Hello everyone,
I am so excited to have as my special blog guest, the devilishly delightful author Danielle DeVor! Danielle sat down with me for a lengthy interview and this is the first installment of our discussion. Her latest book, Tail of the Devil is a must read, rollercoaster vampire ride. Her upcoming book, which I am dying to get my hands on, deals with a defrocked priest, who is also an exorcist. Set in a town called Sorrow’s Point, at a haunted mansion terrifying enough to cause a few sleepless nights, its Halloween release date can’t come soon enough.
VC- Danielle, thank you so much for making time to be on my blog.
DD- How could I possibly resist? Thanks for having me.
VC- First, let me say your cape in your publicity shot is quite fetching.
DD- That old thing. I dug it up somewhere. Actually, it was dug up out of my friend's crypt. I'll return it one day when she isn't quite so...indisposed.
VC- So glad you could get the stains of decomposing corpse off of it.
DD- Oxy-clean is my hero.
VC- So, let’s start with your background. Where did you grow up?
DD- I was born in Morgantown, WV. My town is a valley in between the mountains of West Virginia. So, lots of snow and cold. Sometimes, I think that is one of the things that guided me toward writing about unusual people in hard situations.
VC- That’s an interesting point. How you’ve taken your environment and its hostile weather and turned it into an attribute that drives your characters.
DD- It’s very interesting how a certain environment seems to attract unusual people. For example, looking at Stephen Kings’ works like Storm of the Century, Salem’s Lot, The Shining and It. All are set in isolated locations, populated with a cast of unusual characters.
VC- Two areas I like to focus on are the process of writing and getting published.
DD- Both extremely painful processes.
VC- Nothing wrong with a little pain, as long as you are enjoying it.
DD- I think I just fell in love with you. (Laughing)
VC- It happens all the time. Moving on, what sparked the idea for your novel?
DD- Well, I’ve always had this thing for vampires, but it took getting the flu one year, and Mathias just popped into my head.
VC- Are you a linear writer? Or do you jump all over? Do you outline?
DD- I am a totally linear writer. I hate outlining because I’m also a pantser.
VC- Pantser?
DD- It’s an urban term, meaning “fly by the seat of your pants”
VC- So no outline?
DD- I have the idea sketched out in my mind, I may take a few notes, but no, no outline. I allow the story to lead me to its natural end.
VC- Describe in 5 words, your writing.
DD- Blend between comedy and terror.
VC- Did you learn anything from writing your first book and what was it? Besides it being a pain in the ass.
DD- Learn to write faster. (laughing) No, seriously. Tail of the Devil took me six years to write. Part of that was me getting lazy and not working on it for months. If I wanted to make a career out of writing, I needed to force myself to write until the book was done. That’s what I’ve done ever since.
VC- I went through the same thing, but it was either my partner Joel telling me to take a break, because the book was beginning to be the third person in our life, or I had a small bit of writer’s block. Sometimes it was because I felt what I was writing at the time was complete crap.
Do you ever experience writer’s block? Do you have a favorite method or mental exercise to overcome the writer's block?
DD- I have, but I’d noticed a real help for me to get over writer’s block is a deadline. If I tell myself I have to get something done by a certain date, I tend to be a heck of a lot more dedicated.
VC- Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
DD- Not really. I just always dabbled in writing something. I've written poetry, songs, and plays over the years before I dove head-first into prose.
VC- Do you work on more than one book at a time?
DD- I can’t. Being a pantser, if I worked on more than one book at once, I’d mix plots together.
VC- Have you ever experienced writing halfway, and then suddenly lost the passion and inspiration to finish the story? What would you do?
DD- I have, on a number of books, done this. Usually in the dreaded middle. I just force myself to write, even if I think what I’m coming up with is utter poo.
VC- How did you come up with the title for Tail of the Devil?
DD- My father is a Vietnam War vet, and he told me a saying he’d heard during the war when things were about to get insane. He called it, “Riding on the tail of the devil.” It was just perfect for Mathias’ story.
VC- How do you conceive your plot ideas?
DD- I usually start out with a general starting idea. Somehow, the plot progresses along the way. I’m not sure I even understand how my brain comes up with it.
VC- How do you work with an editor without the pride thing getting in the way?
DD- I know that an editor is only there to help me make the best book possible, so when I get my editing notes, I take each note and really think about it before I change something, or if I don’t agree with the note, I discuss it with the editor as to why their note doesn’t work.
VC- Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
DD- No matter what life throws at you, don’t give up.
VC- Were you always good at writing?
DD- Everyone in my life has always told me I was good at writing. I’m still wishy-washy about the whole thing.
VC- What is your least favorite part of the writing process?
DD- Without a doubt, writing query letters and the synopsis. I have a hard time condensing my books into such a small format because I make things difficult for myself with lots of subplots.
VC- I have to agree. What drove me nuts were the variations of query letters/ synopsis you have to create, all because agents and publishers all have different requirements. It literally becomes a full time job to work through the submission process.
VC- What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
DD- I love writing the last chapter of every story. There’s just something magical about coming to “the end”.
VC- What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
DD- For Sorrow’s Point, I had to track down long out of print books on exorcism and possession. I probably researched and watched exorcism and possession movies for about 6 months before I sat down to write the book.
VC- How much impact does your childhood have on your writing?
DD- It certainly did for Tail of the Devil, because some of Mathias’ life is based on mine. Other stories, not so much.
VC- Danielle, thank you for stopping by my blog.
DD- Thanks again for having me.
VC- Just a reminder, this is the first installment of my extensive interview with author Danielle DeVor. If you liked what you read, please watch for additional installments where we will dive deeper into Danielle’s novel submission process, along with pealing back the layers of the onion that makes up this author’s mind.
Her novel, Tail of the Devil is available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also visit Danielle online at http://danielledevor.wordpress.com. Her additional links are below.
Twitter: @sammyig
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/DanielleDeVor
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/danielledevor
Amazon Link for Tail of the Devil: http://www.amazon.com/Tail-of-the-Devil-ebook/dp/B00CJHO7D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367324817&sr=8-1&keywords=tail+of+the+devil
Barnes and Noble Link for Tail of the Devil: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tail-of-the-devil-danielle-devor/1115225829?ean=2940016494050
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