The Hot Author Report

Interview with Bill Walker – Author of A Note From an Old Acquaintance

Bill Walker is a graphic designer specializing in book and dust jacket design, and has worked on projects by Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King. Between his design work and his writing, he spends his spare time reading voraciously and playing very loud guitar, much to the chagrin of his lovely wife and two sons. Bill makes his home in Los Angeles and can be reached through his web site: http://www.billwalkerdesigns.com/

Q: It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?

First of all, I’d dearly love to be one of those brand name authors who just write for a living.  Until that happens, I do happen to work at other things.  Besides the “Writer” hat I wear, I’m also a graphic designer.  For a day job I ‘m an art director for a company that manufactures electronic gift cards. I also have a freelance business that specializes in book design.  I do interior layouts as well as covers.

Q: What compelled you to write your first book?

If you mean the first one I wrote when I was nine years old, it was the desire to sustain the thrill of a favorite book, Ben and Me, a story about Ben Franklin and his highly intelligent pet mouse.  My first novel, Camp Stalag, which I wrote back in the 90s, was inspired by Hogan’s Heroes, as well as my experiences in summer camp, and my ongoing interest in World War II.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Ever since I started reading, I wanted to tell stories, too.  I knew it in my bones.

Q: Tell us briefly about your book.

It’s a love story about two people who are destined to be together, but life gets in the way and pulls them apart.  Fifteen years later they meet again and the sparks fly.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I’m seriously considering a sequel to A Note from an Old Acquaintance.

Q: Do you have a favourite character? Why is s/he your favourite?

I honestly love all my characters, as they are extensions of me–both my good and bad points.  As for this book in particular, aside from Brian and Joanna, I found myself really intrigued by Erik Ruby.  Here is a man who has everything, yet he is unable to really love Joanna in the way she wants to be loved.  He puts her on a pedestal.  The irony is that he knows there is something truly special about her, but tragically, is unable to truly comprehend the nature of that special quality.

Q: How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

Like I’d just reached to top of Mt. Everest.

Q: What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write? Do you need the noise or the silence?

Definitely silence.  If I listened to music, I’d never get anything done.  Music inspires me, however.  I’ve often gotten ideas for a story from a piece of music.  In fact, the song that inspired this book is Boston’s “More Than a Feeling.”

Q: If you could live in one of your books, which one would you live in? (If you’re promoting your first publication, feel free to talk about an unpublished piece.)

Well, I did live in Boston for many years, so the setting for A Note from an Old Acquaintance is a very comfortable universe for me.

Q: How do you balance out the writer’s life and the rest of life? Do you get up early? Stay up late? Ignore friends and family for certain periods of time?

When I’m writing, I’m almost constantly in what I call “Story Mode,” so I could be anywhere.  Just because I’m sitting by myself at a party, it doesn’t mean I’m anti-social–it means I’m working.  Mostly, I like to get up early, as I think I’m the freshest at that time.

Q: The main characters of your stories – do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of them or do you create them to be completely different from you?

As a writer I consider myself the ultimate actor.  I get to inhabit each character, becoming them as I write them.  It’s one of the greatest thrills we writers can experience, aside from mass adulation from millions of readers   Inevitably, however, all my characters are bits and piece of me.

Q: Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

There are many writers I’ve admired over the years, but the top three are Stephen King, Richard Matheson and Dean Koontz.  Of the three, I would say Dean Koontz has been more of a mentor in the sense that he wrote one of best, if not the best, How-to books on writing: How to write Best-Selling Fiction.  It was published by Writers Digest back in 1981 and is now out of print.  If you can find a copy it will cost you an arm and a leg, but the content is priceless.

Q: When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

The Mad Scientists’ Club by Bertand R. Brinley.  They were short stories collected in book form and are still terrific.  They’ve all been recently reissued in hard cover by Purple House Press.

Q: What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

I would say Stephen King is my all-time favorite.  As to favorite genre, I would say suspense thrillers.  Then again, my favorite novel is Jack Finney’s Time and Again, the original time travel love story.  I’m nothing if not eclectic in my tastes.

Q: Where you have lived and what you have experienced can influence your writing in many ways. Are there any specific locations or experiences that have popped up in your books?

Boston is as much a “character” in my book as the human ones.  It’s where I spent some very important and formative years.  I miss it a great deal.  Just don’t miss the snow

Q: What is your writing space like? Do you have a designated space? What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting? Typing? Handwriting?

I type on a MacBook Pro laptop, which is also the same computer I do my graphic work.  When at home, it resides in a little nook off the master bedroom where I’m literally surrounded by books.

Q: Is there any particular book that, when you read it, you thought, “I wish I had written that!”?

Fatherland by Robert Harris.  It’s an alternate history novel that takes place in a 1963 where Germany won World War II.  Great book.

Q: Is there anything you’d go back and do differently now that you have been published, in regards to your writing career?

It would have been to start writing seriously much earlier than I did.  I’ve always had an affinity for words, but if I’d started learning the craft years earlier, in college for instance, I’d probably be much farther along the path.  On the other hand, I think I needed the seasoning, so to speak, to live those extra years to gain whatever insights I have.  We see things much differently in middle age than we do in our twenties.

Q: In my experience, some things come quite easily (like creating the setting) and other things aren’t so easy (like deciding on a title). What comes easily to you and what do you find more difficult?

It’s different for each book.  For this one the setting and the title were equally easy.  For others, it will be different.  The one thing that’s crucial for me is that I know the basic arc of the story.  If I don’t know where it’s going, my fingers feel as if they have lead weights on them.  On the other hand, I’m not one of those writers that outline every nuance of their stories.  To me that would kill a lot of the spontaneity.

Q: Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

This can be a very good thing when it happens for the right reasons.  The trick is in knowing when it’s not going right.  Thankfully, for me, that seems to be an instinctive sense.

Q: Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending? If so, when and where?

For now, I’m doing the blog tours.  I love doing book signings, but have found that if one is not a brand name author they can be a complete waste of time.  Just because you write it it, it doesn’t mean the people will come.  There have been a few signings where I did little but talk to the bookstore owner for two hours.  For a new author that kind of experience can be very demoralizing.

Q: It’s one thing to write a book and another to edit it. How do you feel about the editing process? What was it like to edit your book?

As in film production, the editing process is crucial, whether an author is doing his/her own or working with someone else.  While I do tend to be self-critical, I also think another pair of eyes is key to finding and correcting any and all potential problems.  I’m often too close to my work to look at it completely objectively.

Q: Now that you are a published author, does it feel differently than you had imagined?

I love telling stories and hearing from readers who’ve enjoyed the stories I’ve told them.  To me, entertaining a reader is the highest of callings.

Right now, I’m in the process of setting up a fan page on Facebook.  To be honest, I’ve avoided these kinds of sites in the past, but have come to realize that they can be of immense value.  As for a blog, I do have one, but I desperately need to update it.  One can find it at: www.billwalkerdesigns.com/blog.