Here is my interview with Steven P Locklin

 

Name: Steven P Locklin
Age: 55
Where are you from: Miami, Fla.
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc: Grew up in New England (Massachusetts and Vermont), graduated from Boston University and have worked as a journalist for 33 years. I have lived and worked in a number of different states in the eastern U.S., but have lived in South Florida for the past 16 years.

 

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
My first novel, Beneath Hallowed Ground, published last year by Grey Gecko Press, earned a bronze medal in general fiction from the Florida Book Awards a few months ago. I am writing a sequel right now.

 

 

I was always a reader growing up. I would read anything and there were always novels, encyclopedias and other reference books in the house. When I was older I started reading Alistair MacLean novels and they got me interested in adventure thrillers and then my interest grew from being a reader to being a writer.

 

 

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think when I completed the first novel, even before it was published. If a person can sit down and see a project through to completion, then another, and have a desire to tell stories through words, then you’re a writer. It doesn’t matter whether you get validation through others, it’s the work itself and what you wanted to say.

 

 
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
I am fascinated by history, particularly the Civil War, and when I have visited places of historical significance I have always felt a tangible connection to the events that happened there. So I wrote BHG with that in mind; two storylines, separated by 150 years, unfolding concurrently, that come together at the same place.

 

 

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
I don’t believe style is a conscious decision on a writer’s part. You write how it comes from your imagination and then shape it during the re-writing process. You are certainly influenced by favorite writers you have read. I love Hemingway’s writing, particularly in his short stories, but I don’t begin to feel like I have a specific style. My fiction writing resume is still too short.

 

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
The two storylines in the book are united at a site that is considered “hallowed ground” by history.

 

 

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I meant it just to be a fun story to read, nothing profound, except that we are tied to our past. It may or may not define you, but the connection is there.

 

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
It is a historical novel and the places and real people are accurately described. Their interaction with my characters, of course, is entirely fiction. There were scenes in the novel that actually happened in real life and I just placed my characters in as unrecorded witnesses to history.

 

 

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No.

 

 

Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
The first book of substance I remember reading was To Kill a Mockingbird in junior high. The story’s eloquence in the face of difficult subject matter struck me even at an early age. Brave New World, 1984, Slaughterhouse-Five and Fahrenheit 451 also influenced my thinking. More recently and more in line with my interest in the Civil War, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and the Abel Jones series of novels from Owen Parry (aka Ralph Peters) are among my favorites.

 

 

Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I haven’t had a mentor per se, but if having a mentor means you aspire to their creativity, then I would say Hemingway, for his short stories which have always been some of my favorite writing.

 

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Deceived by Randy Wayne White.

 

 

Fiona: What are your current projects?
I am working on a sequel to my first novel and I’m planning on a duel storyline again.

 

 

Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Jason Aydelotte of Grey Gecko Press, the independent publisher that had the faith in my story to put it out there.

 

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
I will always have some sort of writing project going on from now on. Whether you could term it a career is up to the readers.

 

 

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
There are always things you would like to go back and change. Nothing is ever perfect. You try to do the best you can with where you are in your writing life, tell the story, and then move on to the next story you want to tell.

 

 

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
(This is a first draft of a small part of my present project)
Brison had pulled his pistol from his waist and pointed it at the boy as he looked around the room. He found a length of rope in a side storage closet and tied the boy up in the chair as the Rebel protested his treatment, insisting he had done nothing to deserve this. When finished, Brison grabbed another chair, turned it around, placed it in front of the boy and sat down. He began with a voice of reason and calm.
“You and I both know I don’t have a lot of time. I know what happened at the meeting in Harrisburg, I know you were the messenger between the Knights of the Golden Circle in the capital and the agents here. I followed you here and saw you deliver the message to a man who rode off not twenty minutes ago from that building at the college.” Brison paused to see the effect this knowledge had on the boy and was pleased to see the eyes widen in realization that his captor knew much. “I also know that you or someone you know stole my horse and my goods back at the college there, which is why I had to chase you down by foot and that alone will get you stern treatment.
“What I don’t know and what you are going to tell me, is what your message was and what your group is planning. How are you planning to attack the president?”
The boy’s eyes suddenly narrowed and a smile crept onto his face that now carried distinct righteousness. He wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth with his shoulder.
“You won’t git nothin’ from me,” he said menacingly. “And you’ll be too late for it to do you any good anyhow. I know who you are. You’re a Yank colonel even though you don’t wear no uniform. You got to take me in to your right fine and mighty general or some such. You can’t do nothin’ to me here.”
Brison tilted his head to the side, paused, then threw a right hand into the Rebel’s gut, forcing air and spit to hurl forth from the mouth. The boy moaned and struggled to gain his breath, almost sounding like he was about to spill his stomach onto the floor.
“You see son, that’s where you’re in error,” Brison got in close to the Rebel’s face. “I’m not bound by military regulations concerning treatment of prisoners. And you’re a spy so I am well within my power to hang you right here at the Diamond if I wanted. Or easier still, just put a bullet in your head right now. I’m under orders from President Lincoln himself and I have free reign. You understand what that means?”
“You’re … you’re bluffin’ and your orders won’t mean nothin’ in a few minutes anyhow,” the boy smiled.
Brison went for the jaw this time and connected solidly, sending the boy and chair back over onto the floor. When he reached the boy’s face this time, he had his knife pulled from his boot. He flashed the wide, well-sharpened blade in front of the boy’s eyes. Blood was coming from a hole where a tooth had been just seconds before and the boy whimpered through mixture of spit and blood.
“Tell me what I want to know or I’ll take this knife and slowly gut you like a pig. And I do mean slow.” Brison did his best to sound crazy. He had to convince the boy he wasn’t bluffing because he knew what the Rebel had said was true … he had only minutes. “How are they going to do it? How are they going to kill Lincoln?”

 

 

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Organizing story structure and pacing are always hard for me. I will do an outline for the story, but I don’t limit myself to having to follow it exactly. It’s a guideline not the end all. With the stories I’m doing right now, there are many balls in the air at the same time and continuity issues are at the forefront.

 

 

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Because some of my storyline occurs at the site of a Civil War battlefield, I visited the actual location and researched as much as I could about the area.

 

 
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Grey Gecko Press had Staci Reed and Nathan Morimitsu do my cover. The lettering is in handwriting based on Abraham Lincoln’s own hand.

 

 

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I stress to writers who read this … don’t write the way I did on my first novel. I started it in 1999 and worked on it sporadically until I finally finished the first draft in 2009. I then spent two years rewriting and cutting 120 pages out. It was accepted for publication in 2012. The hardest part was developing continuity because I went long stretches where I didn’t work on the book. So …

 

 
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
… it’s true what all great writers say. You have to write every day. Force yourself to carve the time out to do it and set yourself a word minimum. It’s exactly like keeping in shape physically — if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. I’m doing a much better job of working consistently on my present novel.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I hope you enjoy the story and write a review on Amazon or Goodreads or LibraryThing or wherever. Authors with independent publishers have to spread the word at the grassroots level. Writing a story and putting it out there is a personal experience, leaving a person vulnerable, so positive comments are greatly appreciated.

 

 
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
Golf is another passion. I enjoy all film genres except horror and I usually have two or three television shows I follow. And reading, of course.

 

 
Fiona: Favorite foods: Everything that is bad for you.
Color: Orange (Don’t ask me why, I don’t know)
Music: I was raised in the seventies. Steely Dan, Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel are my favorites but I’ve enjoyed many other rock artists.

 

 
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
Work as a veterinarian.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
People can reach me at splocklin@gmail.com; at greygeckopress.com; on Twitter @StevenPLocklin and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/StevenPLocklin