About Gordon Byron:
Gordon Byron is a world traveler (who has lived in North America, Asia and Europe), teacher, earth science nut and outdoors person with a background in geological sciences, market trading and fiction writing. He became interested in fiction writing and poetry at age nine, science fiction in grade school and horror stories in high school but now focuses primarily on creating characters involved in some form of moral/ existential struggle that forces them to overcome personal weaknesses or past grievances.
He loves reading literary fiction, classics, science fiction and romantic comedies but lately occupies most of his time by researching new topics that might be interesting to himself, current and future readers. He attempts to connect with his readers through dynamic and accessible characters others can sympathize with and grow to love and emulate. His primary motivation for writing is to entertain and amuse.
What inspires you to write?
Many things inspire me to write but mostly exploring the human condition and the many problems/ challenges of life that must be dealt with in high-stress situations. I try to challenge my characters and readers with difficult situations that must be confronted with the correct application of personal ethics and wise principles in order to reduce life and survival to their essentials and, in so doing, get closer to the meaning and purpose of life.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
Faulkner thrown in for delving into the dark recesses of the human subconscious. All of them, for different reasons, got me pumped up to follow in their footsteps and become a writer that puts his heart and soul into his work. Sinclair Lewis and Henry James for their disciplined approach to literature and Conrad and Faulkner for their fascination with the dark side of human nature.
Tell us about your writing process.
My writing style is neo-stream of consciousness/ impressionistic. I try to be a much more readable version of William Faulkner or Henry James, who was certainly brilliant, but I think would have been more accessible if he brought his unconscious impressions down to earth a bit.
I walk the line between overly abstract and overly literal and concrete in my writing.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I listen and talk to them throughout the writing process. I am not in control of them and they are not in control of me. They tell me what they want me to say and how they want to be presented and I try to be as faithful as I can to their wishes. To me, characters are not two-dimensional robots on a page but living, breathing entities crying out to have their stories and voices heard. There is always two-way communication going on when I'm engaged in character development.
What advice would you give other writers?
Choosing between traditional and alternative publishing is difficult because both have their advantages and disadvantages. Indie/ alternative publishing gives you complete control over your work and the creative process (not to mention profits) but you're stuck doing all the marketing tasks yourself. Traditional publishing allows you to focus more on writing alone but you are sometimes stuck in contracts with unfavorable terms, unwanted restrictions or limitations on your creative control. I prefer indie/ alternative publishing overall because I crave creative control above all else and the idea of marketing myself fascinates me. I need to run my own show since it's better for my mental health and sense of freedom.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I prefer the literary freedom and creative control of self-publishing which also gives me the opportunity to learn about book marketing in the process. It's a challenge in itself and very difficult.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The future of book publishing is decentralized on platforms like Amazon, Apple Books, Google Books, etc. People can publish books that wouldn't be published traditionally and that's changed the market and will continue to do so in my opinion.
What genres do you write?: technothriller/ sci-fi/ genetics engineering and literary fiction/ young adult/ romance
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Gordon Byron Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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