Part 2 of the Interview: The latest announcement on E. Van Lowe’s books- read below!
To read Part 1 of the interview, click here. Read my review on Boyfriend from Hell.
E, Thank you for joining me again. I am excited to share with everyone the news that you have! Also: where you get your inspiration from and some bonus writing tips! As well as some discussion for Stephen King fans!
8. At the end of the last interview, we talked about different forms of writing (plays, TV scripts, novels) More switch-ups: You have mentioned before that you like to read many different genres and types of books. I also noticed that you write in different genres as well, such as the horror alter ego you write in- Sal Conte. Do you have to switch gears between these two genres that you write? And how does this affect your writing?
Yes, I do need to switch gears between Sal and E. Sal writes graphic horror, which is a big departure from paranormal romance. It’s only recently that I am writing as both Sal and E. I haven’t written a Sal Conte book in a long time, so it took a while for it to feel right. I threw out the first two drafts of The Toothache Man. That’s something I never do. One thing that helped when I wrote it was to write it in first person. YA is a first person genre, so that gave me some comfort. But it took a few days to find the right balance of sarcasm and gross out horror. LOL. Wow! That sounded ridiculous. Anyway, I think my horror fans will enjoy the story. I plan to bring it out as an e-book around Halloween along with my old Dorchester titles from the 80s, Childs Play and The Power. If you or any of your fans would like to know when they’re coming, please go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. http://evanlowe.com/. As for your second question, once I get my footing the writing isn’t affected at all.
9. Talking about different characters again (and the love/hate relationship we might have with them) If you had to kill off a character that you loved, what would you do? Would this be very challenging for you?
When I was a young man, I read The Lord of The Rings. When Gandalf died I got this hollow feeling inside. I thought Frodo can never make it now. Of course, we all know what happened with Gandalf and Frodo, but I always look back on that feeling. When a favorite character unexpectedly dies, it tells the reader this is serious. It leaves you not knowing what to expect… which is why I look for opportunities to kill off beloved characters. In the sequel to Boyfriend From Hell, I kill off a beloved character. I can’t tell you who or how I did it, and I definitely had second thoughts about it. I still wonder about my decision. So, yes, it was challenging. You will have to read both books to find out who.
Sounds scary. And it sure did have an emotional impact when Gandalf died. I am scared to think of who may be the one to die in your next novel.
10. Do you have a writer that you look up or that inspires you? Who was one of your favorite childhood authors or what books do you remember reading when you were younger?
The list of writers I look up to is too long to list. In general: JD Salinger. Horror: Stephen King, and YA: Meg Cabot. These are people I definitely try to emulate in my writing. I read a lot of boy stuff when I was a kid, Ian Fleming, who wrote the James Bond series and Sax Rohmer who wrote the Dr. Fu Manchu series. What can I say, I was really into the macho boy adventure stuff back then.
11. Related to this, imagine you were stuck in a novel of a writer we both love… (Drum roll, please): Stephen King! Would there be any escape or would you need Sal Conte to help you with this? Any idea what novel it would be and what characters you might come across? (Or what characters you definitely DO NOT want to come across?)
I’m smiling as I answer this one. Definitely no escape for E. I’m a lover not a fighter. I’d definitely need a hard-ass like Sal to help me out. I’d probably encounter The Walkin’ Dude from The Stand or Pennywise from It. And even with Sal along I’d still probably lose. LOL.
That does send some shivers down my spine thinking of The Walkin’ Dude. He has appeared in quite a lot of Stephen King’s novels and I would not want to run into him either!
12. What is some advice that you would like to give to aspiring writers? Anything that writers must do to be successful?
Do not give up on your dream. There will be lots of people coming at you with good and valid reasons to give up. Don’t listen to them—even if they’re your parents. My father thought writing was a lousy profession. I know he was doing what he thought was best. Now that I’ve made a very good living at it, he’s changed his mind. But regardless of money, everyone should follow their dreams. You do not want to wake up one day wishing you had. Give your writing career a fair and honest shot.
13. I know you have been working on editing your next novel. How is that going and what can you tell us about the editing process?
What can I say? I hate the process. It is necessary and it definitely improves the book, but I hate it. It is hard going through a book two, three, four, five times after you’ve written it and turned it in. I don’t know a writer who enjoys it. You hate the book by the time it’s done. I am happy to say I turned in what I hope is the last edit for Earth Angel, the second book in the Falling Angels Saga, and sequel to Boyfriend From Hell. The book was scheduled to come out in March, but due to the response of Boyfriend From Hell, my publisher pushed it up to December. You heard it here first.
Very exciting stuff! Thank you for sharing that 🙂 I can’t wait to read it!
14. Bonus Question for the writers out there: Give us a writing prompt to get those creative minds flowing!
Write emotion. It’s all we really care about. Allow emotions to lead and plot to follow. Think of all the movies you love and books you love, and think about what you love about them. It’s rarely the plot. We love Bella and Edward—emotion. I know Harry Potter is filled with all sorts of wonderful images, but it’s Harry’s emotional state, his emotional conundrums, that hook us in. Check out how these amazing authors keep emotions alive, then go back and look at your manuscripts. Want to be an awesome writer? Write emotion.
That is some great advice! It is very important to have that emotional connection with the characters.
That looks like all the questions I have for now! Who would have thought? LOL 😉 Whew! You made it! Thank you so much for your time! Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?
Yes. I’d like to add there’s precious little time to take advantage of the Boyfriend From Hell pre-pub sale. Boyfriend From Hell Kindle or Nook is now available for just $2.99. On September 1st (the publication date) the book will go up to its regular price.
(To purchase the Boyfriend from Hell e-book on sale, click on the picture below- that will take you right to Amazon.)
Thank you again for the interview, it was really great to learn more about you. I am looking forward to reading Earth Angel and I will definitely review that as soon as it comes out! Everyone, thank you for joining us and please stay tuned (please follow or sign up for email updates on the right side of the page) for more info and news on E’s books! Happy Reading!
BookwormCastle 