About Wayne Turmel:
Wayne Turmel is a former standup comic, car salesman, and businessman who writes to save what's left of his sanity. Originally from Canada, he now lives in Las Vegas with his wife, the Duchess, and Mad Max, Defender of the Realm and Most Manly of Poodles.
Turmel is the author of 15 books. 10 are business-related, and 5 novels that range from historical fiction to Urban Fantasy. His latest book, Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk, is the first in a series. The second book, Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker, will be out December, 8, 2022.
What inspires you to write?
I have written most of my life. Originally, it was jokes for my 18-year tenure as a touring comedian. Then I tried my hand at screenwriting. For most of my career I wrote business books, which was satisfying, but I thought I'd never be a "real writer" until I tackled a novel. That's where The Count of the Sahara came from, and five novels later I'm still pounding away. It gives me a creative outlet as well as forms the basis for my social life. I love writers and books.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
I'm bibliographically promiscuous (which is a much nicer term than book slut) so I read a lot of genres and a lot of styles. For fun, I read Jim Butcher and a lot of Indie Urban Fantasy writers like Shayne Silvers or John P Logsdon. For literary writing, I love Mark Helprin, although his writing is so beautiful it makes me want to quit in shame.
Tell us about your writing process.
I write the same way I used to do my homework in high school. I had a part time job that made getting assignments done a bit of a chore. I found that I could "write" my essays in my head as I was working in the kitchen, then go home and quicky transcribe my fully formed ideas. I still do that…
I noodle, plan, and semi-plot out a few chapters at a time. I spend a lot of time on the deck watching hummingbirds or smoking a cigar and day dreaming. Then, on the weekends, I sit down and empty my brain onto the page. I can crank out a lot of words in a short period of time, but it takes me a while to build up that stockpile. Just sitting staring at a blank screen isn't terribly productive.
I plot the main arc of the story, then start doing a couple of chapters at a time, and write those before planning the next couple. That gives me a plan for the short term but gives me plenty of room if my characters turn feral and go places I don't expect.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I write most of my fiction in first person, so I'm kind of a method actor. I daydream a lot, imagining I'm the character (which makes me kind of hard to live with when that character happens to be a werewolf!) I watch the movie in my head unfold, and in particular I run dialog like it's a radio play, imagining the scene and the conversation before sitting down to write.
What advice would you give other writers?
A lot of people think writing is a solitary activity. I disagree. I think typing is solitary, writing is social. If you can find a writers group locally, get involved. Get involved in Facebook groups and online socialization. Talk to writers. Hang with them. Hang out (if you drink, fine, if you don't there's always coffee shops) with people who read and write other genres and styles. My writing improves from critiques and exposure to writers I wouldn't otherwise find. Find out who others read and what media they consume. The world is big, and even my Urban Fantasy benefits from Romance, Detective Thrillers, and History. As a reader, read books you never thought you'd be interested in. I don't believe you can be a really good writer if you don't read widely.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I'm afraid that decision has been made for me in many cases. I've been traditionally published (my business books such as Long-Distance Leader and Long-Distance Teammate) I worked with a small press for The Count of the Sahara, and loved it. Then I self-published Acre's Bastard and Acre's Orphans, but found it's hard to produce a good product, and I can't be trusted to choose good covers and edit myself. With Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk, I went with Black Rose Writing because they have experienced designers and advice, and I can spend the money on marketing. I may self-publish more in the future, unless there's a publisher with great taste who wants to take the next books.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Depending on the day, I'm optimistic or suicidal.The traditional publishing world is such a crap shoot, and it's like winning the lottery. Digital publishing (print on demand, ebooks) are the future, but the business models will constant evolve. I will always publish both digitally and on paper, because when the apocalypse comes, my Kindle will be useless and after the revolution when Jeff Bezos is no more, we'll have to go back to selling books in ways other than Amazon. For now, you do what will get your book in front of the most readers.
What genres do you write?: Historical fiction, Urban Fantasy/Noir
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Wayne Turmel Home Page Link
Link To Wayne Turmel Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
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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.
