Happy Tuesday All,
Today, it's my honor to introduce to you author William Simon. He generously agreed to do an email interview with me. I hope you'll be sure to check out his story in Suspense Magazine, entitled Perception. It's really excellent, and I honestly didn't know if the character was a good guy or a bad guy until the end of the story.
So be sure to go check it out, but first join me in getting to know a little bit about William Simon:
Me: What was the inspiration behind your story, Perception, which appeared in Suspense Magazine?
William: There was no one real thing that triggered the idea, but it started after a conversation with someone about how the common perception of behavioral analysis is different from the reality. It's not psychic visions, it's not "getting inside" someone's mind, it's slow, patient, methodical work.
Me: Are all your stories supsense/thrillers?
William: Pretty much, yes. Sometimes, I'll try and do a straight out mystery like Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr used to write, but no one ever sees those because I've yet to make it work successfully!
Me: You mentioned you had a novella published in an anthology once, can you talk more about that?
William: I'd been writing from the age of seven, and back in the 1980's had some extremely minor success in television. After that, I decided I could mount a television series, and spent eight years of my life trying to make it happen. At one time, things looked very very good, but it came apart at the very last moment. That experience was so disheartening that I stopped writing for many years. In 2000, Rosemary Edghill asked me if I wanted to submit anything for a new anthology she was editing, and I politely said "No." A couple of days later, I 'saw' the events in my story like a movie in my head, got it down on paper, and was fortunate enough to have to accepted for the anthology MURDER BY MAGIC. That re-ignited the spark and I started writing again.
Me: For fun: What's your favorite TV show?
William: No single one. I do have a fondness for British series from the 1960's: THE SAINT, THE AVENGERS, THE BARON, THE PROTECTORS, etc. Current favorite is CASTLE; it's terrific to have a hero who's a hero, instead of the dark characters that became popular in the 80's and 90's.
Me: How does your real life career influence your writing and can you tell this blog's readers more about it?
William: I am a Licensed Computer Forensics Investigator, and have been since 2000. Doing that kind of work you learn first hand the truth of the adage "Once you see something, you can't un-see it." I've caught myself more than once going far too dark in my writing sometimes thanks to a particular case I've dealt with. That's why we have a DELETE button.... :)
Me: What advice can you give to aspiring authors?
William: Tell one hell of a story. And keep it YOUR story. Don't get caught up in critiques, comments, or start writing to editorial order unless there's a really good reason. It's your voice, it's your story, tell it your way. And don't ever give up. The stories and legends about novels that were rejected yet went on to become Classics is long and large. Lightening strikes all the time, it may as well strike you.
Me: For fun: What's your dream car and can you tell this blog's readers about it?
William: Mine would be a 1974 Cadillac Convertible in Screaming Red. The kind of road monster that gets 10 miles to the gallon but man, it sure looks awesome going down the highway!
Me: What has someone told you about writing that you find particularly helpful?
William: Never give up. It's easy to get discouraged, it's easy to quit. If you reach a point where you decide you don't much worry about getting published, that's fine, it's your decision. But don't ever quit writing.
Me: Do you have any favorite characters and why are they are your favorite(s)?
William: Too many to list...:) From Rhett Butler to Scaramouche to Captain Blood to Tom Sawyer to Simon Templar to Robert DeClercq to Travis McGee to Lucas Davenport to Blaine McCracken to Spenser and Hawk to James Bond to Hercule Poirot to Holmes and Watson to Tarzan, the list would be endless...:)
Me: Anything else you'd like to add?
William: Thanks for having me here today!
Thank you, William Simon for coming on here and sharing a bit about yourself.
I hope everyone gets an opportunity to go check out his story in Suspense Magazine. You can find a copy of Murder By Magic on Amazon. Click here to find it at Barnes & Noble.
Have A Thrilling Tuesday!
Today, it's my honor to introduce to you author William Simon. He generously agreed to do an email interview with me. I hope you'll be sure to check out his story in Suspense Magazine, entitled Perception. It's really excellent, and I honestly didn't know if the character was a good guy or a bad guy until the end of the story.
So be sure to go check it out, but first join me in getting to know a little bit about William Simon:
Me: What was the inspiration behind your story, Perception, which appeared in Suspense Magazine?
William: There was no one real thing that triggered the idea, but it started after a conversation with someone about how the common perception of behavioral analysis is different from the reality. It's not psychic visions, it's not "getting inside" someone's mind, it's slow, patient, methodical work.
Me: Are all your stories supsense/thrillers?
William: Pretty much, yes. Sometimes, I'll try and do a straight out mystery like Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr used to write, but no one ever sees those because I've yet to make it work successfully!
Me: You mentioned you had a novella published in an anthology once, can you talk more about that?
William: I'd been writing from the age of seven, and back in the 1980's had some extremely minor success in television. After that, I decided I could mount a television series, and spent eight years of my life trying to make it happen. At one time, things looked very very good, but it came apart at the very last moment. That experience was so disheartening that I stopped writing for many years. In 2000, Rosemary Edghill asked me if I wanted to submit anything for a new anthology she was editing, and I politely said "No." A couple of days later, I 'saw' the events in my story like a movie in my head, got it down on paper, and was fortunate enough to have to accepted for the anthology MURDER BY MAGIC. That re-ignited the spark and I started writing again.
Me: For fun: What's your favorite TV show?
William: No single one. I do have a fondness for British series from the 1960's: THE SAINT, THE AVENGERS, THE BARON, THE PROTECTORS, etc. Current favorite is CASTLE; it's terrific to have a hero who's a hero, instead of the dark characters that became popular in the 80's and 90's.
Me: How does your real life career influence your writing and can you tell this blog's readers more about it?
William: I am a Licensed Computer Forensics Investigator, and have been since 2000. Doing that kind of work you learn first hand the truth of the adage "Once you see something, you can't un-see it." I've caught myself more than once going far too dark in my writing sometimes thanks to a particular case I've dealt with. That's why we have a DELETE button.... :)
Me: What advice can you give to aspiring authors?
William: Tell one hell of a story. And keep it YOUR story. Don't get caught up in critiques, comments, or start writing to editorial order unless there's a really good reason. It's your voice, it's your story, tell it your way. And don't ever give up. The stories and legends about novels that were rejected yet went on to become Classics is long and large. Lightening strikes all the time, it may as well strike you.
Me: For fun: What's your dream car and can you tell this blog's readers about it?
William: Mine would be a 1974 Cadillac Convertible in Screaming Red. The kind of road monster that gets 10 miles to the gallon but man, it sure looks awesome going down the highway!
Me: What has someone told you about writing that you find particularly helpful?
William: Never give up. It's easy to get discouraged, it's easy to quit. If you reach a point where you decide you don't much worry about getting published, that's fine, it's your decision. But don't ever quit writing.
Me: Do you have any favorite characters and why are they are your favorite(s)?
William: Too many to list...:) From Rhett Butler to Scaramouche to Captain Blood to Tom Sawyer to Simon Templar to Robert DeClercq to Travis McGee to Lucas Davenport to Blaine McCracken to Spenser and Hawk to James Bond to Hercule Poirot to Holmes and Watson to Tarzan, the list would be endless...:)
Me: Anything else you'd like to add?
William: Thanks for having me here today!
Thank you, William Simon for coming on here and sharing a bit about yourself.
I hope everyone gets an opportunity to go check out his story in Suspense Magazine. You can find a copy of Murder By Magic on Amazon. Click here to find it at Barnes & Noble.
Have A Thrilling Tuesday!
Comments
He's far too modest to say, but we have our very own super hero that battles the forces of evil in William Simon! As the folks in NW RWA will find out next month- that slow methodical work takes very special people and, whether it's Hollywood or not, I am sure glad there are people out there willing to track the bad guys for me. Thanks for entertaining us with your writing, Will and thanks for keeping us a little bit safer at night
Melissa, always remember that..:)
Jenn, it's YOUR story, and no one elses! Keep it YOURS!
Terri, absolutely! As opposed to series leads, Castle's a big kid with an Amex card...:)
Stacey, you flatter me...:)
Tess, thank you for the kind words. Hard to believe MbM was back in 2004.... Yikes!
Yeah...I know what you mean. I keep reminding myself I have to do what's BEST for the story and if it means turning down something a "Beta reader" suggests, then I have to do that for the sake of the story. Thanks for coming by and supporting me and Will! :-)
Thanks for dropping by and supporting Will...also thank you for supporting me, as well. :-)
LOL, I happen to like "Castle", too :-) Thank you for dropping by and supporting Will :-)
I second your comment! I forgot to say it in the interview, but I'll be sure to announce it on my blog soon about Will's talk coming up!
Thank you for supporting Will. Also, thank you for supporting me, as well :-)
Thank you for supporting Will and thank you for supporting me as well :-)
Thank you for supporting Will and also thanking for dropping by and supporting me. Always good to see you around :-)