Today’s guest is Tim Girard. Tim is a screenplay author, and is working on some very exciting new scripts that I personally would love to see on the big screen. If you’re a film buff too be sure to keep reading…
- What is your name and where do you call home?
I am Tim Girard. Currently, and against my will, I live in California
- Do you have a pen name?
No pen name. Not this time. Maybe someday. For now, I want you to know who I am!
- What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up what would you say?
I’m of a different breed. I am working on a screenplay epic titled “Legends of the Seven.” The first screenplay is called “Shards of the Seven.” The second is “Into the Dreaming” while the third is “The Dream Catchers.”
My most recent “book” would have to be “The Song in the Chamber.” Summing it up, though, is something else.
The Song in the Chamber is about a “gifted” doctor desperately trying to work out how real his nightmares are while searching for someone “gifted” like he is.
- Is the above book part of a series?
The book is a stand alone. My first (and to date only) horror, in fact. The screenplays are a part of a series. I have several others in the works also.
- What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing?
Writing is natural for me. I don’t know that I have a specific inspiration for my start. As for how long, well, let’s just say it’s been a long time. A very long time!
- How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book(s)?
My “cover” is stark and ambiguous. It is the title on a black page, so not very “inviting” by itself. It is meant to convey the nightmarish landscape the Doctor is experiencing while highlighting the grotesque nature of his search.
- Did you listen to any particular songs while writing your book(s)?
Songs. Yeah, huh. No, not really. I try to write in silence. I find I focus better that way. That being said I cheat a lot and put on whatever strikes my fancy. I like folk and rock and roll and alternative. My MP3 player has a lot of variety.
- How did you come up with the title for your book(s)?
The Song in the Chamber title really came from an event inside the story. The doctor has power and his goal aside from finding another like him is to make living music, born from the fear and stench of those about to die. It’s macabre and gruesome, I know.
- Do you have a book trailer? If so where can we watch it?
No trailer. Love to, but not for this one.
- Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books?
Great question. As an author I am crazy about e-books. I write short little shots to the gut. E-books afford me that opportunity. As a reader I live for a book I can hold and think about.
- Are you a self-published/Indie author?
Indie all the way! Wouldn’t have it any other way. My work is pretty bizarre and experimental and I am a control freak about it. I think a publisher/editor and I would end up killing each other!
- If you’re a self-published/Indie author what made you go that route instead of the traditional publishing route?
Oh absolutely. It is a catch-22. With indie publishing there is a control factor. Unfortunately there is also an opportunity for really bad writers to put really bad stuff out there. I know it sounds obnoxious. I do. But it is the truth. There is a lot of mediocrity out there.
That being said I can’t imagine it any other way!
- Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
I devour anything Steinbeck. Love the guy. I read and re-read all the time. I am a history reader so I go over books time and again, catching snippets here and there. Specifics? Yikes. The Flying Fortress, the Mighty Eighth. Those are current. Previously? World War 1, The Iliad, the Prophet. Just about anything by Rilke.
- What is your opinion of novellas?
When done well they are extraordinary! When not done well, they are a page long. I do not have patience for poor writing. If I am not caught I put it down.
- Have you ever read a book just based on its cover?
Oh probably. I have also not read a book because of its cover. Covers are necessary and should be an introduction. They should not be grotesque or outrageous.
- What is your favorite film based on a book?
I would go geek and say Lord of the Rings. That series was amazing.
- What is your favorite book genre at the moment?
Like I said, I am a Steinbeck freak. Aside from that I am involved with the air war in WW2, a host of neurology books as well as any number of books on trains and mythology and the1950s, and man. A lot actually!
- What books have made it onto your wish list recently? And why?
I’m a little too disorganized to have a wish list. There is one called a Higher Calling I am anxious to read (B17 story). I just picked up two Steinbeck books.
- What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
Steinbeck, a book about BF109 pilots, Black Hawk Down. They are trades and hardbacks.
- If you could invite any four (4) celebrities (alive or dead) to your dinner party, who would you invite and why?
Only four! Wow. Joseph Campbell, Hannibal Barca, John Steinbeck, and probably someone crazy like Lon Chaney.
These guys were special for different reasons. Campbell was a wizard of story. Hannibal fought Rome with elephants (how can you not love that?) Steinbeck was, well, Steinbeck. And Chaney understood the character of man.
- What’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing?
Absolute best advice? A couple of thoughts. First: it’s a marathon. Don’t expect it to be quick or painless. Second: Endure. It’s a marathon. Third: remember your audience. Fourth: remember your story. Fifth: it’s okay to do something radical. I’m kind of hoping you will.
- Do you have any hobbies that aren’t related to reading & writing?
What!?! There are hobbies not related to writing? Blow me down! Sort of. Not really. I am in production putting together a stylized animated short. I travel. I critique. I’m kind of all over the place.
- Where can your readers follow you?
I’m with Amazon and Linkedin, probably the best way to find me. I don’t facebook and I have so little time to blog. I do twitter, on rare occasion but it is for my zombie character. (That’s a long story there!)
So, that was Tim in a nutshell. I hope you enjoyed his interview as much as I did. Now, go out there and do something radical!
Nina Soden 