Just yesterday I reviewed an exceptional book called The B-Side Diaries. You can read that review here. I got a chance to ask Brian Joyce a few questions about his writing and publishing of the book. Here is what he had to say:
What was your inspiration for this story?
The
inspiration for this story has three particular reasons. First, I spent three
years living in Nashville. I absolutely loved Nashville and the friends that I
made there. Those three years were defining moments in my life. I look at
Nashville with such a fondness. Most people think of Nashville as the country
music capital, but it's called Music City for a reason. One inspiration in
writing this book was to change people's opinions of Nashville to see that it's
not just a country music town, there are many thriving scenes there--including
the PUNK rock scene. Next, the theme of this book, and the mood of this book
was written through the inspiration of losing some people very close to me in
my life. I loved the fact that you called this book "inspirational,"
because that was exactly what I was aiming for. I wrote this book to help
people who may be grieving a loved one. I wanted readers to feel that it is
okay to move forward and still honor that person's life, through your
remembrance of them. Also, I wanted to show that no matter how many years we
have on this earth, we ALL affect change in the people's lives we
touch--forever; and that's a good thing. Last, I wrote this book for my two
sons, Milo and Noah. I wrote this book out of kind of morbid reasons for them,
but with the best intentions. My father passed away very young, and as a result
there were many teachings I missed from him. He taught me a lot in his 10 years
with me, but I would have loved to have more words of wisdom, because he was a
very wise man. When I became a father in 2007, I thought about my own
mortality, and how that might affect my family. I felt compelled to write a
story for my sons that they could return to and continuously get life lessons
from, even if I could not be there to give them. So it was kind of written as a
life lesson book for them.
How did you come up with such interesting and diverse
characters?
I'm so glad
you liked the characters. I will attempt to answer this question, but it is a
tough one. I think when I started writing this book in 2007, I modeled certain
characters off of traits of some of my most colorful friends and acquaintances.
However, as the story went on, the characters spoke to me and that changed a
little. The only characters that didn't change too much were Christopher and
Dylan. Christopher was the embodiment of all the good things my father was. He
was kind, honest, sympathetic, energetic, inspiring, and giving. Dylan was some
parts of some friends back home in Nashville, my brother Tom (who passed away),
and a little bit of Dally from the Outsiders to me. I'm not sure if that's what
I set out for him to be, but that's what he became to me. Rory--Rory was a
little bit me, a little bit Ponyboy from the outsiders, and a little bit of
friends personalities that I truly love. He was meant to be honest, vulnerable,
pure, and naive. The reason I made him naive, was so that if my sons were
younger (or for that matter, any younger readers) and read my book, they could
relate to his world view. I should lastly mention Kayliegh. Now, I cannot tell
you how many friends I know that are girls/women have asked me if I was writing
about them. I was not. In truth, she wrote herself, but I'm sure I used a lot
of my observations of some of my closest friends in forming her identity. I
loved Kayliegh's character. She was warm, and strong, but still not entirely
confident, and that was more about her age than about her personality. She will
be a much stronger character moving forward through the series as a result of
growing up and coming into her own. I hope that doesn't give away some things.
A lot of the other characters I made in contrast to Christopher, Rory and Dylan
quite honestly. The story unfolded, and they kind of wrote themselves. I hope
that answers your question.
I saw that you are self-published. What was that like
for you? How did you go about publishing yourself?
Well, when I
originally wrote the book, I didn't intend on publishing it at all. It was a
story for my sons only. Then my wife read it, and she convinced me to do
something with it. She is an English teacher. At that time the book was very
raw. I took her advice and sent query letters to agents, about 25 of them. I
had 12 partial/full manuscript reads, but no agent after that process. My wife
had said, it wasn't ready yet, but I didn't listen to that part. Haha! I heard,
it's good, so I sent it. Silly me. Anyway, I spent the next couple years adding
and rewriting, and lastly editing the work. At that time, I was learning all
about KDP and self-publishing. I was following J.A. Konrath's blog, and other
self-published author's blogs. It convinced me to do it indie. Growing up in
the punk scene I truly value DIY, and i love that I am living in an age of
publishing where that is possible. I am a very lucky man. So following the
advice of a lot of other writers I found my way to self-publishing through KDP.
I'm really happy with it, and I can't wait to add to the list of books I put
out including the remaining two books in THE B-SIDE DIARIES series.
Many people would love to publish their own book, or
at least finish writing one. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors,
self-publishers, or writers?
My advice
would be: do it! You can do it. The information is out there to be successful,
and there is no downside at all. Obviously you will have to work hard, but if
you are passionate about writing, there is nothing to stop you, but you. I
would definitely recommend becoming an avid reader of J.A. Konrath's blog, and
others like it for advice and inspiration. I would also say, don't do it for
money. Money is nice, but art should not be for money, it should be to give a
piece of you to the world. That way you're being honest, and honesty, at least
I believe, is what gains fans. Write for you, not trends. Honestly, I don't
know anyone else that has put out a faux-memoir before, but that didn't stop me
from putting that label on it, because that's what it is. It's not a hot trend,
it's my trend, and I hope it catches on. I wanted to write a book that felt so
real you felt like you were eavesdropping on someone's life and thoughts.
Hopefully I accomplished that. I also wanted to write a main character in a
story who is not alive, but feels alive through the thoughts of other
characters in the story, because I haven't read anything like that either; a
non-character main character is hard to explain to agents. They want trends.
With indie publishing you have no rules except the ones you place on yourself.
Let your true style and artistic view of life be the book you want to write,
and only you can write. That will be its own reward.
Are you working on anything new at the moment? Will it
be in the same genre as The B-Side Diaries?
I am working
on a book (on and off, I started a teaching job that requires a LOT of my time
right now, but I'm looking forward to the summer) called THE MOTOR OF DREAMS.
Here is a blurb:
The Motor of
Dreams
When Duncan’s
family takes in a foreign exchange student from France by the name of
Marcellus, he is unaware of the profound changes set to take place in his life.
Duncan is shy and awkward at best, and is hopelessly in lust for his best
friend, and neighbor, Emaline. Marcellus is a driven seventeen year old who is
a natural at everything, including skateboarding, and charming the ladies. When
he moves into Duncan’s home he is set to turn pro for skateboarding upon
graduation.
Duncan is
eager to gain acceptance, and mostly meets with failure, that is until his new
roommate becomes the most talked about kid in school. Through late night
bedroom chats, Marcellus teaches Duncan all about living with passion and about
how things are made easy, through what he calls, “The Motor of Dreams”. When
Duncan accepts a bet to test Marcellus’ theory for 30 days to win the heart of
Emaline, his life is changed forever. The next 30 days will come crashing
against Duncan’s perspective on life, and his place in it, and he will be
forced to answer the question: do people’s perspectives on life truly shape
their world?
It is my
attempt at writing a YA fictional self-help book that is also a contemporary
love story. I think it will take the best inspirational attributes of THE
B-SIDE DIARIES to even greater levels. After THE MOTOR OF DREAMS I'll be
working on the remaining books in THE B-SIDE DIARIES trilogy series. I hope to
have THE MOTOR OF DREAMS published sometime next year.
~O~
I'd like to thank Brian for doing this interview with me. He had some great and detailed answers to my questions. I wish him luck in his future writings and in the future of The B-Side Diaries.
Below is a rafflecopter for a ebook copy of The B-Side Diaries. I definitely suggest you guys read it!
~Monty
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