Greetings to all, Today we're talking to Author Steve Soderquist on his writing, what are his plans and what's next in his writing.
What brought you to write this book?
Farm
House was inspired by an actual house in Croswell, Michigan where I was staying
while finishing up the novella, ‘One for the Road.’ The matriarch of the house
had a then nineteen-year-old daughter and she seemed to have opened her home
to many a wayward young adult. As the home itself was so out of the way from
civilization and surrounded by fields of farmers’ corn, I wondered how long it
would take anyone to notice if one of those kids just went batshit crazy and
started killing every other person? Hence, a book was born!
Why spend months/years of your life writing this book?
Every
book written, once it gets to the stage of commitment is like one of your kids.
You will have it for the rest of your life and will forever want to correct
something about it. When a book grows from a concept, to a thought, to an idea,
then to being written down and worked on, then the vigorous re-writes and
edits, it becomes a part of the writer. I certainly have favorite parts to all
my books, but no one book stands above the rest. I enjoyed writing Farm House
as much as I did the short children’s story…just in a different way.
What are you trying to achieve with this book?
Fear…plain
and simple. Isolation and not being able to run for help, having nowhere to run
to for help, is a terrifying concept.
It’s easy to say, “Oh, I would run down the road as fast as I could!” But when
the chips are down…when the lights are out and it’s dark out and the road has
no signs and the next house is twenty miles away, and you can feel the killers
breath on your neck; the strength runs out of you like water through a sieve.
What got left out in the final draft?
I
originally had a whole chapter dedicated to Karen Foster (the mother) and her
childhood and an experience she had that led her to be as gracious as she was
to these seemingly misfit teens, but it really didn’t add to the story. As
Stephen King so aptly puts it: “Sometimes you gotta kill your darlings to move
the story along.”
Were there alternate endings you considered?
If so, what
were they??
Without giving away spoilers, there were
originally going to be less victims, but it didn’t fit with the mood of the
story as a whole. Suffice to say, this story is about three people when it
starts, and is about three people when it ends. ;-)
What's next for you? What are you working on now?
With
respect to my duties as co-owner of Foundations, LLC with Laura Ranger, I am
currently finishing edits on a novel I previously released called ‘SEEDS’ and a
YA novel long in coming called ‘Jessica.’ However, there are only so many hours
in the day and as all writers know, getting in ‘the zone’ is at times easier
said than done.
What made you want to start writing?
My
love of reading! Even as a child I had a voracious appetite for books…any
books. Without knowing it, I loved challenges. I read ‘20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea’ at ten even though I didn’t understand half of it. I re-read it so much
eventually it started to sink in. The genre mattered to me not at all. V.C. Andrews,
Anthony Burgess, James Clavell, J.R.R. Tolkien…if it was in English, I was down
with it.
What things have you read that have especially helped your writing?
I’m
a firm believer that you will learn as much from badly written books as you
will from great ones. When it comes to craft, everything is illuminating.
Styles of writing differ greatly but when it comes to mechanics, I cannot
stress how important good, solid English 101 is. There may be such a thing as a
natural story-teller, but there is no such thing as a natural story-writer.
Learning all the little doo-dads of composition, grammar, punctuation, Parts of
Speech…all these are learned through study and practice. Writing an
enthralling, engrossing, (pick your adverb) book and making it seem, well,
seamless, is likened to a paint-by-numbers painting. The goal is the same.
Don’t let the numbers show when you’re done.
What's the hardest thing about writing for you? *
The middle is my personal danger area. It
comes down to feeling lost, bored, frustrated, confused, or a combination of
any and all. When the characters are just standing around twiddling their
thumbs and waiting for me to come up with something, I can feel the weight of
their stares…lol. Once I get over this hump and its game-on time again, the
rest falls into place nicely.
What do you wish you knew before you started?
It’s
hard to say what I wish I knew, as I
count all experience as good in relation to where I’ve now come. Without the
bumps and bruises, I wouldn’t have toughened up, and certainly if the lessons
learned were just fed to me wouldn’t have close to the impact as they have been,
metaphorically beaten over my head. When I look back on the months, and even
years, spent learning what I have, it would no doubt seem daunting if looked at
in anything but hindsight. I regret nothing.
Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write
more than one, how do you balance them?
I
love the challenge of writing different genre’s. I think most writers do! The best
books I’ve read and experienced have been a collage of many genre’s with
perhaps one or two as the main theme. Reviewers have tried to pigeon-hole me,
calling me a ‘horror writer’ and that’s a myth I quickly dispel. I am a writer
who wrote a horror novel. I also wrote science fiction, young adult,
children’s, thriller and suspense, and paranormal novels…and that’s only to
date.
Where did your love of reading & writing come from?
Curiously,
I am not sure. My house growing up was hardly what could be called a library of
reading material. If there was a book around, chances are it was mine. I seemed
to gravitate naturally to the written word. I loved the story-telling. I
respected the art. So much so, I did not even conceive of trying myself until I
was seventeen.
How long have you been writing?
Let’s
see. ‘Professionally’ (what I consider when I got paid for publication) almost
seven years now. Off and on, about 39 years. When I say professionally, I can
honestly say that’s when I took it seriously and learned how to write, not just
sat down and typed something down. Ironically, I never fared well in school and
English was a study of boredom for me. When I began to learn how important it
was to craft language when writing a story down, I admit it completely
fascinated me. I made it a life goal to learn as much as I can and share what
I’ve learned in an entertaining and non-cluttered way. I like to show folks how
to get from A to B without trying to sound either like dry wood or like an
English calculator. I enjoy teaching as much as anything else and my writing
seminars are something I completely enjoy doing.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Diving
into the deep, disturbing psyche of my main antagonist. Hey…I’m a lover, not a
fighter. Some of the shit she did and thought chilled me to the bone. It’s not
in my nature to think like she does but the very fact it disturbed me that much
only told me I was being honest as a writer, and giving the book it’s proper
due. If I pull back, I cheat not only the character and myself, but also the
reader…and that I refuse to do.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The
absolute courage displayed by ordinary people under extraordinary
circumstances. This book ultimately–despite its horrors–is a love story of the
most sacrificial kind. There is no love greater than someone who is willing to
lay their life down for you.
What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your
subject/genre, that isn't so?
That
it is just another jump-scare horror book. It’s been my experience that while
movies can certainly fall under a cookie-cutter label when it comes to
regurgitating the same ol’, same ol’, books have a way of taking on a life of
their own…especially horror novels. I can say the book is unique because quite
simply, I wrote it. I listened to nothing but my own head and heart and
therefore, so did all the characters. They are as unique as a fingerprint and
just as complicated.
What is the most important thing that people DON'T know about your
subject/genre, that they need to know?
It’s
not all scary! There are times you will feel compassion, or feel sad, or find
yourself laughing out loud. You will cheer for the hero’s and feel triumph when
they win as easily as you may cry when they lose. It’s a story of the heart,
not just ‘Boo!’
What makes your book stand out from the crowd?
One
of the greatest compliments I get is the fact my lead is female. Both of them!
There may be lots of slasher stories out there, but how many are girls, eh?
What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but
nobody has? Write it out here, then answer it.
Q:
Why pick on a girl to be the psycho killer?
A:
Because I grew up with four step-sisters and know exactly how insane teenage
girls can be, so don’t think I’m fooled for a second.
What does your "writing cave" look like?
My
writing cave is in my mind. Over the years I’ve been in a room all by my
lonesome, shared an office space with someone, and have been right out in the
middle of the melee and mayhem. When I am in the zone, I am in the zone. Bombs
could go off around me and it wouldn’t disturb me.
Do you use music as inspiration? Can you tell us about what type of music
inspires you?
Generally,
for writing I prefer no music, however when it comes to editing almost anything
goes. My tastes in music are as eclectic as my choice of genre’s. Anything from
Iron Maiden to Taylor Swift to Def Leppard to Toby Mac to Toby Keith is okay in
my book.
Must have beverage & snack while writing?
Water
and Neccos! Any hard candy, really. I used to be a smoker (37 years) so there
is still a connection mentally when it comes to taking a break and having a
smoke, so it helps. ;-)
Here is where you can find him:
Email address: steves@foundationsbooks.com
All social media links:
HIS BOOKS ARE:
Paperback
and Hardcover can be purchased at:
Amazon:
Smashwords:
Barnes & Noble:
Kobo:
I've been a published author now for over a few years, and I wondered if all authors get more traffic and sales through Amazon? I know as an author there are so many of us as indie authors we have to work harder to get noticed. It seems to me, that most people not only shop for items through Amazon, they buy there books as well. Amazon is where my sales come through almost 100%.
