This week, we're talking with Richard Hacker about his new book, Die Back.
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I sing with a jazz vocal ensemble, so I usually spend a bit of time rehearsing music each day. And I like to draw—although I’ve only been at it for about a year. I also love to cook. I recently picked up a sous vide. You essentially cook the food in a bath of water at a regulated temperature. It does amazing things to meats. I even sous vide hard boiled eggs!
Why do you write?
I love to tell stories. I love to write. I love the craft of it. The complexity of it. When I came up with the story idea for DIE BACK, I felt compelled to tell it. But I think the origin for me was with my Dad. He was an avid reader. He visited the library every Saturday and would pick up at least a couple of books. I’d go along and get a stack too! He’d hang in his lounge chair on Sundays, watching football and reading. The books were always by his chair. When my daughter was little, they had a little game where he’d let her steal his bookmark. So, he inspired reading and reading inspired storytelling. Each time I opened a book I entered some magical place.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
This might sound odd, but it started with a fountain pen. I was holding a fountain pen one day and my mind wandered to the power of words. Human beings have been naming things since the beginnings of language. It’s how we find our place in the world and in some cases I think, gives us a sense of control. Or at least the illusion of control.
So, what would happen if a character had a pen filled with alchemical ink that when he wrote the name and a date for someone living in the past, his consciousness would be transported into that person? What would he do with that astounding capability? And as with most technology, what if someone decided to use the alchemy to acquire power and control time itself? How would the protagonist fend off this attack on the time continuum and reality as he knows it? And then I put the fountain pen down, pulled at the laptop, and started writing.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
Fantasy gives a writer the freedom to let the imagination fly freely, creating whole new worlds. I think of my work as speculative fiction, combining genres in a creative fusion of fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction.
How would you describe your writing process?
DIE BACK is a complex story combining speculative and historical fiction, as well as being a fantasy/thriller. With so many details and twists and turns I had to work from an outline which got adjusted as I wrote. I also have a meta-structure in mind, which I think most novelist do. Maybe all not identical, but some key pegs to hang the story on. At the highest level I’ll know what my inciting incident will be, the first major plot point, the major reversal, the second major plot point, the climax, and the denouement. Of course, there’s lots more detail within those primary points. Technically I tend to use Scrivener for my initial draft and then pull it into Word for editing and formatting.
I’ve made a point of not having too much structure around my writing. I know for some writers, they need to write from 7-11 pm Monday through Friday at the desk in the back room of the apartment while drinking tea, and with a piece of chocolate. And it works for them. For me, I want—and do—write anywhere, anytime. I do more writing in the afternoons, but sometimes I write in the mornings. I write on my sofa, a desk in a back room, a standing desk, various coffee shops, and airplanes. For myself, I just don’t want to create any barriers. I don’t want to think ‘I can’t write now because I’m not at my desk’.
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
I'm on social media via a website, a blog, a Facebook author page and a Facebook book page, Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter. I think the real challenge for authors these days is being discoverable. So every avenue we have open to us to allow potential readers to find us is a good thing.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Be persistent. When you’re writing a novel, edit, edit, edit. When you’re looking for an agent, pitch, pitch, pitch. When you’re marketing your book, sell, sell, sell. And of course, the nature of the beast is you have to do all of those things at the same time!
Be open to critique. Early on, I think it’s difficult for authors to hear critique because it feels so personal. I’ve just poured my heart onto the page and you’re telling me my protagonist is one-dimensional? Don’t take critique personally. Take a step back from it and see what truth there is for you.
Continually hone your craft by going to conferences and workshops, working with other writers.
Write, write, write. Write what you love to write Write what jazzes you. I think it leads to better writing and it’s a lot more fun.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
Titles are hard. Fortunately, my publisher has a good nose for titles. The early title of the book was The Geneologist, which made some sense because the protagonist’s father had a cover as a genealogist. But on the shelf, it looks like it’s going to be a story about a genealogist. Most readers won’t put fantasy/thriller and genealogist together.
DIE BACK is the kind of title that makes you go, what? I wonder what that is? Now I’m opening the book just to understand what DIE BACK means. In the novel, the protagonist, Addison Shaw, uses a pen filled with alchemical ink. When he writes the name and a date for someone living in the past, his consciousness enters that person’s mind. The only way from him to break the link is to die—a process he calls dieback.
The cover was a combination of me looking for an image that communicated the story and the publisher taking that image and completing the design. The image of a young man floating upward captures the idea of both the inking—when he uses the pen to enter the mind of someone in the past—and the dieback—when he dies to re-enter his own body. I think the publisher did a great job taking that image and then designing the front, spine, and back.
What's your next step?
Beyond letting readers know about DIE BACK, I'm looking at doing an audio book. We're currently looking for the voice talent. I’ve got a completed draft of the follow-on to DIE BACK—no title yet—and am hoping to publish in the Summer of 2019. I’m currently writing the third installment to the series as well, and that would hopefully come out in 2020. I also have a completed science fiction novel I’m probably going to self-publish just for fun. It’s called THE BIFURCATION OF DUNGSTEN CREASE. There’s no publication date set yet for that one. And I’ve got a couple of other story ideas I dabble with, waiting to see if one of them grabs my attention.
If you'd like to know more about DIE BACK, visit my website at www.richardhacker.com, subscribe to the blog (there's a drawing for a free signed copy of the book each month for new subscribers). And check out the book trailer and the Behind the Curtain blog posts that will give you a glimpse at the history and workings behind the story. You can pick up your copy of DIE BACK in paperback or Kindle ebook at the Amazon URL below.
What book do you wish you had written?
LOL. The next one. I am very happy with DIE BACK, so no regrets. And I've got the second installment almost ready to go. I don't tend to look backwards, but forwards at what's next. I've got a humorous sci-fi story just about finished, and two other novels at the beginning stages, as well as about a third of the way into the third book of the DIE BACK series.
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
Grateful. Reviews, especially on Amazon, have a significant impact on potential readers. I know when I'm looking for my next read, I'm much more attracted to something that has some activity around it than a book where there doesn't seem to be much interest.
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