Peter Clines, author of the Ex-Heroes series and 14 is about to release The Fold, described as a science fiction thriller with a twist. We’ve talked to him about the release.
First of all can you tell us a bit about your new novel, The Fold?
The Fold is about a government teleportation project that’s gone wrong. Our hero, Mike, is brought in to find out just how far wrong. I saw a very early review… I can’t remember exactly how they phrased it, but it called the book something like “a horror-thriller dressed up as a sci-fi-mystery.” I though that was a great description. So it’s that, plus a little comedy and some geeky references.
Mike Erikson, a high school English teacher with a love for Rum & Coke. Can you give us some insight into your main character?
Mike is a guy with gifts that he’s denying. He doesn’t want to be different, he just wants to be like everyone else. So he’s tried to make a very normal, low-key life for himself. One of his oldest friends, Reggie, knows what Mike can do, though, and he knows Mike is the perfect person to help him. I’ve wanted to do a character like this for a while, one that highlights the idea that things most people consider “gifts” can actually make life kind of horrible for the person who has them.
What is it with this blend of Science Fiction and Mystery you find fascinating?
I think sci-fi and mystery pair together very nicely. They do it a lot. When we strip away the stories that are just using sci-fi as a setting, I think we’d find a lot of what’s left tends to have some level of mystery to it. Heck, if you look at Asimov’s I, Robot, almost every story in it is a little mystery involving artificial intelligence. How often on Star Trek-any version of it—was an episode based around “How/why is this happening?”
What goals might you have set for yourself when writing The Fold and how do you feel about the end result?
My big goal was not to screw up. Past that… I’ve actually written two or three different versions of this book over the years, starting with a short story that was berated by a junior year writing instructor. I just want it to be something fun that gives readers a few thrills. If it entertains people, maybe makes them jump or gasp a few times, I think that’s a success.
Will it do that…? Well, I’m pretty happy with it, but there’s always the 20-20 hindsight of “oh, I could’ve done this… oh, that’s the word I was looking for…” Early reviews seem kind of positive, but it’s all going to come down to individuals. Some people will love it, some won’t. I hope the first group is bigger, but there’s always going to be that second group (which probably includes my old writing instructor).
You also have Ex-Isle scheduled for later this year, what can your fans expect?
I’d rather not say too much about it at the moment. Like the other Ex books, there’s two ways to read the title, but past that… I don’t like spilling too much in advance because people tend to latch on to a lot of out-of-context stuff and make a lot of judgments about it, even when it’s just a snippet they’re seeing out of context. I prefer to keep quiet about things as long as possible so people can go into the book without any false expectations or spoilers. I’m kind of like JJ Abrams that way. Just without the fame, prestige, money, power, or a Star Wars contract.
How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?
I usually start with a basic character sketch in my head, maybe a few notes written out. Enough to give an idea of their voice and their basic reactions to things. Sometimes characters just pop up so perfect there’s no need for anything else. Once I’ve got that, the plot helps to guide how their individual story develops. So there’s no actual formula, it’s much more a case-by-case thing.
Have you ever struggled between what you would like to happen to a character and what you considered more sensible to occur? Can you tell us when and what did you do at last?
I think most writers hit something like this at one point or another. The outline says it’s time for this, but the story and characters have progressed to a point where things need to happen differently so it doesn’t seem awkward or forced. If I never have moments like that, I tend to worry that everything’s going too much by-the-numbers and not very organically. The best example I can think of off the top of my head was in one of the early drafts of The Fold. Without going into too much detail, just as it was really clear how high the stakes were and how dangerous things were getting… the team decided to take a night off. Because that’s how things had been in my rough outline. My editor pointed it out to me and I felt pretty stupid for not catching it myself. And it meant losing a fun scene with a bit of character development, but the overall book’s much better for it.
How did you start writing? Was there a particular book or moment in your life that spurned you on?
I know this sounds horribly cliché, but I’ve been telling stories since I was old enough to talk. I’d work out elaborate stories with my stuffed animals and then my Star Wars figures and explain them all to my mom. I was a big dinosaur kid, like many are, and when I was in third grade I sat down and wrote a long story about prehistoric lizard men who came back up to the surface and discovered “hairless animals” had taken over the world. The whole thing was written on that double-lined yellow paper they give kids.
I think I was in fourth grade when I found my mom’s old electric typewriter in the back of a closet. That was pretty much it. From that point I spent most of my free time writing up horrible sci-fi and fantasy stories and fan-fic.
Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?
Everything does. Good writing makes me want to pull off the same clever structures and twists and shows me how to hold an audience. Bad writing shows me the gaping holes and pileups to avoid. I’ve had some inspirational teachers and one or two really bad ones. You never know what’s going to have a powerful impact, so I just try to soak up everything I can without limiting myself to one viewpoint or belief. It’s so easy today for someone to filter their input to fit their likes and beliefs, and I don’t want to be limited that way, either as a person or a writer.
What sort of challenges, as a writer, might you have faced over the years? Any insights you would be able to share for those aspiring writers seeking advice?
I don’t think the challenges I’ve faced have been different that the ones any other writer has encountered. I wrote a lot of bad stuff that got rejected. I learned from it and wrote better stuff that earned me some feedback. And I learned from that and wrote stuff that people thought was good.
“Advice” is such a huge umbrella. I mean, that’s everything from “where do I get an idea” to “what’s a good royalty rate on foreign editions.” I think the best thing I can offer is to learn the difference between rules and advice. There are rules to good stories and being a good writer. Just because rules can be broken doesn’t mean I shouldn’t learn them or that I can ignore them altogether. But there’s also advice. Advice is the individual methods and preferences we all need to sift through and figure out what bits work best for each of us. Figuring out which things are which took me a long time, and I think it’s a big step forward for every writer when they realize the difference.
If anyone wants more pearls like that, I’ve got a ranty blog about writing advice I’ve been keeping up for years now, Writer on Writing (yeah, I spent a good two or three minutes coming up with the name). It’s not about networking or submissions or agents, it’s just about writing and getting better at it.
For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?
Mostly paper, although I’ve got a Kindle and I use it a lot. Especially when I’m traveling. I do think there are certain formatting and layout things that only really work in print, but past that I’m not all “rah-rah-angry mob” for one or the other.
What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?
Like I mentioned before, I try to read as much as I can. Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, thrillers, crime, non-fiction on lots of topics. I just finished a friend’s new travel book.
For individual authors… I’m a big fan of Stephen King, Lee Child, Seanan McGuire, Clive Barker, Jonathan Maberry, Dan Abnett, Cullen Bunn, G. Willow Wilson, Craig DiLouie, Ray Bradbury, Steinbeck, Edgar Rice Burroughs. I’m also spoiled because I’ve come to know some of these writers personally and I get to see some of their stuff early.
What do you do when you’re not writing, any hobbies?
I play games, tabletop and on the computer. I like building models and I have a ridiculously large LEGO collection. My personal belief is that exercising the brain is a lot like exercising the body. You can’t work one muscle group exclusively, you need to balance things. I can’t do all chest exercises and no back ones. So I try to do a lot of things in my downtime that work space, colors, shapes—everything that isn’t words.
And I try to get out and move. Because there is a definite “writer physique” that I’m trying to avoid…
What’s next, what are you working on now?
Well, I just finished up Ex-Isle last week. I’m getting caught up on a few things and then diving into a… well, let’s call it a road trip story. As I mentioned above, I’d prefer not to say much more than that. For now at least.
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Interview by Dag Rambraut – SFFWorld.com © 2015
