Eternal Shadow

11/9/2019

(Fall of Gods Book 1) By Trevor B. Williams

Debut science fiction author, Trevor B. Williams, introduces us to the first volume in his series, “Eternal Shadow”:
What would you do if the world was going to end in ten years? For Jennifer Epstein, a by-the-books senior researcher at SETI, there is only one answer: prevent the apocalypse from happening. Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus were destroyed by an alien threat. The deck was stacked against humanity before the cards came out of the box.

But Jennifer isn’t alone. She has Samantha Monroe, her excitable but brilliant colleague. From South Africa, CEO Muzikayise Khulu of Khulu Global supplies his vast resources to the ultimate race for survival. The three find themselves in an unlikely alliance while political brinkmanship, doomsday cults, and untested technologies form ever-growing obstacles.

Will humanity unite to face the greatest challenge of their time, or will it destroy itself before the alien ship arrives?

I love science fiction, especially hard sci-fi! This is a great story! It is so well written. Trevor’s plotting is quite good, combining an imminent destruction of the earth with a first-contact type of story provides a white-knuckle ride!
The science is very well done and quite believable; the scenes are set perfectly. Some of the dialogue is so funny, I laughed out loud. The antagonists on Earth, a zealous, religious cult is very scary and very realistically presented. It is nearly impossible to stop a person willing to die for their cause, except to stop them before they do too much damage.
I am anxious for the continuations of the series. I award “Eternal Shadow” a score of 5 stars!

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Shadow
https://www.goodreads.com/-eternal-shadow
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/eternal-shadow-trevor-williams
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/eternal-shadow-1

You can follow the author:
http://www.trevorwrites.com/
https://twitter.com/tw_trevorwrites
https://www.facebook.com/tw.trevorwrites/
https://www.instagram.com/tw_trevorwrites/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/Trevor_B_Williams

Tags: action, adventure, outer space, solar system, sci-fi, international, space station

Copyright © 2019 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction

45 Comments

Trevor B. Williams link

11/9/2019 11:22:37 pm

Thanks so much for your review, Mark. It is greatly appreciated!

Mark

11/10/2019 09:15:11 am

You are welcome. I really enjoyed reading your book. It was an earthshaking adventure and I loved the ending.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

Trevor B. Williams link

11/10/2019 09:49:28 am

I am a pretty big gamer. I got my first Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, the year my sister was born. It was wrapped in striped red-and-white paper and tucked neatly behind our boxy Trinitron television set - the one which was encased in a wood frame so you could sit things like plants and a VCR on top of it.

To prevent me from sitting too close to the TV, my parents used a line of electrical tape on the floor to act as a border. If I ever crossed that line, trouble would be coming!

I'm still an avid gamer today despite already splitting my time between my daytime job, spending time with my friends and family, caring for my daughter, and writing.

Smash Bros Ultimate and Stellaris are the two games on my "Active" list today.

Mark

11/10/2019 10:01:49 am

Very nice. I had a short lived career as a professional gamer, in the late 80s. I worked for a large local retail chain, they sold lots of the NES. It was November and we were preparing about a dozen pallets of games to be returned to the manufacturer. The buyer was informed that we would not get any more shipments before Christmas. We went through each game swapped out any bad parts and played Duck Hunt and Mario Bros to be certain of working. We repackaged them and sent them back to the stores, we made hundreds of families happy. The games were in very short supply.
My claim to gamer fame lasted almost about three weeks. I filed a work-related injury claim for my thumbs.
New questions.
What inspired you to write this book?
Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/10/2019 11:23:20 am

My love of history was a large driver for the creation of "Eternal Shadow." Specifically, alternate history. Reading novels which placed real-world historical figures in historically divergent scenarios is just fascinating to me. Harry Turtledove's "Southern Victory" series is a classic example: this series explores how history unfolds after the Confederacy won the Civil War. Other novels which fed my love for exploring other historical possibilities were Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Years of Rice and Salt" and the collection of essays in Robert Cowley's "What If? 2."

Of course, these aren't sci-fi stories, but there's a lot of commonalities between alternative history and science fiction. The biggest crossover between them is extrapolating possible futures based on our understanding of the past - or present.

Science fiction has always been in my life, largely thanks to my mom who watched lots of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "The Outer Limits", and "X-Files" as I grew up. It didn't take much for me to me to get sucked into those worlds. Shows like these opened up my mind to worlds and ideas which greatly influenced my writing and the concepts I'd explore.

My mom also read a lot of Stephen King - and never hid the books from me when I asked about them as a young boy. My first King story collection was "Four Past Midnight" which contained "The Langoliers", a novella I've never forgotten. I've since read many of his creations, from "The Stand" to "Cell."

My parents also let me watch lots of horror movies at a young age, such as the 80s remake of "The Blob" and "The Fly."

All of this I believe answers your last question: I was always going to write science fiction - it was just a matter of when.

Mark

11/10/2019 12:58:51 pm

We both love sci-fi and alternative histories are a wonderful subset. I grew up on the original Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. I still remember episode, The Demon With the Glass Hand.
New questions.
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.

What do the elements on the cover represent?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/10/2019 01:10:22 pm

The cover - and interior typesetting - was designed by Anamaria Stefan, a designer I met through 99designs.com Here's a link to her profile there in which you can see my book's design alongside other creations of hers: https://99designs.com/profiles/anamariastef

She was the winner of a design contest I hosted there for my book's cover. The contest ran almost a month, with the finalists presenting simply incredible cover designs, Anamaria's included. In the end - after a few days of deliberations and making very tough choices - her design was chosen as one which would not only be the face of "Eternal Shadow" but the face of my book series as well.

The design captures the feelings of uncertainty and dread that I was looking for. The redish Earth, colored so because of our relationship with the color: something isn't right; something is wrong; we must stop and see what's going on; someone or something is dying; fear. The blue rings that ripple from the Earth depict depth, like the Earth is falling into something: the very thing that has the entire planet worried for its existence. The blue ripples also serve as a great representation of the alien signal coming from the creature, thus serving as two elements from the novel in one design - something I hadn't thought about until Anamaria incorporated it into her design. The back cover is clean, the words on the back strongly standing out against the blackness of space. The font used made me think of what you would see in official NASA manuals. It's a font that feels both modern, classy, and sci-fi - but without the trappings of what a sci-fi font would look like.

Mark

11/10/2019 02:34:08 pm

Great. I love learning about the graphics of a cover. I have my own ideas of what the cover represents. I really like how much of the message is presented in that format.
New questions.
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?

Were the character names difficult to develop? How did you choose them?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/10/2019 03:00:22 pm

The title "Eternal Shadow" was the second name for the book.

The original title for my novel was "The Basking." It stuck around since its inception, lasting until I distributed my book to beta readers. It survived my editor, my alpha readers, and my critique partner. However, when the feedback regarding the title from most of my betas came in, I realized I had to let go of my ties to it and figure out a new name.

The general consensus from just about everyone was that the title was confusing. How did it tie to the story? Did it have any additional meaning? Was it referenced anywhere in the book? All of these questions were presented to me in various formats, but the message was clear: "The Basking" just had to go.

After consulting with my CP, we came up with a short list of alternative titles, all of which I liked but couldn't definitively get behind because of the other options. Therefore... I put it to a vote! In an email to all those mentioned above, I asked everyone to look at the list of titles (with the series title) and let me know their thoughts.

In the end, "Eternal Shadow" came out on top. Voted in by committee.

As for the character names, all of them were selected based on the backgrounds I've given them. Though I did choose from a pool of names at first, I ultimately narrowed my name selections as it came time for their debut. I'm not really one for changing names, nor do I like "placeholder" names which have to be swapped out down the line. Therefore, when you meet Jennifer Epstein and Samantha Monroe for the first time, I literally locked in their names at that point.

I knew from the get-go that I wanted a diverse cast of primary, secondary, and tertiary characters, so I spent a lot of time researching naming conventions in different cultures, especially cultures in which I don't have a personal connection with, such as India or Russia.

This research also led to being selective about the meanings of names chosen as well. Muzikayise, for example, is a Zulu name which means roughly "he who builds his father's home" while the Hermes rover was named after the Greek messenger god who was known for being lucky and fast. All names presented were given an equal amount of attention to ensure their names made sense given when and where they were born.

Mark

11/10/2019 03:32:17 pm

I noticed the names and how diverse they were. I read a lot of mythology throughout my junior high and high school years. I loved the name for the rover.
New questions .
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

Trevor Williams link

11/10/2019 04:07:34 pm

I've never submitted any of my works to a writing contest, actually. Not even any of my short stories (none are published as of today, though I hope to have that changed in the future).

"Eternal Shadow" did receive the "IndieReader Approved" designation from IndieReader.com, but outside of that I haven't received any awards for my work.

Mark

11/10/2019 04:22:26 pm

There are a lot of contests out there. Some are good and some are bad. There are scams pretending to be contests. Sometimes the entry fees are quite high, sometimes your intellectual property rights are stolen. Here is a link to copy and paste about contests. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests/ Anne is one of my favorite bloggers. She produces a lot of quality information about all things writerly.
Short stories and short story contests are a good way to build writing skill.
New questions.
Did you go through the query process or did you go straight to indie publishing or self-publishing, and why?
How do you think your book compares to a book published by a major publisher?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/10/2019 06:30:45 pm

Thank you for the article by Anne! I'll definitely read this today and see what else I can gleam from her site.

At first I did spend a lot of time querying "Eternal Shadow." I used QueryTracker to manage all the submissions that were out. I spent several months - almost a year - querying and actively reaching out to agents not long after the first few major rounds of edits were completed.

One of my larger writing goals is to be traditionally published, so I threw myself completely in that direction. However, I have no regrets with taking a 180 and going the self-publishing direction. In the end, I'm very happy with that decision while still aiming for traditional publication down the line.

Regarding my book, when compared to a traditionally-published book... I strongly believe that on a visual level it definitely stands up against anything you'd see on a store bookshelf.

There's the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover," but if we're honest, many people are drawn to the cover - or even the spine - of a novel first before even picking it up to learn about its contents. We're a visual species - looks mean a great deal whether its appreciating how another person appears before they speak or how a novel looks when compared to dozens of books surrounding it on a shelf. On that front, for reasons that I've given in my earlier answer regarding my book cover's design, I believe "Eternal Shadow's" appearance can easily stand alongside its more traditionally-published counterparts.

Mark

11/10/2019 11:26:19 pm

A lot of writers have that goal in mind, a contract with a traditional publishing house. Based on what I have heard from writers and blogs, it ain't what it used to be. Publishers are fighting tooth and nail to survive. Amazon turned that world upside down. So many publishers are gone, bankrupt or bought out by a bigger fish. They have always been rather risk averse, but now they are running for their lives. I have heard that a publisher's advance is just that. An advance payment against future sales and it essentially has to be paid back. No further royalties until the advance is covered.
Unless you are a Rowling, King or some other big name marketing is mostly on you. Some publishers won't talk to you unless you have a fan base mailing list of thousands. That list represents nearly guaranteed sales. I have read about ore than one author doing both and then returning to indie or self publishing.
You are so right about covers and spines, they are the big thing that gets a reader to take a second and third look, right after the title. Did you hear about the Amazon brick and mortar bookstores? They had every book displayed with the cover, on the shelves; until very recently, they have reshelved the books, spine out like a regular bookstore.
New questions.
There are many unethical practices in publishing, which one is the most unbearable in your mind?
Did you have a favorite book as a child?
Do you ever read a book more than once? If so, which one?

Trevor Williams link

11/11/2019 12:18:27 am

Though I haven't been in the book publishing game for long, one unethical practice I've been exposed to fairly early on was vanity publishing houses. I won't name any here, but one particular press found me via my "manuscript registration with the Library of Congress." It is true: I registered "Eternal Shadow" with the Library of Congress so my book would be logged in their archives, which honestly was far more satisfying than I expected - but I digress. They found my info there and were interested in publishing my work.

I was VERY excited about this - they were the first publishing house to contact me directly, and their method of finding me was impressive. They asked for my full manuscript for review, after which they'd arrange time to speak with me over the phone for further consultation.

It was my critique partner who threw up red flags. After I forwarded their email to her in excitement, she hunted down their info - and reviews - online. What she returned was not pretty at all. After reading dozens of detailed reviews and lengthy blog posts about this publishing house, I decided to decline their offer.

They still pursue me to this day, despite having pretty much done everything there was to do in order to publish my novel.

I think vanity presses are pretty high on the list of egregious things a writer can encounter during their writing journey. To me, the biggest issue is that they ask you to pay them for their services.This wouldn't be so bad if their costs were transparent, but in the case of the press that reached out to me, they were VERY opaque regarding their pricing structure, which became a giant flag for me as well. Oh, and of course, you shouldn't be paying a publisher anything anyway - they should make their money off the success of your book, not from nickel-and-diming you to get your book in a publishable state.

Though that's only one reason why I consider vanity presses to be generally unethical, I consider it the biggest reason because as a writer money is usually quite scarce to begin with. We're not rich.

...Moving on to your far more peaceful questions! =)

Childhood books: there are many to choose from! In terms of a favorite, this is hard because I have two - both of which I've held onto long enough to pass on to my daughter. Due to this, I'm just gonna present both: "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton, and "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi and Ronald Barrett. Reading these to my daughter brings so much joy to both of us!

As for a book on my shelf that's paid the biggest price of constant re-reads, it would be "Bangs and Whimpers: Stories About the End of the World" by James Frenkel. Every story presented there have gotten numerous reads, though my all-time favorite among them is "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov.

Mark

11/11/2019 10:39:11 am

The vanity presses can be very scammy, without a doubt. They use all kinds of tricks to reel an author in and take all their money.
Publishers of all sizes exist, some specializing in a particular genre. There is also a hybrid publisher, they exist right next to self-publishing, kind of like the vanity press publishers. With a big difference, as you mentioned, their pricing structure is far more transparent, an author knows what they are buying. Some offer packages, some offer ala carte pricing. Most important is the contract, how long are the author's intellectual property rights tied up and which ones.
An author's IP rights are the key to future earnings. There are so many different rights to license. Starting with the varieties of books, add audio books, comics or graphic novels, plays, TV, movies, streaming services, merchandising, and then multiply by countries. There are quite a few countries that use English as the official language. Each country can provide a different opportunity to license intellectual property. Then, translations of books are getting easier as AI comes of age. If you want to know more about the licensing thing go to the "Highly Regarded Blogs" page on my website. I have linked to over 15 blogs in a series called "Business Musings".
Asimov is a favorite author of mine also. The Foundation Trilogy was earthshaking for me.
New questions.
Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you, does it energize you or make you feel tired?
Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?
Are you an under-writer or an over-writer?
When the first draft is done, do you need to add more to it to flesh it out or do you have to cut material because there is too much there?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/11/2019 10:27:52 pm

These are really fun questions, by the way. =D

For me, writing can be all of the above, depending on the scene or scenes that are being written. For example, in "Eternal Shadow" there's a rather intense scene between two of my protagonists which - though it doesn't take up much in terms of word count - took over three hours to write. By the time I was done writing the scene I was mentally and physically exhausted. It wasn't even a thousand words! At the same time, I've had writing sessions in which thousands of words were written in a single sitting, yet I only stopped because I was hungry or had some other bodily requirement to fulfill by virtue of being a living creature. I guess all of that is to say that writing can be both an energizing and draining experience. It varies from day to day.
This leads into your next question: the emotional component of writing and the characters you create. As I said, we are still human, and a large part of our experience on this planet (or some others, if our children and grandchildren are so lucky) is human interaction. From a formal handshake to deep conversations over wine and dinner, all of our interactions are driven by emotions. Though we all experience emotions differently, being able to convey how our characters feel in a variety of situations is how we, as readers, can connect with them - even if they are far removed from our daily experiences in life.
One thing that hasn't been asked, but is related to your third and fourth question: I am, in large part, a pantser by nature. Therefore, I'm definitely an overwriter! To drive this home: the first draft of "Eternal Shadow" - when completed - was just over 165k words long! The final version - what you can buy today - is barely over 124k words (401 pages) long.

Mark

11/11/2019 11:12:26 pm

Thank you for the compliment. Many writers report a similar experience with their writing. Sometimes they feel great and sometimes quite wrung out.
You put that quite well, we are human, therefore we operate on an emotional level, whether we are kissing a loved one or buying a book. Isolation from other humans seems to be quite damaging to the human psyche for most people. There are a few who manage it pretty well.
Those questions are coming up. We may skirt some of those, we will see. You did a lot of tightening and cutting.
New questions to follow up.
You cut around 40,000 words, that qualifies as a booklet or small novella in some circles.
Did you save the parts that didn't make it into the final version?
Did you cut mostly descriptions, action, dialogue or whole chapters?
Have you ever used yourself or other acquaintances as a character for a starting point in a story?
Would they recognize you or themselves in the story?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/12/2019 12:01:04 am

Thanks to Scrivener, I was able to easily preserve everything that was removed - all 40k+ words! I couldn't imagine actually deleting all of that work, even though it'll likely never see the light of day. The content removed... well, an entire main character was cut. You can't get any bigger than that, I think! That umbrella of a removal includes several chapters entirely in that characters POV, well over a dozen scenes from other chapters which prominently included this MC, and just lots of content, from dialogue to paragraphs, which were surgically removed throughout. On top of a main character being cut, a number of unrelated scenes - and a few chapters - were removed wholesale as well.
As odd as this might sound, considering two of the MCs are women, I've based all of my characters (and a few secondary characters as well) on different aspects of myself. I considered fleshing them out based on people I know, but I found it much easier to place myself in their shoes and see how I could've been if I held these sort of scientific or corporate positions. I guess to put it another way, my characters are amplified aspects of me "in isolation" - smarter, more aggressive, more impulsive, more charismatic.
Maybe that means I am, in fact, all of those things but just don't realize it? I guess that's one of the wonders that can come from the art of writing: not only exploring the boundaries of the universe but of yourself as well.
All that being said, I am not sure if anyone that knew me - even my closest friends - would say that any particular character could be perceived as me in any way.

Mark

11/12/2019 09:36:06 am

Scrivener sounds like it made that surgery much easier than it might have been. The surgery was quite successful because I don't recall running into any stray characters. I have had that happen occasionally in the past.
That is one of the better explanations of how creating characters is such a personal process. It makes a great deal of sense to me.
New questions.
If you used a close friend or family member in a book, would you tell them or make sure that they wouldn't recognize themselves in the story?
Which is more fun to write, the protagonist or the antagonist, and why? You have multiple antagonists and protagonists. Both earthbound and space-bound. Hermes becomes a protagonist in my mind when it gains sentience; though it might be considered neutral, perhaps. The planet eater is an antagonist and you have set up the ultimate David and Goliath situation.
What is one thing you hate about your protagonist and one thing you love about the antagonist?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/12/2019 08:54:59 pm

If I used anyone I knew in one of my works, I'd definitely give them a head's up - ideally well before the first draft was finished. In most of these cases they would likely be written in a positive way... most likely. Nevertheless, I don't see myself using anyone I know as a literal character, however. I find it far more enjoyable to create a character from scratch.
When comparing protagonists and antagonists, I feel like they both kinda blur into each other - at least in terms of how I like to portray them. Shades of gray instead of black-vs-white. Are my protagonists good because I deemed it so, or because everything about them would inevitably lead them down the path that would be perceived as good? I enjoy seeing struggle and fight for what they believe, whether their position is "good" or not. To be honest, Muzikayise was probably one of my favorite characters to create because despite his wanting to do all he can to save the world, his motivations are, in part, driven by his wanting more, to control more, to be the one running as much as possible. He's not at all altruistic, but he knows doing nothing is wrong. I LOVED creating the planet-destroying object. There's actually a LOT of detail built around it - and what we find on its surface.
Finally, I don't believe I could say that I "hate" about any of my protagonists. I'll have to think about that one! However, I can say that I do love the object. It's just so alien. I've always imagined that when we do encounter alien life it will be so amazingly different from anything we could conceive, it would take us decades to fully understand what it is, let alone to try and communicate with it. I believe this would be no different if we encountered an object in space that was large enough to effective consume entire planets in a single pass.

Mark

11/12/2019 09:42:18 pm

Your comment about how different alien life is likely to be reminds me of an original Star Trek episode where they find an alien life form based on silicon instead of carbon.
There is a lot you haven't revealed about the Leviathan. We don't even know if it is a machine or a creature.
New questions.
What is your writing routine when you sit down to write?
Do you write in a straight line or do you write whatever the muse provides for you at a given moment?
Now that your book is published, is there anything about it you would like to change?
What is the one thing you hope readers will remember from your book?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/12/2019 10:14:38 pm

My writing routine, whether it's morning or evening, is pretty much the same: all doors to my office are closed; the lights are dimmed to about 25% of total brightness; the window blinds are closed; and turn on some live streaming jazz music at a low volume. If it's in the morning, I'll have a large mug of steaming hot tea. If it's the evening, you may find a tall glass of white wine along with a bottle of water resting nearby.
I try to have some basic planning in place for my writing, especially when I was writing something as complex as "Eternal Shadow." I'd have my research pulled up, character sheets ready to go, and my browser ready to summon any additional information which wasn't already organized. As you stated it, I usually "write in a straight line" in that I rarely jump around. Even if I get stuck, I don't use that as a reason to skip that section. I routinely think about the book several chapters ahead of where I presently am, but I don't jot those future sections down - they exist in my mind until they are written... most of the time.
As for the state of Eternal Shadow... story-wise there isn't anything else I'd do in terms of modifying it. However, I did make a significant visual change to my novel which I wish I could've kept. In short, the "part pages" were supposed to be all-black with white details instead of the inverse which exists today - that was the original design. However, due to printing issues with all-black pages on 50lb paper, I was forced to compromise and invert the color scheme. Yes, I am happy with the final result (it's gotten a lot of compliments, along with the book's paperback design as a whole), but in a perfect world I would've been able to keep my all-black part pages.
That little detail - it really is a little detail when compared to the quality of the story - has stuck with me ever since I made that choice. On a related note, I'd like to think that anyone that reads "Eternal Shadow" will walk away with a lot of spoiler-filled questions mulling about in their mind. As much as I answer by the end of the novel, there's still a lot of questions. On top of the intellectual musings, there's also the fate of our main characters. I'd imagine that given how the story ends, some readers will have grown attached to our protagonists - and even the Leviathan. Wondering what happens next for everyone and everything is a feeling I really hope is driven home.

Mark

11/12/2019 10:46:41 pm

That sounds like a nice writing environment. Mine is a little bit different. I don't have any little ones at home so my door can stay open. My office is upstairs and my wife is usually downstairs. I don't face the window so I leave the blinds open for natural light. I don't listen to music, I listen to all the videos our youngest daughter has put up. She is a social media influencer and a Weight Watcher Ambassador. Her daughters are frequently in the videos and they play most of the day. She is being monetized with ads by YouTube, so every minute watched helps, especially if I let the ads play, which I do.
Questions about your story? Yeah, I have a few. I expect every other reader will also. You have us begging for more. Good writing, well done.
Those black pages would have been interesting. As art they might make a nice gift for someone who signs up for your mailing list or as a prize in a contest. Help build the fan base.
New questions.
What software do you use to write and publish your books, and why do you use those?
How do you keep track of all the characters and events in your books?
Have you ever had the experience of the story swerving in a different direction than planned, as if a character was driving it?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/12/2019 11:30:13 pm

My primary (and highly recommended) writing software is Scrivener. It has a bit of a learning curve, especially if you want to take full advantage of all it brings to the table, but once you're over that hump it's a brilliant tool. It is designed to make it very easy to segment your story into numerous pieces, where each chunk is effectively its own file or folder on the backend. For example, "Part One: Discovery" in "Eternal Shadow" is a top-level folder in my "Manuscript" folder. Inside it are all the chapters - themselves folders. And then inside each chapter folder are scene files - the actual story. This very detailed segmentation of data is everywhere in Scrivener, making it very easy to organize all of your characters, set pieces, cut content, and even files not directly related to the book but for its marketing; I have a "Synopsis" and "Story Pitch" folder, for example. I barely scratched the surface regarding what Scrivener can do, but I cannot recommend it enough. Regarding price: it's a one-time payment - no subscription fees or anything like that!
"Scrivener" basically answers your second question, too. =)
Finally, the price of mostly pantsing the story's progress resulted in a few key events occurring which I never initially planned. A big example is the relationship that evolves over the course of "Eternal Shadow" - that was not at all planned. When it happened, I was genuinely shocked but pleasantly surprised. I ended up making some adjustments throughout the story in subsequent edits so it didn't seem like it came out of the blue, but at first I couldn't believe it. I personally love it when such spontaneous events happen during the process of writing.

Mark

11/13/2019 10:17:03 am

Scrivener does sound like it has a lot of power. I've heard it is some work to master, but the utility makes it worthwhile.
Many authors have mentioned experiencing an unplanned shift in the story. Sometimes a minor character assumes a prominent place in the story which can shift everything.
New questions.
Action, dialogue, or narration; which is easiest to write?
Of the five senses which is the easiest to write and which is the hardest?
Have you ever done any theater, written a play or any screenwriting?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/14/2019 02:32:01 am

I personally love narration. Describing scenes - what the characters are doing or observing - is really enjoyable. I find it's a great way to also explore how different characters may see the same thing.
On that note, the easiest sense for me to write would be sight - hence my enjoyment of narration. Touch would likely fall in my bucket of the most challenging sense to write. At least, exploring the sensation of touching tends to consume the most amount of my time while producing the fewest number of words during that period. It's just hard!
As for theater performances or screenwriting... I haven't done any of them outside of school plays way, WAY back in the day. And even then I was in middle school. Though I've been told by many that I'd make a great improv actor, I've never pursued it.
I have written speeches and presentations for work-related events, but I'm not sure if that counts here. =)

Mark

11/14/2019 08:53:11 pm

Any type of writing counts, as far as I am concerned.
Acting is really putting yourself out there, no doubt! I couldn't do that myself. If I studied acting and done a bunch of little stuff, it could be interesting. Everything requires work and education to be able to do well.
Most authors report the same, narration is the easiest. I think it might be because there must be a storyteller gene in our DNA. It's expressed stronger for some than others. We all seem to be tellers of stories on one level or another.
New questions.
What kind of marketing are you doing or planning on doing for your book?
What kind of marketing has worked the best and the least for you?
Speaking of marketing, why did you pick me to help promote your book?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/14/2019 10:43:49 pm

Oh, the marketing!

I've been very busy on the marketing front for the last couple of months, and it's nowhere near over yet. There's quite a bit that I've done, from utilizing a few premium book review services (Kirkus, IndieReader, Foreward) to establishing a presence on NetGalley. Outside of paid services, I also worked with friends and people I've met on Twitter to establish a small, but dedicated, beta-reading community for feedback as well as to help drum up some buzz. I have a big spreadsheet which lists everyone I've ever reached out to for ARC reviews, prices paid for premium services, website URLs for both general reference and for when they posted reviews of "Eternal Shadow" online, and to serve as a possible future database for future books that I write.
Now that "Eternal Shadow" is released, the next phase of my marketing is underway - namely, advertisement and getting it in front of as many eyes as possible. From working with local bookstores to dropping a little money on online ad campaigns via sites like Amazon, I'm working to ensure this launch is as successful as possible.
This leads into your last question, so I'll answer your trio of questions slightly out of order today! I wanted to work with you because after following your tweets and online activity for the months leading up to my approaching you, I strongly felt your opinion - as someone who edits novels and similar works for a living - would be valuable. And like I said in a previous post, I found your interview style to be fairly unique and fun to read - I'm very happy to say that position was correct!
Now, going to your second question... it's an interesting one, for sure. I feel like despite my being in the marketing game for several months, it's still too soon to tell which of the many avenues I've taken were truly successful versus not. Come back to me in six months, now that "Eternal Shadow" is in the wild, and I'll likely have a pretty good answer.

Mark

11/14/2019 11:21:49 pm

It sounds to me like you have a good plan of attack. You have been working it for some time.
Many authors founder, to one degree or another, because marketing is so hard to crack. Marketing requires that an author removes the creative hat and puts the business hat on. So many authors have difficulty with that transition.
Writing is a solitary process, especially for the first draft, after that more people have to be brought in. Marketing means putting everything out in the public eye and without a lot of work, it's nearly impossible to get noticed much when a million books are published each year.
You are doing well and being organized will pay off in the long run.
I hope you have a box of books in your car trunk. You just never know when an opportunity will arise.
A few more ideas. A community newspaper might want to do an article on you as a local author, also local cable access, local broadcast radio and TV. Local restaurants, tourist spots, gift stores, schools may be interested also. You could be a guest lecturer at a high school or college writing class. Of course, some of these things take more time than others.
Thank you, I am glad you like the format and style of my promotions.
New questions.
Have you ever thought of adding music to your books, like what the characters listen to or they went to a concert as a plot point?
How do you know when a book is finished?
How long does the research process take before you start to write a book or do you do the research as you write the book?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/15/2019 01:05:02 am

Funny you ask that. Though there are few references, I do incorporate some music in "Eternal Shadow." One early example is Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart," a track from the 90s which plays through Sam's earbuds - the perfect tune for crunching numbers. On top of that I've created a Spotify album - a collection of songs which I feel represent the main characters, major events throughout the novel, and its ending. Jai Wolf's "Indian Summer (Kasbo Remix)" was my track representing the Epilogue of the novel - the sort of track which would play as the credits begin to roll.
Speaking of endings, I had a general idea of how I wanted "Eternal Shadow" to end, but it wasn't until I reached the Epilogue that I knew I made it. At that point, it was just a matter of knowing when the last sentence would, in fact, be the last sentence. I shedded a few tears when I realized the period I placed was the one that would conclude the story.
Regarding research, I spent a lot of time organizing all the data that went into the creation of my book. A few months after finishing "Eternal Shadow" I went back to determine just how long it took to complete my research. This was because I didn't do it all at once - thanks to my pantsing the novel there were periods where I stopped writing so I could conduct the research needed to continue. For future novels, I like the idea of front-loading all of my research, but given how I write I'm not sure I could do that without shifting entirely to a "plotter" story management style.

Mark

11/15/2019 09:51:43 am

A few authors incorporate a good deal of music in their story, one author quoted a few lyrics as the title, another wove song titles throughout the prose as the characters communicated with each other secretly. Some authors actually publish a playlist for each chapter or for major characters.
I can easily imagine that the last period was a significant moment.
I would guess that Scrivener would be helpful for all of that research, and plotting, as much as needed.
New questions.
How much time passed from when you got the idea to write your book; then actually starting the book and finishing the first draft?
How many drafts did you go through to have a ready-to-publish manuscript?
Going back in time, did you do any kind of creative writing, even back in grade school?
How early was it that you realized how powerful words can be?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/15/2019 11:09:24 pm

Any questions regarding the origins of "Eternal Shadow" always end the same: I have a hard time recalling the moments in great detail. However, it was about a month between when the idea for my book conjured itself and actually starting to write. That time was mostly spent exploring the concepts in my mind and talking it through with my wife and friends.

The initial idea was born in January 2017. A month later I began writing. And literally a year later (down to the day), the first draft was complete.

That first draft went through eight major revisions and even more minor checks and adjustments. During this time, "Eternal Shadow" went from about 165k words to a "more reasonable" 124k words - a difference of about 130 pages!

Writing wasn't new to me when I began "Eternal Shadow." As far back as second grade I was creating my own stories. Of course, my work in second grade (I was seven years old then) was half picture book, half words. Those early plots usually involved splicing two movies, "The Ghostbusters" and "The Blob," and then replacing all the protagonists with me and my friends. Thanks to my mom I still have all of those books. Yes, I made an entire series which involved everything from preventing the blob from eating New York City to stopping it from traveling through time.

Despite my attraction to the written word, I'd say that my love for not only writing but of the power words can have over people really bloomed during high school. Joining a debate team was arguably one of the best decisions I made during those years as it not only placed on display how words could be used to win people over in an argument, but also how words can physically change you. One could go from someone who wasn't too confident in speaking with people because of occasionally stuttering to a person that overcame those challenges.

Mark

11/15/2019 11:20:26 pm

You did a lot of writing in that year. I am impressed.
I love that second grade body of work.
That is a great story about words and being on the debate team.
I went out for the debate team in high school also. I will give the teacher credit for allowing me to try. I had a pretty severe stammer all of my growing up years. Of course, I wasn't very good at it, I didn't get very much experience. I missed a meeting and was kicked off the squad.
Now, I enjoy public speaking when it happens.
New questions.
A lot of new authors struggle with finding beta readers. Because, after the first draft is done, fresh eyes and feedback become very important. How did you find your beta-readers?
Do you give them an e-version like a PDF or a hard copy you printed off?
What kind of questions did you ask them to get the feedback you wanted?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/16/2019 07:40:26 pm

Regarding beta readers, the majority of them were good friends whom I knew 1) would read my novel in its entirety, 2) be reliable regarding timing of its completion, and 3) would guarantee unbiased feedback. I had a pretty structured setup for managing my betas, enabling them to submit feedback on a chapter-by-chapter basis if they wanted. In the end, each person provided a multi-page review/analysis of my book, along with in-line edit suggestions and in-line comments throughout the entire novel.

Since I wanted to encourage in-line commenting, I provided everyone a MS Word version of my novel. Some printed it off while others stuck to using it on their computer.

I did have a collection of questions for all of them to think about as they were reading "Eternal Shadow." The questions were more like guidelines than anything else. Here's a sampling of what I had asked:
---Does anything feel like it was missing, or not developed enough?
---Were there sections of the story that that you felt didn't advance the plot?
---Are there places that slow down the pace too much?
---Any dialogue or narrative that was confusing or hard to understand?
---Comment as you read, even if it's something reactionary like "Oh, this is awesome" or "I love it!".

Mark

11/16/2019 08:06:03 pm

You have a good bunch of betas! Congratulations. I think your plan for them was excellent as well. Those are good questions also.
I use the commenting feature of MS Word for my proofreading. I prefer to not make changes in a manuscript. I want the author to see it as I did. I think it's easier for the author to reject any of my suggestions also.
New questions.
Will you seek out new beta readers or work with the same ones as before?
Do you reward the beta readers in any way particular?
Do you have other writers you connect with, as in a critique group or support group?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/16/2019 09:11:15 pm

Change Tracking in MS Word is a must so, as you said, the author can see what people recommend changing. It helped immensely.

For my current WIP, the sequel to "Eternal Shadow," I do plan on reaching out to the same group of people who served as my beta readers when their help is needed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll all be available when I need them most! It was a well-rounded group, with people from various backgrounds and interests, so getting all of them again would be amazing.

For all those that participated in beta reading, I offered them a free paperback copy of my novel as "payment" along with their names being mentioned in my Acknowledgment section at the back. Indeed, you'll find my complete list of betas in the back of "Eternal Shadow." And though I did stick to my offering complimentary copies, most of my betas insisted on buying the book in support.

During the writing of "Eternal Shadow" I joined a local writing group called "Shut Up & Write." They were there for the last half of my writing the first draft so they got to see the joy and struggle every single day. It was a group of other fellow writers - some were working on their memoir while others were deep into their own works of fiction. I miss them quite a bit since I rarely see them these days (working full-time has kept me away from most meetings). However, we all still keep in touch, and they are actively following my writing journey from afar.

Mark

11/16/2019 09:48:12 pm

I cannot implement Track Changes when I am proofreading. I use a particular software that displays the manuscript one line at a time. I find it very useful for the second pass through a document. It's not supposed to be able to work with MS Word and is a complete no-go with Track Changes on. Without TC it works reasonably well, it crashes occasionally, but is worth it to me.
In terms of what you are doing with multiple people going through your manuscript, I can see that being very useful.
Your group of betas are very loyal, buying the book to support you.
New questions.
What is the most important thing you learned from publishing your latest book?
What are three things, that you wish you knew before you wrote your first book?
Do you have someone you consider to be your hero?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/17/2019 12:25:56 pm

One lesson I've taken away from the publication process - specifically the self-publication process - is that everything really does fall onto you. I know that probably sounds obvious, but it doesn't really hit you until you're in the thick of it. All the costs, all the dedication, all the drive. If you ever let up on any aspect of it, you can potentially derail any potential success your self-published novel could have. Granted, traditional publishers expect you to have significant skin in the game these days if you've never published before, but at least they may be able to provide some level of guidance and advice. When self-publishing, you have only yourself to move your book ahead. Well, yourself and whatever team you build over the course of your writing history - but that's also on you as well.

Shifting attention to "Eternal Shadow" itself, three things I wish I knew... that's a good question. When I think about it, I suppose this would be a portion of that list:
---Be prepared to cut just about anything if it means tightening up the plot. Nothing is safe.
---Your characters should have a complete backstory, even if some of that is not included within the book.
---Writing is hard. Don't ever give up.

Finally... though there are people that I look up to in terms of inspiring figures (Stephen King and Shigeru Miyamoto, to name two of them), I wouldn't call any of them heroes. Though I rarely even use the word when describing anyone, I suppose my father could fall into that realm: He worked hard throughout his life and - through constant perseverance - accomplished all that he's ever set out to do. He's set a high bar for my sister and me, but I think the two of us are more than capable of meeting it!

Mark

11/17/2019 12:45:12 pm

That is a good description of the responsibilities of the author who self-publishes. There are so many different aspects to publishing a book you've got the blurb, title, cover formatting, everything. If an author can't do it themselves then they have to find someone who can do it for them.
Your list of three is very good. All of those are important and contribute so much to a well-crafted story.
New questions.
What has been the biggest surprise in your writing journey?

Now that you have a published book, are you writing anything strictly for yourself or are you concentrating on writing for your readers?What are common traps for beginning writers?

Do you think a strong ego is an asset or liability for a writer and why?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/18/2019 01:57:59 am

I think the biggest surprises came from how certain characters developed over the course of the novel - and the directions some characters took as a result. One big shift that was taken during the creation of "Eternal Shadow" was the changing relationship between Jennifer and Samantha. Being a pantser led "Eternal Shadow" down many different roads, though one thing I never planned for was an actual romantic subplot. This was due to my general experiences with romantic subplots in most science fiction. In short, many such relationships have rarely been satisfying and shoehorned into the story as opposed to something that developed organically. So when such a subplot formed on its own, I was legitimately shocked and said to myself "Well... this just happened." One of the revisions I made well after the novel concluded was to tighten up the relationship a bit more, but it otherwise formed entirely out of my control.

With "Eternal Shadow" published, I've been mostly focused on writing short stories, though I do have its sequel underway.I have one completed short which I'm editing as well, preparing it for the submission circuit soon.

Regarding ego... it's an interesting aspect of any writing career. Do all writers have a sense of self-importance when it comes to the work they are working on and want to share with the world? Probably not, but I do believe having a strong ego can be a great tool when it comes to selling your novel to others. It's not that you may feel like your novel is the next "Carrie" or "IT." Having a strong ego can express itself in the form of being incredibly enthusiastic about what you've made. That sort of excitement is something that can be infectious, especially when you have an interview about your work. This sort of infection I think can drive people to your creations, which can only be a positive thing in the long-run.

Mark

11/18/2019 11:23:32 am

The relationship that developed between Samantha and Jennifer was surprising how it grew so slowly. It felt very much a part of the story. I think my surprise was almost as much as yours.
A strong ego is important for a writer to survive the fairly brutal process of perfecting that first draft through marketing the published novel. I think that is why there are so many millions of people who never get past the stage of dreaming about writing a novel. There are also many millions who never get past the first 50 pages of the first draft of the said dream.
The power of the strong ego has to be tempered to accept criticism and improve that first draft into something worth reading.
I completely agree, an author needs to be excited about the book they have published to help sell it, because the marketing never really ends.
Last questions.
Are there any issues that are peculiar to writing science fiction that might not apply to other genres?
Do you struggle with writer's block, if so, how do you overcome it?
Do you see an advantage of writing under a pseudonym, why or why not?

Trevor B. Williams link

11/18/2019 10:24:36 pm

Hmmm, that's a great question. Given the fairly massive range of how science fiction can be written, from the pulpy works of Jack Vance and Robert Heinlein to the hard science of Kim Stanley Robinson and Robert J. Sawyer, I honestly am not sure there's a wrong way to write science fiction. That said... if we focus on the hard sci-fi subgenre, a big factor that has to be taken into account when writing is the accuracy of your data. Whether its working directly alongside experts in the fields which have prominence in your novel or organizing, reading, and getting experts to help you understand your trove of research papers and mathematical calculations, ensuring what you're presenting is as close to reality as the numbers (and the fiction parts of your "science fiction") permit. What's doubly hard about this area is that you can't just data dump into your novel. And not everything you calculate can be explicitly presented to your readers. However, if anyone questions any part of what is in your book, it would be safe to say you'd come back with a stack of papers backing your positions!
Related to this: Many hard sci-fi novels on my shelf tend to have an appendix of all the research papers, books, journals, and experts writers worked with as part of the creation of their book. Though I have an Acknowledgments section, I didn't include an appendix simply because I wanted to reduce my book novel length. In retrospect I feel I could've included it at no cost to the reader, but page numbers matter. Perhaps with my second book I'll include a proper appendix so readers that are curious can read all that I've read.

There are definitely times when writer's block can occur. For me, it most frequently occurs if I have a particularly tough day at the office. If Coming home mentally exhausted isn't a good recipe for writing, at least for me. Overcoming writer's block can be as simple as listening to some music which gets the creative juices flowing, or talking with my critique partner (that almost always helps). Having another writing buddy makes a huge difference in overcoming writer's block.

Finally (my last question, answered!), I suppose a pseudonym can be useful if, for reasons that are your own, you don't want to associate your works directly with your legal name. I'm using my actual name on "Eternal Shadow" and that was always the plan. My critique partner, on the other hand, has a pen name for all her creative works. Are there advantages to using a pseudonym? I don't think so - to me, it's a neutral decision from a functional standpoint.

Mark

11/18/2019 10:45:49 pm

I have enjoyed our conversation immensely. Sci-fi is my favorite genre and I love drilling down the way hard sci-fi does. You could post the appendix on your website for those interested.
I have a new promotion starting tomorrow morning, so I must say goodbye for now. I hope we can do this again in the future.
Congratulations on this dynamite first book! Among your other fans, I look forward to the next part of the story.

Trevor B. Williams link

11/18/2019 10:55:16 pm

It's been an absolute pleasure, Mark! This was a really fun interview from start to finish. As much as you've become a fan of "Eternal Shadow" you've made a fan out of your interviewing style. I look forward to reading your interviews in the weeks and months to come.

Eternal Shadow

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