Ask the Author: Bill Thompson
Answered Questions (9)
Bill Thompson
Good morning I’m working on the next Bayou book. Out in the fall if all goes well thanks for reading them and for your kind comments
Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson
Hi, Liz. Thanks for your interest in my books. Yes, on July 20 both print and ebooks will be available on Amazon. Thanks also for keeping them on your bookshelf!!!
Bill Thompson
My favorite couple is Sam and Remi Fargo, Clive Cussler's swashbuckling, treasure-hunting adventurers. They go to exotic places, have fun doing it and keep things exciting. A bonus is that Russell Blake, one of my favorite authors, co-authored two recent Cussler books, The Solomon Curse and The Eye of Heaven, both of which are Fargo adventures.
Bill Thompson
I make some serious preparations before I start a book. I treat this like a business - I have a timetable, word goals, daily writing goals, outline deadlines and an overall deadline for the entire book, just as if a traditional publisher were on my ass about getting it in print. That works well for me.
Once I have those "pushers" in place, I begin to write. I make sure the time of day I write best (mornings for me) is blocked off on the days I write. I work in my office and my wife helps me by keeping the house quiet while I'm at work. Motivated by goals and deadlines, I start and the words come out. Some days are better than others, and some days I write like crazy. The slower days I push through anyway, getting as much on paper as my brain will allow. Something is better than nothing, and I know if I don't write, I have twice as much to do tomorrow in order to meet my weekly goals.
Good luck!
Once I have those "pushers" in place, I begin to write. I make sure the time of day I write best (mornings for me) is blocked off on the days I write. I work in my office and my wife helps me by keeping the house quiet while I'm at work. Motivated by goals and deadlines, I start and the words come out. Some days are better than others, and some days I write like crazy. The slower days I push through anyway, getting as much on paper as my brain will allow. Something is better than nothing, and I know if I don't write, I have twice as much to do tomorrow in order to meet my weekly goals.
Good luck!
Bill Thompson
If you really, truly want to write, go for it. Don't be discouraged by lack of time, or friends who wonder if you've gone out of your mind, or the idea you'll never make any money at this. Do it because you love it. Do it because you'll be happy you stuck with the project and finished it.
You make time for things you like to do. This is harder than going out to a bar with friends, but if you like to write, make time for it and STICK TO IT. When that book is finished, publish it. You'll be proud of yourself, you'll be an actual, serious writer, and you'll have something to give your friends at Christmas. It's more fun than you can imagine . . . IF it's what you want to do.
Two caveats. First, I've heard everyone has a story in them. That's probably true, but not everyone can write. If you can't spin a story, if you can't tell a tale to other people, and if you don't know your language very well, you may not be able to make it happen.
Second, I've heard you can't write if you don't read. I absolutely, firmly believe that. If you're not a reader I can't imagine how you'll be a writer. Maybe you can prove me wrong.
You make time for things you like to do. This is harder than going out to a bar with friends, but if you like to write, make time for it and STICK TO IT. When that book is finished, publish it. You'll be proud of yourself, you'll be an actual, serious writer, and you'll have something to give your friends at Christmas. It's more fun than you can imagine . . . IF it's what you want to do.
Two caveats. First, I've heard everyone has a story in them. That's probably true, but not everyone can write. If you can't spin a story, if you can't tell a tale to other people, and if you don't know your language very well, you may not be able to make it happen.
Second, I've heard you can't write if you don't read. I absolutely, firmly believe that. If you're not a reader I can't imagine how you'll be a writer. Maybe you can prove me wrong.
Bill Thompson
My most recent book is "The Relic of the King" which will be out later this month (March 2015). I love London, especially the old "City of London" which is the financial district and the oldest part of town. It dates back to the time of Christ. Every time someone begins to erect a new building the bulldozers find evidence of the Britons, or the Saxons, or the Romans. There are antiquities everywhere.
In my latest work a bookseller falls through his basement floor into an ancient crypt and discovers some amazing things about an ancient legend. A king and queen who were long presumed mythical suddenly may have lived after all. Murder, intrigue, deception . . . everything comes into play as people will do anything to possess the fame and fortune surrounding the discoveries.
Most of my ideas come like this - they involve something I've done, or something I read or even a story a friend might tell me. Ideas for books are everywhere. You just need to watch for them.
In my latest work a bookseller falls through his basement floor into an ancient crypt and discovers some amazing things about an ancient legend. A king and queen who were long presumed mythical suddenly may have lived after all. Murder, intrigue, deception . . . everything comes into play as people will do anything to possess the fame and fortune surrounding the discoveries.
Most of my ideas come like this - they involve something I've done, or something I read or even a story a friend might tell me. Ideas for books are everywhere. You just need to watch for them.
Bill Thompson
The best thing about being a writer is that you get to do what you love and what you're "born for" inside of you. I was a corporate entrepreneur for years, buying and selling companies, but when I saw my first book in print it was as gratifying as any business deal I ever made . . . and the money I made was roughly zero compared to those deals. I'll never forget the day that box arrived, I opened it and there were my books, published. It was like nothing else. So I keep doing it. Now that it's making me a living it's even more fun!
Bill Thompson
I have to work through it. It's like going to the gym when you don't feel like it. I have daily word goals and although I don't always make the goal I always have to write SOMETHING. So I sit and I write. It may be OK, it may be something that'll be trashed later, but I start writing. Frequently things work out - the words that appear actually make sense and fit.
Bill Thompson
I just finished my sixth novel, The Relic of the King. Four of my previous books were a series of archaeological mysteries. This one is the first of The Crypt Trilogy. It involves a shop owner in modern London who falls through his basement floor and discovers things from over a thousand years ago. His desire to keep his find a secret ends up in deceit, murder and an astonishing revelation about a mythical king and queen.
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