Kindle Author Interview

Friday, June 17, 2011

Adrian Torrington (aka Rian Torr), author of In French's Forest, discusses his book, his journey as a writer, and self-publishing on Kindle.

DAVID WISEHART: What can you tell us about In French's Forest?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: I summarize it as a supernatural fantasy horror love story. The book blurb gives the best bait without letting on to the surprises: "Not long after they moved in together, Eva's black-outs got so bad that her relationship with Seven became strained-as his thoughts started drifting back to his ex Faye, who was all but a ghost to him now. So when she insisted that he take her to French's Forest, to visit with his reclusive family for the first time, the horror of introducing her to his strange fanged kin was only secondary in concern, next to his mounting fear that Faye would grow dangerously jealous of Eva-and try to take back what She felt was rightfully Hers."
 
DAVID WISEHART: How do you develop and differentiate your characters?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: In French's Forest started as a short love story ten years ago. It was called Eve of Abstinence at that time. It had no horror elements to it whatsoever, so my craft had to rely entirely on characterization to move the fiction forward. Adding in the fantastical elements later on then became a cinch, since the foundation of good story arcs were already present from beginning to end. Composing the narrative in this way eliminated any risk of flat personalities standing in just to support a genre.

DAVID WISEHART: Who do you imagine is your ideal reader?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: That is something I'm more interested in discovering through feedback, rather than trying to anticipate. That being said, I wrote a story that I would love to read, so I suppose someone with my similar interests and background should presumably enjoy it the same. I do not know yet, being a male author, if that means more guys versus girls will like it. My hope is that that is not the case. I would like to think there are readers from all genders and ages who will enjoy In French's Forest.

DAVID WISEHART: What was your journey as a writer?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: Like a lot of readers from my generation, I started in comic books, then graduated to Stephen King. In university I became versed in the literary classics—but also over-saturated in other author's works. I ultimately gave up reading entirely in order to focus on finishing my own books. I know that is taboo to many writers who believe you must read constantly if you want to be an author, but I disagree. I read so much that I had to take a seven year break from it in order to find my voice again. Keats said that he could hardly walk in a room without feeling his own identity being overwhelmed by the very presence of the people around him—and that is how I was beginning to feel with the words of others. Also, I think some readers get to a point where they grow weary of being constricted by the imagination of strangers—and seek the higher order of control that comes with writing the ending yourself. The bottom line is I believe the respite has significantly served my skills. I plan on finishing several more novels before reading again.

DAVID WISEHART: What is your writing process?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: I work on several projects at once until I finally decide which one to finish first. From then on I do not deviate from that work. My general rule is to write at least one word a day. Sometimes that word turns into a sentence, paragraph, page or ream. It is out of my control which day what happens. Toward the end, however, it does tend to become easier to write for much longer. I might go four to eight hours a day when the finish line is finally in sight.

DAVID WISEHART: What authors most inspire you?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: Stephen King, Clive Barker, J.R.R. Tolkien, R.A. Salvatore, Robert J. Sawyer, Neil Gaiman, Hunter S. Thompson, George Orwell, Edgar Allen Poe, J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Coleridge, Byron, Browning, Pope, Emily Bronte, Mark Twain, Lao Tzu...and so many others.

DAVID WISEHART: What one book, written by someone else, do you wish you'd written yourself?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: I was going to say 1984, just because it is so relevant today—but the fact of the matter is that I have never once had the feeling like I wish I had written something. That is a strange sort of question to me, like when someone asks who would you rather be but yourself? I just want to be the best version of myself that there is and that is enough.

DAVID WISEHART: How have you marketed and promoted your work?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: Online, print, word-of-mouth, in-person...I span several art forms, including painting and song-writing, so I have been able to establish different networks across a broader spectrum than just writers and readers.

DAVID WISEHART: Why publish on Kindle?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: I had just finished my print-on-demand edition through TheBookPatch.com, which in itself was a great leap forward from only a few years ago when you still had to pay set-up fees to self-publish through companies like Authorhouse. I knew ebooks was the next step in making my novel more accessible to the masses, but it was not until my sister alerted me that Kindle was offering free direct publishing that I jumped on-board.

DAVID WISEHART: What advice would you give to a first-time author thinking of self-publishing on Kindle?

ADRIAN TORRINGTON: My only advice would be to compose in MS Word and include a page break after all front matter and every chapter to save yourself some formatting hassles near the end. Other than that, if your book is done, there is no reason for not being on Kindle—it's a writer's dream come true.

DAVID WISEHART: Thanks, and best of luck with your books.