Monday, May 13

Spotlight on Trevor Wiltzen and Missed Me

Author Q&A

We sat down with Author Trevor Wiltzen to ask him a few questions about being an author and his thoughts on Missed Me.

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite childhood book?

I have lots. But the ones that come to mind were the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein. I probably reread them once a year as a kid, and even as an adult, I go back to them (but maybe once every couple of years now). I love to reread books and have a stable of about fifty books or more that I reread from time to time. Books to me are like friends I want to visit again.

QUESTION 2. Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, why or why not?

I like to get to know readers on a personal level. I only briefly considered writing under a pen name, but then I thought I would be so confused responding to different names it wasn’t worth it, haha. Plus, though my writing touches on tough subjects, it is inherently positive and hopeful, and I want to engage readers with openness.

QUESTION 3. How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?

Great question. I see reviews as a conversation between reader and author. I did not spend all those hours in a coffee shop typing away for my books to be unread. I highly value and encourage reviews. Still, critical reviews can sting. However, I get over it fairly quickly because it is not personal, and it could be something I can learn from. Furthermore, there is an audience for every book, but no book is universally liked. Sometimes, a criticism tells me more about who my audience is (and is not), which is important for indie author marketing efforts (we don’t have the big budgets of traditional publishers and must spend our few advertising dollars wisely). That’s why Indie authors really rely on reviews. Fortunately, my books are getting excellent reviews overall, which is very encouraging.

QUESTION 4. Are there therapeutic benefits to modeling a character after someone you know?

Haha, no. At least not for me. I don’t consciously strive to use real-life people for my books, but those around me and my own lived-in experiences, thoughts, and feelings certainly shape my characters. I hope I am a good listener (a skill I am always trying to improve). Everyone has a story to tell, and I love to hear them. My characters feel alive to me, and I hope readers experience the same.

QUESTION 5. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

I would say editing. I can write a book in six weeks, but editing it usually takes 4-8 months. I don’t enjoy fine details, but in editing, you have to make sure you fix every mistake in an 80,000-word manuscript, so I am probably rereading my books over thirty-forty times to get it right. My first few edits are the biggest, and I can add and remove 10-15,000 words, and then it progressively gets less and less. It gets tiring that forty-first time when you are still spotting a mistake or two, which is like looking for a needle in a haystack filled with 80,000 needles, and they all start looking the same. The fun edits are the developmental (shaping character and story) and the most taxing is proofreading, the final stage before publishing.

QUESTION 6. What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

I spent eight years toiling over an unpublished manuscript. It was demoralizing, and I tried everything to fix it. Then I had a revelation. The problem was not my writing or the plot itself: it was because I didn’t know the main characters. How embarrassing was that? Spending eight years on a book, and I didn’t really know the characters after all that time? That’s when I took a side character of that unpublished book, a single mom, diner owner, and waitress in a mountain town, who just spoke to me so clearly, and wrote a series on her — the star of my Mabel Davison investigative mystery series. I wrote four books in six months as the words just flowed out of me, and now I have two of these books published. Every writer is different, and some are great with plot, and should stick with that, but for me, it is all about characters. I encourage aspiring writers to try different formats to figure out their style (hopefully a lot quicker than it took me 🙂 I just created a Youtube channel, and I will be posting a variety of how-to-videos for aspiring authors in the next few months (https://bit.ly/audiowsubscribe)

QUESTION 7. Would you and your main character get along? Why, why not?

Absolutely. I adore Mabel. She cares deeply about the world and is all about community. I love her sass and her doggedness to pursue what she believes is right regardless if her opinion is popular or not (in the mountain town of Blue River, it is not). I would certainly love to sit down in her diner and write my books, drink her excellent coffee, eat a slice of her renowned apple pie, and laugh at one of her jokes. So fun

QUESTION 8. If you were to write a spin-off about a side character, which would you pick?

Interestingly enough, I have multiple books mapped out. I have another series in the works, and these two series will overlap in book six. There are lots of stories to tell, as I find these characters so rich and the setting so intriguing, I can’t wait to dive in. Book three of the Mabel Davison series is next, though, and it should be ready early next year.

QUESTION 9. What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?

It would be the scenes with the bad characters who are racist or mean or bullies and seeing some of my characters suffer from them. I don’t enjoy that. However, I am very character-driven, and I let the story unfold by how the characters interact. Thus, I often don’t know what is next in a scene until my characters experience it. It is an incredible experience as a writer when you feel like a witness transcribing the words spoken by your characters, and you are rushing to write it all down. Spending hours writing can often seem like minutes or like I am watching a movie play out.

QUESTION 10. What is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?

Surprisingly, my books have changed very little in structure, character dynamics, and plot after the first draft. Since I write from the character’s point of view, I find my characters help define the plot and story rather than the other way around. At most, I add more character development rather than significantly change the plot of the book. Keep in mind, I am a ruthless editor and usually cut down 10-15% of the book in the first pass, but it is more to tell the story better and simply and to “kill my darling” phrases that I might love in isolation but don’t help move the story along.

QUESTION 11. How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

Readers of the Mabel Davison series tend to be women who have at least touched the 1980s somehow. However, I have had adult readers of all ages who have responded to the book and love the characters as I do. I highly value reader opinions and look forward to getting to know them more. Since writing is a passion of mine, I will do it for the rest of my life. I have two more books written that I need to get published and have ideas for several more. I love this writing journey and process and enjoy sharing it with readers.

QUESTION 12. How do you celebrate when you finish your book?

Writing the end is certainly a joy, but with an indie author, that is also just the beginning of the mountain of work involved to get the book edited, print-ready, marketed, published, and distributed. It’s like climbing a tall mountain, thinking you are done and then realizing at the summit, there is a much taller mountain beyond, and you have much more climbing to do yet.

MISSED ME FEATURE

Diner waitress and part-time private investigator, Mabel Davison, is haunted by the plight of a single mother desperately searching for her missing, drug-addicted daughter. But the longshot search lands Mabel back into the crosshairs of a racist drug lord, Karl Larson, ruling Blue River’s notorious trade.

The Sheriff, Dan Gibson, refuses to act to keep the peace with Larson. But when Mabel’s niece goes missing and the community’s festering hate and violence finally explodes, Dan is forced to choose sides — and the stakes for Mabel rise terrifyingly higher.

(Source: amazon.com)

In a 1980s mountain town fueled by the drug trade, a young couple gets into an argument at Mabel’s Diner. Then the teen girl winds up brutally murdered, and the black boyfriend automatically jailed.

Haunted by the tragedy, big-hearted, big-haired, single mom and waitress, Mabel Davison steps in and asks questions few want answered. But she’s unprepared for the secrets she uncovers, and now more lives may be destroyed, including her own.

(Source: amazon.com)

ABOUT TREVOR WILTZEN

I live in a small big-city located in the heart of the Canadian prairies called Edmonton. When I’m not working (or writing), I spend my time with my wonderful wife, two beautiful boys, and our friendly dog Maggie.

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