So today is world book day, I feel incredible to have an opportunity to interview an author which has such an amazing writing style. I had a whole sleepless night till I didn't turn the last page of the book. I just couldn't keep my eyes off the pages and totally ignored even my phone, which kept buzzing like crazy. One book old and he has been creating waves with his amazing plot and narration style.
Author's Bio: David J. Thirteen has studied English Literature, Film Making, and Media Studies. He has lived and worked in the technology field for twenty years throughout the North East, in both Canada and the U.S. Writing has been a hidden passion for most of his life.Mr. 8 is his first published novel is now available at Amazon, B&N, and iBooks. It was first written as a serial story on Wattpad, where it became a #1 ranked feature novel. He still writes and posts new stories on Wattpad every week.
David currently lives in Toronto, Canada and lives a bright life, while dreaming dark dreams.
**DISCLAIMER: The interview does contain spoilers so better to grab a copy of the book and read that for reading below**
1.
How did you discover your hidden passion for writing while you have been
working in the field of technology for 20 years?
I
have always been interested in writing. In my teenage years I wrote many short
horror stories and one almost complete novel. Then after college introduced me
to the classics, I tried my hand at literary fiction. None of it was very good
and I never had a mentor, a teacher, or peers who could offer me support and
guidance with it. So one day, I hung it up and walked away, concentrated on my
career and my family. I never expected I would come back to it, but a few years
ago, I found myself in a bad place. The job that I once loved had become
completely unfulfilling. It wasn't really a conscious decision
but I started writing again, jotting down just a few random things at
first, but eventually writing stories and novels. Writing resurfaced and became
an outlet for creativity and fulfillment. My job was paying the bills but I was
sitting down at the laptop every day and producing something from my heart.
2.
Where do you take inspiration for your characters from? Like friends or family
members?
I
never base characters on people who are close to me, although I will borrow
character traits from them. Acquaintances seem to be a bigger source of
inspiration. Denton Reed, the main character of Mr. 8, was
based on a very influential professor I had while in college. I never knew the
man that well, but he has stuck with me to this day. And whenever I thought of
Denton, I saw him.
3.
Which is that one legendary author (living or dead) for you that you'd
wish to meet and work with? Also what would you wish to ask them in person?
That’s
always a hard question for me, because I always (realistically) imagine myself
completely tongue-tied in a situation like that. I would have to say Haruki
Murakami. At least, even if the conversation turned out to be a total disaster,
we could talk about music. I really admire his work. The first time I read
something by him it was like stepping onto a new planet. He made me see both
book and life in a completely different way. We would definitely talk about
music, because I would want to ask him about his thought process when he puts
music into his stories. Is it what he’s listening to when writing? Are
they a thematic decision? Or is it more just a way to define the character?
4.
So how did you end up on Wattpad? Who pushed you there?
While
I was researching self-publishing, I came across Wattpad, as well as some other
similar sites. I had just finished a novel that I wanted to get it out there. I
guess I realized that it wasn’t good enough for people to pay for, so I figured
why not put it out for free—at least someone might read it. Ironically, to this
day, I still haven’t shared that book with anyone. Occasionally I dust it off
but it always seems so inferior to the work I did on Wattpad. It really is a
great forum. The internet can be a pretty harsh place. Anonymity can bring out
the worst in people. But Wattpad’s community is amazingly supportive to novice
writers. I’m still shocked by how much I improved after I started writing on
there and started to get feedback from other writers. No one pushed me on
there, but one of the fist writers I discovered there was Alys Arden (author of
The Casquette Girls) and I have to credit her for proving to me that there was
high caliber writing on the site.
5.
While reading the story I felt that at almost three points you almost ended the
story but chose to continue with a new twist? Is it true or just a figment of
my imagination?
I
can completely see that, but it was always planned that way. The first plot
twist, where Cole Radnor seems to infect Denton, was really the pivotal point
of the book. For a brief time when I first started planning the book, I even
considered starting with that moment and splitting the story off with present
events and flashbacks of what led up to it.
The
second twist, the one right before the end, was a bit more improvised. About
halfway through the book I realized that my planned
ending wasn't going to work. Denton’s character had developed in
a direction where it just didn't make sense anymore. So I knew
I wanted to have the scene on the frozen lake and I worked toward that. I
decided to end it with one last twist. Denton makes so many wild assumptions
throughout the book, it felt like he needed to be proved wrong. His biggest
character flaw was what I took to calling “smartest man in the room syndrome.”
Even when he doubts himself he never really thinks he’s wrong enough to change
course. And that had to be his downfall.
6.
How did you actually build this concept? I thought the story started as a
murder mystery, went to some supernatural content and ended at what genre
exactly?
A
large part of the book came to me in a nightmare. I've rethought it
so many times now that the actual dream is lost from my memory, but it did
have a killer; victims who drew eights, which were really a sun and a moon; and
an alien virus. Like I mentioned earlier, the moment when Denton thinks he’s
become infected is really the key moment in the book. I thought I could cover
the events leading up to it in a few chapters, but once I got into it, I
realized it needed more and it became a whole mystery tale in itself.
The
ending still fits into the supernatural genre. It’s just a very different
supernatural source than what is believed in the middle of the novel. Part of
me would have loved for it to have turned out to be a rational explanation. I
even tried think up one and used my failed attempts as theories in the story.
But had I gone with the insanity being caused by something in the water, for
example, readers would have called BS on it. So really the explanation had to
be supernatural in nature. It does end up being a tough sell, and I know not
all readers aren't into it. The problem with it being a twist is that
the reader’s only know what Denton does, so when he’s wrong, the only
person to explain it isn't very reliable—Ray thinks he’s doing
something good not just twisting people to his will. I think if it ended up
being something like vampires, it would have had the power of established
folklore to add to the reader’s knowledge and might have gone over better with
more readers.
7.
The role of a professor getting caught up in this and dying in the end saddened
me. Why did he have to die?
In
my mind, Denton was always on a collision course with death. Conceiving this
story, I thought as being a bit like DOA, the main character
racing against his own impending death to solve the case. It gave him a
reckless freedom he wouldn't have had otherwise. While I was
putting this out serially, I got such positive responses to Denton that I
did start to wonder if there was a way to keep him alive. I came up with one
ending but it was extremely bleak. Ultimately, Denton could never live with the
things he did. He kills people and justifies it by saying,
they weren't really human. But by the end, he knows that’s not true,
they might have been under Ray’s control, but they were still human. It’s
why he doesn't try and escape at the end.
8.
Tell us about your upcoming projects and when can we expect to read the next
title from you?
I’m
nearing the end of the first book in a three part series on Wattpad. It’s
called The Things We Bury and it’s about a group of people
tasked with studying a mythological creature in a government lab. It’s much
more in the Science Fiction genre than Mr. 8. I have also
started a new novel which is very much in the spirit of Mr. 8. It’s
a murder mystery with supernatural and horror elements. My hope is that I’ll be
starting the publication process with one of them by the fall and I will have
something new out next year.
9.
Any message for your readers.
I
would want to say, thank you. And, please get in touch and tell me what you
thought of Mr. 8. This is a book that wouldn't exist
without my readers. It was my first attempt at a serialized story and the
feedback I got while writing it wasn't just hugely supportive but it
also helped to mold the direction of the story. Now that it’s published, I
am just hugely appreciative every time someone picks my book up—there are so
many options to choose from in today’s market. And Wattpad has really spoiled
me to getting a response from people. Hearing from readers is truly the best
reward of writhing.
It is a pleasure getting to know David
and here's the links where you can get to know him socially and his upcoming
works:
Website: http://www.davidjthirteen.com/
E-mail: DavidJThirteen@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DavidJThirteen
Twitter: http://twitter.com/davidjthirteen
I'll be reviewing more of his works when I get further chance.
You can Buy David J Thirteen's books from amazon.com. This link redirects you to his amazon.com page where all his works can be found out for purchase or gifts.
Here is the link to the review of his latest book Mr 8: MR 8_DAVID J THIRTEEN
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