About T.H. Simon:
Born in Newport, RI, I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since my first “books” included crayons and stick figures. I earned a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in Mathematics and Political Science from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and a Master’s in Public Policy from George Washington University in Washington, DC, where my wife and I met and currently reside. In the next week, around the time my second novel (The Secret of Siam) will be released, my wife and I will welcome our first child.
I’m an ardent believer that the number of lives we live is only limited by the number of books we read. Above all, I hope my writing can stimulate thought, invoke emotions, and help transport readers to another world, time, and life.
What inspires you to write?
I like to think that the core of my inspiration and enthusiasm for being an author comes from what my writing could mean to others. The way I see it, authors, in part, write stories because they have stories they want to share with the world, and on some level believe their writing will make a difference. Maybe not a huge, world-altering difference, but a measurable one to a reader. With their books, authors can provide a vehicle to dream, hope, evaluate, and maybe even plan and act.
I want my writing to make readers think about topics they hadn’t previously. I want it to entertain them. I want it to make them curious about places and events they read about. I want readers to feel for characters that, by the end, they hate leaving. I want them to immerse themselves in a world that is not their own. I want them to take something away from a book that they hold with them, and perhaps inspires them in some positive manner. Above all, I want people to find something in my writing that speaks to them. A whole story line, a character, or even a sentence.
Tell us about your writing process.
The beginning of each book for me has always been the same: pure excitement. I have an idea and I can’t wait to begin getting it down on paper. Personally, I prefer to map out an entire outline for a book in a Word document before I begin writing. I’m sure that the outline would read like gibberish to anyone who reads it, but I enjoy knowing, broadly, where the story is going. Of course, I always reserve the right to change details and direction, add characters and twists, but the outline is something to work with.
From there, I begin writing. And when I start to write, it’s exhilarating. Truthfully, this adrenaline only takes me into the high double digits in pages. Then I reach a place where it’s hard to see the beginning or the end, and I just have to power through. It’s these times that I find value in having the outline as a plan to stick to. However, as I approach the final stretch (the last fifty or so pages), that excitement returns and carries me through to the end with energy.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
While I don’t “talk” to my characters in the traditional sense, I do in that a piece of me is in each of my characters. Consequently, my conversations with characters occur in the interactions between the characters themselves. As for listening, I sometimes “listen” to my characters in the way that I often let them dictate where the story is going to go (within the overall plan).
What advice would you give other writers?
First, you can’t go wrong if you write for you. Don’t expect that you’re going to strike it big and get rich. If people read and enjoy your books, you’ve done something great. Second, writing is not easy, or everyone would do it. It’s going to be tough at times, and you just have to accept that. Finally, one effective trick is to be consistent and keep deadlines (consistency does not work for me, self-imposed deadlines do). Congratulations on even taking the step to share something so intimate as your thoughts and ideas with the world.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
After the completion of three books, and the planning out of the next seven, friends and family convinced me to publish my first novel (The Untold Legend) before I continued in writing the next ones. I don’t believe there’s any magic time or sign for when you’re ready to publish (and I’m starting to feel like in many ways, you never feel ready to share something so intimate with the world), but I do think there is a point when you’ve decided it’s time. The decision to traditionally publish or self-publish is a personal one. I chose self-publishing because it gave me the flexibility to publish as I saw fit and provide my stories directly to people.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think that the future of book publishing will continue to be a mixture of methods and mediums. And that’s a good thing! As a writer who publishes online, I personally see a trend toward the increased democratization of publishing by more authors choosing to self-publish via e-book. But as a reader, I like to consume books in all forms: Kindle books, physical books, audio books, you name it! I believe there will continue to be a role for these methods and more.
What genres do you write?: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Cultural Heritage, Mystery, Travel, Coming of Age
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
T.H. Simon Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Twitter
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.
