Gideon Hodge interview with David Alan Binder

Post date: Oct 7, 2016 12:21:22 AM

Gideon Hodge interview with David Alan Binder

Sort of a bio in a not really kind of way Dear Writers and Dear Readers-

I found Gideon through the national news. Here is an author whose residence was burning and he is away from home and sees the fire engines and runs towards his place with much concern. (see first picture)

Then he runs past the firemen and runs into his burning residence to get…

What else? …but his laptop that had his two novels on it. He cannot let his creativity burn and his passion.

(Note to self: Always keep backups of your work so you do not have to run into burning buildings.)

What a way to capture headlines!?!

The whole news story is here:

http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2016/09/watch_writer_run_into_burning.html

I want to get you (yes, you! meaning all you authors reading this) interviews but do NOT want to find you in headlines because that is probably not going to be good.

Gideon Hodge Bio from Smash Words:

Historian, philosopher, occultist, vaudeville performer, actor, entertainer and writer; Gideon Hodge is a student of the human experience. This has brought him across many strange and fantastic tales in the tomes of history, mythology and folk lore; as well as the lurid stories both lived and concocted by his fellow performers.

Plays, poems, songs, screen plays and now novels; this promises to be the first of many as Gideon's writings become available for publication for the first time.

Gideon Hodge is a native Ohioan where the shores of Lake Erie and the grey skies of Ohio winters gave him his love for the dark and ethereal. This same love eventually brought him to New Orleans where he now resides, performing, writing and searching for the next adventure in life.

Gideon Hodge is available on Face Book.

Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6857408.Gideon_Hodge

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gideon-Hodge/e/B00M3L4Q9U

1. How do you pronounce your name?

Like the two main agents from the earlier seasons of Criminal Minds. :D

2. Where are you currently living?

New Orleans. Since the fire, we’ve staying at a friend’s B&B. I am looking to move to Atlanta soon.

3. What is the most important thing that you have learned in your writing experience, so far?

Keep practicing, keep working. As a seasoned novelist told me, “the ABC’s of writing are Apply Butt to Chair.” That and to always be willing to learn; either from reading other authors, learning more about the world I live in, studying history, taking workshops or just constantly writing more material.

Also, it’s taught me patience. I can be a brash person. As an entertainer, I would throw myself headlong into any show or project I was in. Writing is a different animal entirely without the quick payoffs. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

4. What would you say is your most interesting writing, publishing, editing or illustrating quirk?

Well, the girlfriend’s I’ve lived with likely would not describe it as ‘interesting’, but they’ve… discussed the matter at length with me in the past and thus it comes to my attention now. I take copious notes. I write out loose back stories, jot down lists of names, random scenes, maps, timelines and anything else that pops into my head to be used for future fiction. Up until the fire, I had kept all of these notebooks. They took up several shelves. They were my reference material for my own projects. Now I must begin this process again, much to my fiancé’s chagrin.

5. Tell us your insights on self-publish or use a publisher?

a. Who is the name of your publisher and in what city are they?

I prefer not to talk about my first publisher, as that did not go well, and I decide to self-publish after. Having a publisher can be a wonderful thing, if you work with the right people. The people around you will be what help you soar, and you always want to be appreciative of them. I had to cut ties when I realized that my previously publisher was behaving in an unbecoming way concerning finances.

Self-publishing is expensive and exhausting. If you have the money, time and resources, you could make something great happen. But if you are looking for the book to make you quick money, self-publishing may not be the answer to your hopes.

6. Any insights eBooks vs. print books and alternative vs. conventional publishing?

I have heard a lot of good things about indie press through my other author friends. Sometimes the largest publishers will not be the best fit for you and your book. A smaller press may be able to give you more time and attention, and thus be able to market your book more effectively than a large publisher.

7. Do you have any secret tips for writers on getting a book published?

Keep trying. It will not be the first, second, fourth or otherwise publisher or agent that picks you up. Keep trying. Also, keep writing. A publisher or agent would love to make a connection with a diamond in the rough writer that has five finished novels waiting. What they do not want to talk about is the novel you plan on writing. No one in the business really has time for that.

8. How did you or would you suggest acquire an agent? Any tips for new writers on getting one?

Get in the news for something crazy. Seriously though, it’s going to be a lot of query letters and submissions. Go to writer’s workshops and panels to learn more about what agents want. Each agent is different.

9. Do you have any suggestions or helps for new writers (please be specific and informational as possible)?

Train and practice. Always clear time to write. The time will not make itself available one magical day in the future. You have to carve it out of your schedule. You also need to learn and train and have your writing shredded to pieces. Kill your babies. Get the red pen all over your work. Cry and fall on the floor and hurl the manuscript against the wall in shame and torment. Then get up and make the edits you were given.

It is extremely painful at first, but you build up the callous. I promise. You start to look at the structure and narrative than in guarding your precious work against the world. You want the story to be the best it can be, then you have to become the best writer you can be; by trying a failing. A lot.

Take writing workshops. Write shorts. Write things and finish them. You will also become more confident as you have more completed works under your belt. Then you will stop being afraid of finishing things.

10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned your creative process with your books, editing, publishing or illustrating?

Don’t think grand, think done. That was a tough lesson for me, but it’s true. You can plan out the perfect opus in your head for years. You can draft it to perfection time and time again. But until it’s finished, you have nothing to show the world. Don’t keep editing and drafting those first few chapters. Slug through to the end of the book. Finish it. You can change and edit things later.

I think as writers, we subconsciously start to fear finishing works. We fear that we won’t be able to explain to the world that we were rushed, or that it’s not the best we are capable of. None of that matters. Write the most real, powerful story you have in you right now. Then you can write another one; and another.

I’ve written many stage plays, short stories and screen plays. I hate editing. But producers, publishers and the like will at least be willing to talk about the edits needed for you completed manuscript. You have to get it done first.

11. How many books have you written?

This will be my third book. My second one is on hold until this new series is written. My first novel, Lilith’s Redemption is for sale currently on Amazon.

12. Do you have any tricks or tips to help others become a better writer (please be as specific and information as you possibly can)?

This was covered earlier, but honestly, train as much as you can. Study the masters. Read lots of other books. Practice writing different stories and find your voice. Write a biographical story and add dragons. Spice up your inner world! You have to turn your world on its head and let go of being right before you can grow. When you can sigh at the editor slashing your work to pieces and start making the changes needed with a steady hand and eager heart, you are on your way.

13. Do you have any suggestions for providing twists in a good story?

A good twist to a story is one that the audience did not see coming, but one that you laid the pipe for. You have to lay the pipe. If the hero pulls out a gun the villain did not know about at the end of the story, that gun needed to be there a long time prior.

Don’t just pull things out of nowhere. Pull them out of nowhere on your second draft, then figure out how that device can be lying dormant in your story the entire time. That way the twist can be as crazy and outlandish as you wish, and the audience will realize they should have seen it from the beginning.

14. What makes your or any book stand out from the crowd?

I think what sets my writing, or any really engaging writing apart from the rest is having really quality characters. We need to hear their laughter, feel their pain and watch them bleed upon the page. If we cannot laugh and cry with them, then we won’t care what happens to them or where they go. The same is true of life. We have to engage meaningfully with others to feel like we’re part of their journey and they are part of ours. Fiction is no different, except that sometimes it feels more real than life.

Lilith’s Redemption harkens back to the gothic period before mass media and the internet. My influences for this story were writers like Poppy Z. Brite and Laurel K. Hamilton. The story is dark and close to the heart of the characters. The characters matter to others because they mattered to me first. They had to live inside me before they could live in the hearts and minds of readers.

I’ve also been told my portrayal of some of the demons moved readers to tears.

Engineer’s Empire will be different in that it is based on a fantasy world I created twenty years ago, and have just kept taking notes on until now. The world has a deep and rich history that I am bringing the characters into for this story arch. I plan to write others series’ set in this same world in the future, a fantasy world with colonial and industrial centers. But not all countries progressed at the same rate, just like in our world. A horrific darkness is devoured whole towns, but the various kingdoms are too caught up in their own intrigues to give the issue their full attention. So it is up to the young group of heroes to work together, get past their own personal differences, learn a whole new set of skills and strike off to save their own homeland.

15. What are some ways in which you promote your work?

Word of mouth, social media, book signings and videos. I have been pursuing a film and stage acting career all this while. I have sold many copies of my books at shows. Various people that have met me on set or known me from a project have gone on to buy a copy of my novel. But my plan is to focus on this next series, and hit more book events than before.

16. What is the one thing you would do differently now (concerning writing or editing or publishing or illustrating) and why?

Focus more specifically on writing. I have acted in and produced shows, videos and films across the country. Now it is time to focus more in on my writing specifically and get this next set of novels out.

I will continue acting as I am cast, but I won’t be producing for a while.

Watching my entire life burn in front of me gave me resounding clarity. It’s time to write.

17. What saying or mantra do you live by?

Move forward.

I have been writing and performing for most of my life. I cannot recall the source of this quote, but it is said of writers that they are many different people trying to pretend to be one person. I suppose I am no different in that regard. But between circus, vaudeville, rock music, film acting, theatre and dancing that I have been fortunate enough to live many lives thus far. It gives me a lot to draw from, both as a writer and as a performer. I lament only that I have one life to live.

I have been asked to make the novel that survived the fire available for presale. It is available here: www.highcalibertalent.com/