J.D.: I like to get up and walk my dog in the
morning, then sit down with her next to me at my desk and drink a cup of coffee
and just let the words flow, preferably when I can have some quiet time to
myself. I try to wake up before the rest of the household so that I can write
in perfect peace.
Paul: If someone had the power to step into your
creative mind what would they see?
J.D.: Utter chaos. If they dared look in there,
they would be staring into a maelstrom. Sometimes I look in there myself and
say "Nope. Not me. Not now. Don't really feel like swimming in there
today."
Until I catch hold of the thread of a thought and start to unravel it onto the page, it is just ideas swirling and colliding and winding around each other. Once I start writing it down, I can grab the strands that seem to relate to each other and start to fit them together into a cohesive whole.
Until I catch hold of the thread of a thought and start to unravel it onto the page, it is just ideas swirling and colliding and winding around each other. Once I start writing it down, I can grab the strands that seem to relate to each other and start to fit them together into a cohesive whole.
Paul: Do you have a favorite character in each of
your series, aside from the lead? If so, which one and why?
J.D.: They're all my favorite characters. Even if
they aren't deeply developed in a particular story, they're still important, and
I still like them; otherwise I wouldn't let them in.
Paul: In all the years you've been publishing your
work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you could share so others can
avoid making it?
J.D.: Giving up before it pays off. I'm very
fortunate that my wife did not give up on my writing even when I had.
Otherwise, Dragon Fate and Dragon Blade would still be sitting in a desk
drawer. It's easy to forget that last rule of writing, "Never give
up."
Paul: How do you find the
time to write?
J.D.: I don't
"find" time to write - I make it. If that means getting up at 4 in
the morning some days so I can write when the house is quiet, so be it. I try
to write at least 3000 words a day. Sometimes it ends up being in six 500-word
sessions, sometimes I get it down all at once. Sometimes I'm a little under,
sometimes way over. When the muse strikes, I try to write and not stop until I
absolutely have to.
Paul: What is one thing
you hope I do not tell the readers?
J.D.: Anything you got
out of the transcripts of the recordings from that microphone you managed to
hide in my bedroom.
The password to the drive where I keep my first drafts.
Aside from that, I hope you don't tell them that I am the next
J.R.R. Tolkein - they'd be outraged and disappointed, and what author could
ever live up to that? - and I hope you don't tell them that you think I'm not
even qualified to write classified ads. How many things can you think of that
would kill an author's reputation? I hope you don't tell them any of them.
It should be clear at this point that I can't count. I hope you
don't tell them that, either.
Paul: Do you plot your stories or do you just get
an idea and run with it?
J.D.: I don't usually have a written outline that I
stick to, but I have an idea where the story is going. Along the way, I'll
discover things that work better than what I had initially planned, and I'm not
afraid to let the story go where it needs to go instead of where I want it to
go. Once I'm writing from inside my characters' heads, I have to let them
respond to situations authentically.
Paul: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find
that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?
J.D.: I do a lot of editing. Of course, there are
some bad habits that I've managed to root out as I've gone along that
don't come up as frequently now as they used to, but I still do numerous
read-throughs and re-writes before I let anyone else see anything I'm working
on. Letting someone else see it almost always results in a few more rounds of
tweaking.
Paul: Do you have to do much research for your
stories?
J.D.: It depends on the story. For the War of the
Blades books, I had most of what I needed to write them already in my head. I
have a couple of stories in the works that aren’t in that setting that are
requiring a lot of research: you can't write about taking a culture from
medieval-level technology to mid-1800s firearms in one giant step in a way that
is believable without doing your homework.
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J.D.: Dragon Blade, the sequel to Dragon Fate, is my latest release. Dragon
Blade is a little faster-paced and has more battles and
"action" than Dragon Fate, but the story picks right
up almost where Dragon Fate left off, and the same central
characters are there. There are some new faces, and characters who may
have seemed relatively minor in Dragon Fate end up playing
much larger roles in Dragon Blade. There are a few surprises along the
way, and, intermingled with the action, you'll get more backstory on many of
the characters, not just Delno and Corolan, and you'll learn more of the
history of the dragons and the Riders, too.
Paul: How much marketing do you do for your
published works or for your 'brand'?
J.D.: I do lots of marketing, most of it free, and
none that isn't obvious: I send out review copies to book bloggers who read in
my genre; I do interviews; I run tightly-targeted Goodreads ads; I have an
author page on Amazon and Facebook; I recently started a blog; I put book links
wherever they are both welcome and relevant. All of that marketing is
essential, but I don't think it is sufficient. Much of the word of mouth about
my books hasn't come directly from my marketing efforts: it has come because
I've been active and involved in communities, both online and offline, that are
filled with interesting people I like talking with who also happen to be
interested in the kinds of books I write, and because I've been fortunate
enough to be surrounded by family, friends, and associates who have been supportive
of my work and willing to share it with others.
Paul: What do you do when you're not writing? Do
you have any hobbies or party tricks?
J.D.: Party tricks? I can tie a cherry stem in a
knot with my tongue, and I can rip a telephone book in half. I make barbecue
disappear whenever I'm in the vicinity. If you don't believe me, I'm happy to
prove it - especially the part about the barbecue.
I got my
real-life adventuring out of the way early, and as a consequence, I'm pretty
sedentary these days, so spending time online, reading, and doing research are
my primary amusements lately. There are many things I'd love to be able to pick
back up someday; horseback riding absolutely tops the list.
Paul: Thanks, J.D, That was great. I wish you every success for the future.
J.D.'s Blog: J.D. Hallowell
J.D. on Twitter: unknown
J.D. on Facebook: J.D. Hallowell
J.D.'s latest book: Dragon Fate (Amazon)
Follow Me: 
Thanks for having me on the blog. You had some fun questions. I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThere is one minor correction: Dragon Fate is listed in the links at the bottom of the interview as being my latest release; it's actually Dragon Blade.
ReplyDeleteYou're correct, J.D. (of course)! However as Dragon Fate was the book you asked to be publicized, that was the book that was listed. Hope that's okay.
DeleteIt's fine; the books are in series, and Dragon Fate is the book most people would want to read first, so it's the one you should link to. I just didn't want anyone to be confused about the books' order in the series.
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