Interview with Chris Stevenson

TN: Your novel, Word Wars, shows us a view of a very bleak possible future - what was your inspiration?

Chris: The inspiration for Word Wars came about after my reflection over Ray Bradbury's book, Fahrenheit 451. I also believe that Soylent Green and The Omega Man influenced me, to a lesser degree. I was intrigued by the prospect of a benign agency, gaining so much influence and power that it terrorized its own citizens to the point of revolt and civil war. I asked myself, what if we were denied the basic given right to read the printed word, and were forced to adopt a new color bar language? And this, because the government had secrets to hide from the general populace. How far would we go to recover our heritage?


TN: So you enjoy Ray Bradbury (and really, who doesn't?) What other authors do you enjoy and draw inspiration from?

Chris: I believe the high fantasy and science fiction of Poul Anderson really got me started on my own writing campaign. I loved his voice and description. His sense of irony also influenced me. Alan Dean Foster also affected me with his world-building. Other writers I've enjoyed and inspired me would be Joeseph Wambaugh, Peter Benchley, Michael Crichton, and bringing up the rear, would be James Rollins, who I've just discovered, but who has taught me a lot about action and pace.


TN: Have you always seen yourself as an SF writer, or do you entertain the notion of crossing genres at some point?

Chris: I had always seen myself as a SF writer because I loved to read the genre so much. My first agent told me that I was a better action/adventure writer, which I took with a grain of salt. It was only until my second agent convinced me to stretch my wings, that I considered urban fantasy, and then later, paranormal romance. I also had to confront the reality of the shrinking SF market and just how difficult it was to break into it. The SF slots have always been few and limited. I wanted to expand my chances for publication.

TN: Which leads me to the obvious question - what other novels have you written? And is there a romance novel in your future?

Chris: Over the years I've written about 17 novels. All of them were spec fiction to some degree. I'm on my eighth book in just the last three years, and of those, three have been offered contracts. Though I have never written a straight romance before, my books now contain only female main characters, and I would say the romance ratio in each of my stories now is easily running 50% of the storyline.


TN: There seems to be a trend toward female main characters in the industry these days. Do you find it challenging, as a man, to write a female lead at all?

Chris: Agent Nat Sobel has blogged about this and reports that he's seen a disturbing trend. The only way for male writers to break in nowadays is with a thriller. He also said that men better learn how to start writing female leads convincingly, or they'll find their opportunities limited. This is because roughly 65% of all books bought and read are by females. So the market is very female-centric right now. My agent has also agreed with this analogy and steered me toward the female audience.

Oh, you better believe I've started using female leads exclusively now. I don't find them hard to write at all. If I run into trouble or have doubts about something, I'll start a thread about it at AW and get crackshot advice. My sex scenes can get graphic, but I'm mostly a big teaser and use a lot of foreplay and seduction.


TN: As a female reader, and writer, I find it frustrating that the Industry believes women want only to read about strong women. What do you, as a male reader and writer, prefer to read when you read for entertainment?

Chris: I think women have been entitled to feel some empowerment and direction over their lives. It's been a long time coming, and I'm glad that we're rid of the Hemmingway damsel-in-distress days. Say goodbye to the women who serve as only backdrops, or convenient 'relief vehicles.' On the other hand, I find it implausible reading about a gal who is solving all the crimes and killing people by the dozens, using sex as a weapon and climbing ruthlessly to the top of the corporate ladder.

Personally, I'm a sucker for the naive and sweet, who has plenty of intelligence and hidden power, like the gal in Enchanted, Madison in Splash, and the female lead in Date with an Angel. They just don't do those types anymore. I'm talking about the displaced Goddess, who has to adjust to a frustrated male mortal, but still remains a vibrant and equal partner.


TN: Well you've hit the nail on the head for THIS interviewer! I couldn't agree more. But I'm curious - do you see the Publishing Industry as something in need of a drastic overhaul? Do you see it changing, or resisting change, over the years you've been involved?

Chris: I've been at this for over 22 years and I could rant about this one all day long. In those days I was pulling a couple grand per book, and those were very small presses. Just about every legit commercial publisher I knew back then has been absorbed by a larger company or gone out of business. In my humble opinion, the worst blight to hit (face-slap) this industry has been the introduction of POD technology (print-on-demand). It's fine for small runs and reprints, but to an author and his/her career, it's fundamentally worthless. The people running these shoestring publishing outfits have no business doing so. Unfortunately, 80 % of us will probably land with a POD when it's all said and done--unless you are willing to let your book disappear into obscurity. There are just so many publishing slots available from the biggies.

On the bright side, I'm so relieved and happy to be able to send entire books via email. This was a luxury we NEVER had back then, unless we were asked to send floppy disks, which rarely happened. The delivery process has indeed changed for the better.

What could change? You know, I wish marketing would keep their noses out of book selection and return the decision-making power right back to the editors, where it belongs and always has belonged.

TN: Wow, 22 years in the business - so what advice would you give a new writer struggling to break in?

Chris: This business is cruel and heartless at times--99% of it involves rejection and hearing "no" a lot. You have to hang in there for the long haul. There won't be any instant gratification, so prepare yourself. I started off with short stories; that might be a good idea for the newbie. Now, if you have your heart set on novel publication, realize that it will be very difficult, since it is so competitive. However, if you have a solid platform, specialize in a certain subject matter, and have creds in that area, you just might make a non-fiction book your first sale. Non-fiction out-sells fiction 3--1. That's how I got my start. My non-fiction earnings actually supported my fiction pursuits.

Always remember this:


A Writer is…
A humble, receptive student and negotiator
But the heart that beats within his breast
Is a determined savage
Unfamiliar with surrender

TN: So with those odds, basically it's "Don't quit your day job." Is writing your day job?

Chris: Yep, writing is it for me. I earn my keep by performing maintenance and cleaning on my residence. Absolutely keep your day job. Even debut authors with the large houses can't afford to leave their source of employment until they've achieved brand-name status. I'm still waiting for Wonka's golden ticket. You have to believe in yourself.

TN: Believe in yourself, good advice! So do you have anything you'd like to say to the readers before I let you get back to your writing?

Chris: In closing, Ill say thank you, Kristine, for this interview and exposure. It's been fun, and not surprisingly, a bit more thorough and professional than some I have had in the past! I think Trunk Novels is a unique venture and will attract some attention. Who knows what's next, eh?

I will say this: Don't forget to support your fellow authors who have landed with small press and e-book publishers. The trend always seems to be that we honor and support those big-deal authors, with large advances and huge publicity. There are some gems out there that might surprise you.

And, as a writer, the greatest disservice you can do to yourself is to give up. Enjoy the venture and ride. And be kind to yourself.

Heartfelt hugs to Lori, for starting this project. I hope she goes down in history, but not before a big book deal.

Chris