducated, impoverished
beginnings that maybe we’d have more in common than merely a co-authored novel.
To say you
did not have a normal childhood is an understatement, what you have been able
to achieve is amazing. Can you describe what it was like when you found out
that your first novel, The Informationist was going to be published? And then
so well received by readers and other authors?
Mostly I experienced a profound sense of incredulous disbelief. The way it works in publishing is that when a publisher wants a book, the editor will deliver a deal memo to the agent and this deal memo will outline the basic details of the offer. If the author accepts the terms, the agent will confirm with the editor and once that is done, that’s sort of a handshake that seals the deal until the actual contract is signed—and that can take months to finalize. The disbelief was so great that during that period of waiting for the contract to get sorted out, I was terrified every day that the publisher would have a change of heart and say they’d made a mistake. Once the contract was signed and the book entered the production stream and then went on to publication, the disbelief just kept coming—it was like walking in a dream. Of course, to really understand why it was all so overwhelming you have to realize how completely broke and hopeless I was right up to that moment of getting the news that a publisher wanted my work. The difference, one day to the next, was so stark and jarring that it created a lot of mental dissonance.
Mostly I experienced a profound sense of incredulous disbelief. The way it works in publishing is that when a publisher wants a book, the editor will deliver a deal memo to the agent and this deal memo will outline the basic details of the offer. If the author accepts the terms, the agent will confirm with the editor and once that is done, that’s sort of a handshake that seals the deal until the actual contract is signed—and that can take months to finalize. The disbelief was so great that during that period of waiting for the contract to get sorted out, I was terrified every day that the publisher would have a change of heart and say they’d made a mistake. Once the contract was signed and the book entered the production stream and then went on to publication, the disbelief just kept coming—it was like walking in a dream. Of course, to really understand why it was all so overwhelming you have to realize how completely broke and hopeless I was right up to that moment of getting the news that a publisher wanted my work. The difference, one day to the next, was so stark and jarring that it created a lot of mental dissonance.
Due to the
nomadic lifestyles and the time spent on the streets during your childhood, do
you think this has given you a greater insight in the creation of your main
character Munroe or did Munroe take on a life of her own as soon as you put her
paper?
I’d like
to take credit and say that I was smart enough, or that the difficult life I’d
been born into had created some profound depth that gave me an ability to
figure it all out in advance, but honestly, Munroe happened a lot by accident.
When I started writing, I had no idea what I was doing—had never taken a
writing course and had hardly read but maybe 30 novels at that point in my
life, nearly all of them suspense or thrillers. I had no plot, no characters,
not even a storyline; I simply wanted to use fiction to bring to life the
paranoia and corruption of Equatorial Guinea (a speck on the map off the west
coast of Africa, where I’d lived for a little over two years) for readers who’d
probably never visit. But in order to showcase that difficult political,
physical, and cultural environment, I needed people who could handle the
terrain in a way that made sense, and so it was drawing upon the harsh
realities of that real life environment that brought the fictional character of
Vanessa Michael Munroe to life. Readers responded to her with such enthusiasm
that the first book has since turned into a series.
I’d like
to take credit and say that I was smart enough, or that the difficult life I’d
been born into had created some profound depth that gave me an ability to
figure it all out in advance, but honestly, Munroe happened a lot by accident.
When I started writing, I had no idea what I was doing—had never taken a
writing course and had hardly read but maybe 30 novels at that point in my
life, nearly all of them suspense or thrillers. I had no plot, no characters,
not even a storyline; I simply wanted to use fiction to bring to life the
paranoia and corruption of Equatorial Guinea (a speck on the map off the west
coast of Africa, where I’d lived for a little over two years) for readers who’d
probably never visit. But in order to showcase that difficult political,
physical, and cultural environment, I needed people who could handle the
terrain in a way that made sense, and so it was drawing upon the harsh
realities of that real life environment that brought the fictional character of
Vanessa Michael Munroe to life. Readers responded to her with such enthusiasm
that the first book has since turned into a series.
Especially in your second book, The Innocent, you explore
the Cult world which is the environment you grew up in. Was it difficult for
you to revisit this time of your life or did you find that putting it to paper
was a healing process?
The Innocent was probably the easiest of the books I’ve written—mostly because, for all intents and purposes, I’m an expert on the subject and there wasn’t much research needed for what has otherwise been a very difficult, research-intensive series. But also, I’d made peace with the past long, long before writing the story. Had things been otherwise, I don’t think it would have been possible to stand back and dissect the issues dispassionately; the writing experience would have become far too personal, bringing with it an overwhelming sense of pain and injustice, and that would have just mucked everything up. Instead what we have now is, in a sense, me taking the reader’s hand and saying “Come, let me show you what it was like from the perspective of children, like me, who had no choice.”
The Innocent was probably the easiest of the books I’ve written—mostly because, for all intents and purposes, I’m an expert on the subject and there wasn’t much research needed for what has otherwise been a very difficult, research-intensive series. But also, I’d made peace with the past long, long before writing the story. Had things been otherwise, I don’t think it would have been possible to stand back and dissect the issues dispassionately; the writing experience would have become far too personal, bringing with it an overwhelming sense of pain and injustice, and that would have just mucked everything up. Instead what we have now is, in a sense, me taking the reader’s hand and saying “Come, let me show you what it was like from the perspective of children, like me, who had no choice.”
What do you think would be the hardest or most
challenging genre to write a novel in and why?
Oooh, that’s another tough one. I think I’d have to say all
of them. Every genre has its own difficulties and hurdles, and every author
will see those difficulties and hurdles in a different way. Erotica and
Romance, for example, which are some of the best-selling genres, are often
treated as the ugly stepchildren of the genre family, and the authors who write
those books find it difficult to get respect as writers—as if they’re not even
writers at all—as if anyone could do what they do. Personally, I don’t think I
could. Writing good stories is so much harder than it looks no matter what the
genre and I have a lot of admiration for those who pull off any book
successfully.
What do you think are essential elements that need to be
present in a Thriller novel?Oooh, that’s another tough one. I think I’d have to say all
of them. Every genre has its own difficulties and hurdles, and every author
will see those difficulties and hurdles in a different way. Erotica and
Romance, for example, which are some of the best-selling genres, are often
treated as the ugly stepchildren of the genre family, and the authors who write
those books find it difficult to get respect as writers—as if they’re not even
writers at all—as if anyone could do what they do. Personally, I don’t think I
could. Writing good stories is so much harder than it looks no matter what the
genre and I have a lot of admiration for those who pull off any book
successfully.To me, it’s that the reader has to feel engaged with the characters—even if they don’t like the character, they still have to feel the character. Without this, then no matter how much action or suspense takes place, the book will ultimately be boring. This sounds simple enough but with thrillers it’s actually quite difficult because the genre expectations call for lots of plot and action, and there are typically limits to how many words an author can use to tell the story. In a thriller, if it comes down to a choice between cutting action sequences or character development, the character development is usually the first to go. Genre authors who are able to successfully blend these elements are incredibly talented, yet they make it look easy.
Munroe is one of the most interesting protagonists that I
have ever read. What do you think sets Munroe apart from other female
protagonist out there within the Thriller genre? Do you find that most people
respond positively to her as she is a dangerous and at times ruthless character?
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until after the first
book had been published and readers began responding to the character that I
had any idea there was something unique about her. I was so sorely under-read
when I started writing—not just in the thriller genre, but fiction in
general—that I didn’t have much of a grasp of what else existed. And I’m still
very under-read which makes it difficult, even now, to know what sets
Munroe apart from other protagonists—male or female. I didn’t intentionally set
out to create a unique character. At the time, I didn’t even know I was
supposed to do that, I simply wrote someone who made sense to me, as a woman
who’d spent a few years living and working in rough developing countries. As to
reader response, I’ve found that there’s either a lot of love or a lot of
hate—not much in between—depending on whether someone gets Munroe or not.
Either way I see that as a good thing, because it means the character is alive
enough and real enough to engage emotions.
Your Munroe series has some very dark theme to it what do
you think is the appeal for the reader is to go to the dark side of humanity?
What do you have to do to take your writing to the dark place?
If we were to remove the dark themes we’d have no thrillers which means that, by the nature of the genre, all thrillers—whether they’re filled with serial killers, psychopaths, missing people, or terrorists—are dark in some way. There are probably as many different reasons for the appeal of these types of stories as there are readers, but I suspect that ultimately it’s because they allow the reader to experience the adrenaline of danger from a very safe distance. For me as a storyteller, taking the writing to that dark place is mostly a matter of finding a way to describe through fiction what already exists.
If we were to remove the dark themes we’d have no thrillers which means that, by the nature of the genre, all thrillers—whether they’re filled with serial killers, psychopaths, missing people, or terrorists—are dark in some way. There are probably as many different reasons for the appeal of these types of stories as there are readers, but I suspect that ultimately it’s because they allow the reader to experience the adrenaline of danger from a very safe distance. For me as a storyteller, taking the writing to that dark place is mostly a matter of finding a way to describe through fiction what already exists.
Do you
have any information on upcoming works or events that you are able to share?
The most
recent book in the series, THE CATCH, was released in July 2014, and in that
story Munroe’s desire to lay low is thwarted by a lying boss, an aging hijacked
ship, illegal weapons, and a captain that everyone seems to want. Coming in
June 2015 is THE MASK, set in Japan, where Munroe is pitted against forces just
as smart and strong as she is—which is about as much as I can say at the
moment.
The most
recent book in the series, THE CATCH, was released in July 2014, and in that
story Munroe’s desire to lay low is thwarted by a lying boss, an aging hijacked
ship, illegal weapons, and a captain that everyone seems to want. Coming in
June 2015 is THE MASK, set in Japan, where Munroe is pitted against forces just
as smart and strong as she is—which is about as much as I can say at the
moment.
Do you
interact with your readers, and if so, what’s the best way for readers to get
in contact with you?
Interacting with fans and readers is my desert to the vegetables and hard work of writing, so I definitely do respond to those who contact me. I’m on Facebook most days but I don’t post much. The best of everything comes through email from the cool kids who find me at www.taylorstevensbooks.com/connect.php , which is a mailing list that I treat like hanging out with friends. I email fairly frequently—like blogging to an inbox—all about the writing process, everything I know about the publishing industry, and personal experiences that have gotten me to where I am. These inevitably result in daily email exchanges, lots of laughs, and friendships as my readers get to know me as a person and I get to know them, too. I’m not able to answer every single email I receive, but I do read each and every one, and I respond as often as I can.
Interacting with fans and readers is my desert to the vegetables and hard work of writing, so I definitely do respond to those who contact me. I’m on Facebook most days but I don’t post much. The best of everything comes through email from the cool kids who find me at www.taylorstevensbooks.com/connect.php , which is a mailing list that I treat like hanging out with friends. I email fairly frequently—like blogging to an inbox—all about the writing process, everything I know about the publishing industry, and personal experiences that have gotten me to where I am. These inevitably result in daily email exchanges, lots of laughs, and friendships as my readers get to know me as a person and I get to know them, too. I’m not able to answer every single email I receive, but I do read each and every one, and I respond as often as I can.
What is
one book (other than one of your own) that you think everyone should read?Probably not a very popular or fun opinion, but right now I have a bee in my bonnet over The Divide, by Matt Taibii, a hefty tome of non-fiction about the wealth gap in the US criminal justice system. As the jacket promo states, “Poverty goes up. Crime goes down. The prison population doubles. Fraud by the rich wipes out 40 percent of the world’s wealth. The rich get massively richer. No one goes to jail.” With nearly 1 out of 30 US adults in prison or jail, or on probation or parole, this is such a pertinent topic that everyone who lives in this country should read it even though it’s a frustrating and infuriating read.
Taylor Stevens is becoming my go to author for suspense thrills mystery and action, her books really do cover all of that, plus I love her main character, so her books will probably always be in the must read column for me. Taylor has very nicely supplied a giveaway (US) to go along with her interview, so fill out rafflecopter information below to enter :)
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