DAVID K. BRYANT
- Guest Author -
G'day folks,
Welcome to an interview I conducted with a man who spent time in Australia as a child, but now resides in the UK.
Welcome, David ...
1.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
One of the biggest thrills of my life has been taking up
my new pastime of writing books. I would never have guessed it could be so
stimulating and satisfying. I was a journalist and public relations executive
so I should have realized earlier that my penchant for the pen could be
extended to authorship but that actually took until I was 68 years old.
I’ve been married to Stephanie for 40 years. We have a
son Matthew and daughter Melanie. Our grandson Henry is two and a half and on
January 9th, 2015, I got the delightful news that our second
grandson Toby had arrived in the world.
2.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I had my first go at a book some time in the 1970s. It
had been in my head since childhood that a prequel was needed to the great
classic, Treasure Island. So I wrote one. I wasn’t impressed with it, put it in
a drawer and forgot about it. Then years later, my schoolboy son Matthew read
Treasure Island and I told him I’d written the prequel. At his request I read
it to him. When he was in his 20s he asked to read it again. I was ashamed to
give him the old sub-standard job so I started writing it all over again. This
time I did all the historical research and gradually put together a bunch of
characters and a plot that, I thought, worked. It became my first published
book, “Tread Carefully on the Sea”.
3.
WHAT TYPE OF
PREPARATION DO YOU DO FOR A MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST
SHOOT FROM THE HIP?
I get an idea for the premise, then think about the
people who would be involved. From that, I start writing with no idea where the
story’s going to go. Half the fun is finding out for myself what’s going to
happen. I try to draw believable characters, put them in situations and then I
talk to them. I ask them how they would react in those circumstances. They
answer me and the action follows from that. It might lead to tragedy or a happy
ending. I won’t know until I get there. So it’s rather like writing the book
and reading it at the same time.
4.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
The moment of breakthrough when you know you have a story
that is plausible, fits together and can be completed. It seems to come at
about halfway through constructing the book.
5.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
The time and effort it takes. When I was a journalist I
could knock out a 1000-word story in maybe half an hour. Books are much bigger
animals. They need a massive amount of concentration and staying power.
6.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?
I had a good career. I was in the team that launched one
of the UK’s first computer-prepared daily newspapers. Later I moved from
journalism into public relations and had the privilege of working on behalf of
Margaret Thatcher. I promoted one of her revolutionary parliamentary Bills and
I also handled communications with the world’s media after the bombing in
Brighton that so easily could have killed her.
7.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
Getting “Tread Carefully on the Sea” published. It took
about a year to do so and I’m grateful to Solstice Publishing for taking it up.
8.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
Three more books (yes all at once). They’re all
historical novels but the similarity ends there. The one nearest completion is
a story set in ancient Rome. Like “Tread Carefully on the Sea”, it took an
enormous amount of research. It’s based around actual events as recorded by the
Roman chronicler, Livy. Another of the books is set in the 1960s, a decade
rightly known for its social revolution. But there was a darker side: everyone
thought the world was about to end and the drama takes place against the background
of the UFO hysteria of that time. The third book is a police/crime thriller set
in the 1970s.
9.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
I think writing fiction gives an opportunity to get the
world in perspective. You have to understand your characters and through them
you can better understand people in the real world.
10.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
Historical fiction.
11.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Don’t give up. If you have a story in your head, it
deserves to be written – and you won’t rest easy until it’s done.
See it as fun – because there will be plenty of times
when it seems that the challenges are insurmountable. You have to put the book
together, find a publisher, edit the book and then, when it’s finally a
product, you have to market it. It all calls for patience and perseverance.
Don’t think you’ve finished the book when you write: “The
end”. Go over and over it to smarten it up. Take out the lumps and add to the
bits that need more clarity. Exterminate repetition. Make sure it’s not
disjointed. Get the grammar right and correct the mistakes. Above all, don’t
use Grammar Checker – it comes up with nonsense.
Don’t get uppity. Negative behaviour at any stage of the
process will rebound on you. No one owes you anything.
Don’t get too proud. Your work can always be improved.
Invite constructive criticism from family and friends before submitting for
publication. Don’t think your editor is your enemy. Listen to the advice of
someone who knows it all better than you do.
12.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?
Everybody who invents a story encounters barriers. You
just have to patient and the answers will come. Worse than “Writer’s Block” is
“Cul-de-sac Block”. That’s when you’ve written reams and reams and you realize
that something about the story isn’t working. There’s only one answer: Backtrack
to the point where it stopped working and change it. Ask your characters what
would be likely to happen. They will speak to you, honest.
13.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
No, I just grab the time when I can. (Unless I’m “Writer”
or “Cul-de-sac” blocked!)
14.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
I have what I call my eyrie. It’s a bedroom/study on the
top floor of my three-storey house. I sit by the window with the laptop (and
spend too much time gazing out of the window).
15.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?
Finishing a complete draft. I won’t say “finishing a
book” because I don’t think a book can ever be finished. There’s always more
that could be done with it. But at some stage, you just have to say: “That’s
it. I’ve done my best.”
16.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
The oldest one in the world (I think). He was Homer,
author of The Iliad and The Odyssey. I believe those works set the standard for
what a book should be and it’s still today’s formula. Scenario, heroes,
villains, ups and downs, love, cruelty, tragedy, triumph, conspiracy, tension,
what’s gonna happens, fast-flowing prose, all wrapped up in a beginning, middle
and end.
17.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
“Particularly well-written adventure. A seafaring
one at that, right up my street.”
18.
WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
So why did I give it four
stars instead of the five it almost deserves? I suspect the problem is a habit
from the author’s experience in journalism. His invisible, omniscient narrator
occasionally breaks into the story and takes center stage, adding bits of
information or, worse yet, hinting about what’s going to happen next… it’s
deadly in a novel because it breaks the spell, reminding the reader that he’s
not actually part of the action or even an observer, but is only reading about
it. It’s distancing, and annoying in the extreme...Foreshadowing is necessary,
but it needs to be subtle, not done with a sledgehammer.
I should confess that I speak as one who was formerly guilty of the same offense, who has been duly chastised on numerous occasions and is now reformed. Or tries to be.
I should confess that I speak as one who was formerly guilty of the same offense, who has been duly chastised on numerous occasions and is now reformed. Or tries to be.
(By the way, the lady who
wrote this still gave the book four out of five stars!)
19.
WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR
OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
In a big way. “Tread Carefully on the Sea” came about
because I was mesmerized by “Treasure Island” as a child and wanted to write a
sequel.
The book most influenced by my experiences, though, is
the crime thriller. I spent some years working with the British police (not as
an officer) and drew almost entirely on that background for the book.
20.
OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
Travel mostly. I do as much as I can for leisure and my
career took me to quite a few countries. This is a beautiful world.
21.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE
PUBLICATION?
No, and having learned the hard way, I would say to
aspiring authors that this is something well worth considering, especially with
a first book. After accepting my debut novel, my publisher appointed an editor
and I was surprised by what he came up with. It was a valuable exercise but I
could have short-cut it by having had the book looked over by an independent
editor before I sent it out to publishers.
22.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY.
Get up late.
Breakfast and coffee in dressing gown.
Bathroom stuff around midday.
Go to beach, forest or mountains.
Have lunch (around 4pm) in a pleasant but not expensive
restaurant.
Go home and have a nap (maybe 5.30-6.30).
Do two hours marketing.
Dinner at home at 8.30.
Do four hours writing (9pm-midnight).
Read a good book, sitting up in bed.
Go to sleep at 2 or 3am.
23.
IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD
IT BE? WHY?
Elvis Presley. Then I’d be with someone who had a positive
nature, a great sense of humor, would buy me a car to get around the island (I
presume we’re talking about an island with a Cadillac dealership), and could
keep me entertained all day with his songs. Elvis and I would, of course, have
a roadside diner shipped in.
24.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD
LEADERS?
For God’s sake, listen to the people. I live in the UK
and I wish we would just tell Europe: “You’re a lovely place to visit but would
you please leave a very old, experienced nation (which is not joined to you
geographically) to run its own affairs.”
25.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
I’m retired and my plans don’t extend beyond enjoying the
freest years of my life. That’s mostly writing books, spending some time on a
desert island with Elvis, and travelling with my dear wife, Stephanie.
26.
WHAT FIVE BOOKS WOULD YOU TAKE TO HEAVEN?
The ones I could read over and over:
The Odyssey by Homer (charming)
The Early History of Rome by Livy (fascinating and the
best historical record of the kingdom, republic and empire)
Warriors of the Dragon Gold by Ray Bryant (my brother)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
(This one’s cheeky) Tread Carefully on the Sea by Me
27.
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
I see bits of myself in all of them. One of the main
things about writing a book is that the characters have to be credible and
recognizable. So, when you put them into situations, you have to ask yourself:
“How would I respond if that happened to me?” However, like most authors, I
model characters on people I’ve known. So the other question is: “How would a
person like that respond?”
28.
DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
Oh boy! The industry is changing so quickly that there’s
a discord between the old and new-fashioned ways of doing things. When I
started out on trying to get my first book published, I trod the traditional
route – submitting to literary agents. In my naivety, I imagined hardback
copies produced by a major publisher and on sale in bookstores. That would be
nice, but how does a new author break into a castle with quillions of
established big names? I think you’d have to write it a masterpiece and have an
agent recognize that amongst the piles of books sent to him/her every day. So,
to cut a long story reasonably short, I submitted to more than 300 (honestly)
agents. Some didn’t even reply; some took up to a year to reply (honestly) and
none gave any feedback. I then discovered the world of indie books and started
sending to publishers who took submissions direct. Bingo! There’s one hell of a
lot to learn about this business and I’d be glad to give advice to anyone who
needs it. They can contact me through my website www.davidkbryant.com
29.
DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Not once.
30.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?
Hard question. I’ve enjoyed writing all four that I’ve
worked on so far. I will tell you my favorite character, if you like. When I
wrote my Roman story, The Dust of Cannae (not yet published), I had this
nagging feeling that there was something missing. Then I realized that it was
not something, but somebody. This woman came into my head and told me she
should be in the narrative. So I obliged. She then told me by telepathy what
her role would be and she just kept on driving the story. I don’t think I have
a psychic receptor but it really was like someone else had taken control to the
extent of becoming a co-author. Maybe she was real and had waited more than two
thousand years for her story to be told (?)
31. HOW
WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
Publication is
success, but sales are a bigger one.
32. WHAT
SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD THEY FEEL?
I think they should
have been taken to a place which they wouldn’t otherwise have experienced. Plot
and characters are crucially important, but so is atmosphere. An author needs
to make it possible for his/her readers to visualize everything. The words
should become pictures.
33. HOW
MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
I can’t speak
first-hand because I’m not a designer. I do know that the cover is the only
illustration of a novel. It should capture the key ingredients and tell the
potential customer whether or not it’s a book for them.
34. WHAT’S
YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM?
To win pots of money.
35. WRITING IS ONE
THING. WHAT ABOUT MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?
This is the crunch
point for an author. They are introverts who, when it comes to marketing, have
to try to turn themselves into extroverts.
There are many means
of marketing and I cringe when I see my author friends recoil from them with
the words: “I don’t know anything about marketing,” or “I’m not a natural
marketer.” Rubbish. Writing a book is pointless if people don’t read it – and
it has to find its niche amongst the million or so books published every year.
Get on it, folks. Allocate two hours a day to marketing and if you don’t know
how, ask someone who does. You can ask me if you like –
Brand – well I don’t
think people should de-humanize themselves. Authors, like anyone else in the
public eye, should be approachable, responsive souls.
36. ARE YOUR BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHED?
No. My only book
currently on the market was produced by Solstice Publishing, based in Missouri,
USA.
37. DESCRIBE
YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS.
Lazy, opinionated,
bossy, greedy, moody.
38. WHAT
PISSES YOU OFF MOST?
People who are lazy,
opinionated, bossy, greedy and moody.
39. WHAT
IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?
Polarity in Motion by
Brenda Vicars. Here’s the blurb for it:
Fifteen-year-old Polarity Weeks just wants to lead a normal life, but with a mother diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, that’s rarely easy.Her life gets more disastrous when her sixth-period history classmates start ogling a nude picture of her on the Internet. Polarity would never have struck such a shameless pose, but she’s at a complete loss to explain its existence.
Child
Protective Services yanks her from her home, suspecting her parents. The kids
at school mock her, assuming she took it herself. And Ethan, the boy she was
really starting to like, backpedals and joins the taunting chorus.
40. WHAT
WOULD BE THE VERY LAST SENTENCE YOU’D WRITE?
The End (that’s a
joke). Last sentences are really important. They should convey to the reader:
“I hope you’ve had a good time here.”
41. WHAT WOULD MAKE
YOU HAPPIER THAN YOU ARE NOW? CARE TO SHARE?
Being rich. And
before anybody says it – being a one-time author is not lucrative.
42. ANYTHING YOU’D
LIKE TO ADD?
Phew!
Best of everything,
readers.
Website: www.davidkbryant.com
Clancy's comment: Go, David. Loved what pisses you off most! Keep going.
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