Interview with Danielle Parker

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

Well, Google, of course. I write book reviews regularly for Bewildering Stories, and they carry many of my short stories and my bio.

I’m not a big fan of social sites in general, because they’re too time-consuming for me, but I enjoy Goodreads. The focus there is on discussing books.

What made you want to be a writer?

I came to it late. I had an intense career in information technology and telecommunications that crashed for good in the Great Lucent Bust-up. But I always enjoyed reading, and I dabbled in periodic abortive scribbles as a teenager for purely my own entertainment. I never dreamed of publishing.

But when I was unemployed for the first extended stretch of my life, my mother said, “Why don’t you FINISH something?” So I did, though it never sold (it was a Young Adult fantasy). And now writing is something I couldn’t stop doing even if I won a million dollars.

How long have you been writing?

Since mid-2002.

What genre do you write and why?

I read everything, both fiction and non-fiction. Which means I won’t stick to the same genre in my writing, either.

So far, “The Infinite Instant” is essentially a noir hard-boiled detective story with sci-fi and romance riffs. My second work, “Galen the Deathless”, which I’m still marketing, is a fairly violent far-future science fiction.

Eventually I intend to write a series of novels set in Central and South America, since I am a great admirer of Latin American literature. And several historical mysteries.

I already wrote a young adult fantasy (the very first I wrote, now gathering dust in the garage). I suppose it was a learning exercise.

So I think I’m versatile. I really don’t like to repeat myself.

But I would say speculative fiction and mystery-thriller-espionage are my first loves. I do read occasional romance, and there’s romance in the Minuet James series (“The Infinite Instant”). But I look at the romance I add to my stories as a natural expression of character and human relationships. I’m not into re-hashing clichés.

Where do you get your inspiration to write?

To read other great writers is to refresh the well of inspiration. I owe so much to other authors who have given me so many hours of pleasure.

Feelings, emotions play an important but not entirely conscious role in my writing. Developing plot is an analytical and logical exercise. But when that necessary work is done, more comes into writing than mere mechanics. I can’t always analyze the results myself. Much of it is sub-conscious.

Tell us a bit about your latest book?

“The Nihilistic Mirror”, the sequel to “The Infinite Instant”, is finally in work. I have about 12k words done so far. Unfortunately last year I couldn’t write. My mother had terminal cancer and I was her caregiver. It was a painful time. I still have trouble accepting she’s gone. We were very close.

The sequel is more focused on terrorism than crime, relative to the first work. The Others return, of course, and so do Drago and Tommy (Tomeso Lulliano). Part of it is set in Detroit. We have some new characters; some old ones, like Ferguson, drop out.

The work just completed is “Galen the Deathless”. I wrote it in four intense solitary months this year (2009), after my mother passed on. I submitted it to a large New York publisher and have been told it passed their first reading. But I’m still waiting for final word.

Years ago, when I first started writing, I wrote the short story which became, with some minor adjustments, the prologue of the novel I always had in mind for “Galen the Deathless”. That short story was published on Bewildering Stories and may still be read there, if anyone is interested. Bret Funk also published the same short story in his Beacons of Tomorrow print anthology.

So I’m at work on the sequels to both books. But my personal situation is a bit up in the air now and it’s been tough staying as focused as I would like. Some writers write like it’s a nine-to-five job. Or they can set aside a few hours to write. My writing work habit is more like a torrid love affair. It’s intense and it requires everything while it lasts.

What prompted you to write this book?

For “The Infinite Instant” and “The Nihilistic Mirror”, my love of hard-boiled noir detective stories, of course. I suppose Travis McGee (John D. MacDonald) was the one I have the most affection for. But there are so many great authors, old and new, in that genre.

For “Galen the Deathless” and “Galen the King”… the character, Galen, had haunted my head like a dream for a number of years. It had to be put down on paper at some point. When I finally wrote it… in a state of furious grief after the loss of my mother… I suppose it was a release of some kind.

Who are you published with?

At present, “The Infinite Instant” is published with Lachesis. “Galen the Deathless” is still looking for a publisher.

Have you ever taken any writing courses? Which? Did they help when writing your book?

No. I have several kind editors to thank, among them Louise Bohmer, for picking up a few improvements in my writing. I don’t say you can’t learn writing, because you can, and I try to improve my writing continuously. But much is innate talent. You have it or you don’t.

How are you promoting your book?

Review copies that I mailed out directly from home, mostly. And I attended two local cons.

It’s a slow process getting out the word when you’re a first-time author. The market is more or less overwhelmed with sheer numbers of new books in my opinion. You can’t blame readers. It’s hard for them to know if a new author is worth their money or a waste of their investment.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Understand that marketing your book, finding a publisher, getting an agent (if you want one), is a necessarily hellish business. Keep writing in spite of the pain. Do it because you love it, but never be self-indulgent in your writing. A writer should be like a singer. If the singer lets the emotions get out of control, the song breaks down. You need to keep your audience in mind in what you write, too.

What are your upcoming projects?

Besides the ones I’ve already mentioned, finding a new home for the book-length version of my former e-serial, “In a Pig’s Eye”. Writing more of the Nordic-mythology themed Elvidner stories.

Mapping out the first novel I have in mind for the Latin American stories. The first one will be set in Guatemala. That’s a long-term goal, though.

What other writing interests to you have?

I write regular book reviews for Bewildering Stories, and enjoy that a great deal.

How did you research for your book?

I research, research, research before I start writing. I like to digest it before I start the novel.
“Galen the Deathless” (the novel) has an episode set in France, in the year 1209 A. D. I read everything I could get my hands on about the Cathar Crusade and the period. Not just the history: I read literature related to the Parsifal myths, including listening to, and researching. Wagner’s opera of the same name.

For “The Nihilistic Mirror”, I’ve read books about the historical Assassins; terrorism, both modern and ancient; pored over The Detroit Guide; and read critiques of, and the works of, Frederick Nietzsche. There’s a reason for that in the story.

Do you belong to a writers group? How does it help your writing career?

I have lead several writing groups myself and participated in several (some online). I can’t say it’s helped my writing in any real way. Sometimes I’d say the writing groups had the opposite effect. The advice and the feedback can be harmful.

The justification for me was the support and I suppose the social contact. Writing can be a very lonely, solitary, protracted business. When I’m in the throes of it, a bomb could go off and I’d scarcely notice. But it does help to have people who wish you well.

How do you overcome writers block?

Wrtiers block comes from taking solely mechanistic approaches to writing. Let the emotions come out. Feel something.

How do you prepare for author events?

My advice is, if you’re to speak on a specific topic, do your homework and know your subject. Otherwise, it’s a tremendous pleasure for any author to meet thoughtful fans.

Do you have an agent? What made you choose them?

Sorry. No agent gave me the time of day. I had exactly one agent ever ask for material, followed by a brief email refusal, and no response to a follow-up question.

The rest have been various forms of generic refusals, and (by far the majority) the rudeness of no answer at all. And yes, I did my homework on how to write queries. I was polite. And my books aren’t turkeys, obviously: “The Infinite Instant” is an award winner.

But I don’t have a real revenue stream to show. I’m a first-time author.

Writers have this romantic notion some far-sighted agent will discover them and they’re off to Hollywood and New York and the Big Time. No, dears. When the agent reads your work, expect him or her to think, “Will this make me money?” You can’t blame them: it’s a business, not a charity.

So I suspect your best chance of getting an agent, if you really insist on having one, is after you’ve made a big sale by your own hard efforts, and there’s a commission to hand over. What do they say about a cynic? She’s a romantic who’s been burned. Guess that’s me.

So I’ve now given up wasting my time on agent queries. It’s unfortunate. Yes, going into a publisher via the slush pile is slow. I submitted “Galen the Deathless” to another big New York publisher. It’s been Missing in Action there now for seven months and I’ve written it off. They obviously lost it. That happens. Response times at best are hideous. Baen quotes a year long wait.

So nothing’s easy, however you do it, for a new author. I’m now resigned, if frustrated.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I’m grateful and appreciative of my readers. I can’t express the thrill I got from my first fan email. Without readers, writing would be meaningless. Thank you.