J.L. Doty Interview

We’ve had the pleasure to talk to J.L. Doty, author of A Choice of Treasons due to be released by Open Road Media later this month. I might add that A Choice of Treasons is a roller coaster ride of a story which is one of the best books I’ve read in years.

First of all can you tell us a bit about A Choice of Treasons without giving too much away? What do you feel is unique about your story?

I like to see how characters handle really difficult dilemmas. When I was a kid I thought honor was an absolute, black or white. In real life that isn’t always the case. In A Choice of Treasons the lines are very gray; the hero finds himself with no course that is honorable.

York Ballin is a somewhat unlikely hero. Can you give us some insight into your main character?

York’s at the end of his tether. He’s made some bad choices, but he’s never really been given a fair shake. After surviving almost twenty years of continuous combat, he’s suffering from some serious P&PTSD: Post and Present Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He still wants to do the right thing, but he’s got nowhere to go, and nothing to lose, and oddly, that gives him the armor needed to make some right decisions.

How did you come up with the idea for this story in the first place and did you have all the details mapped out when you began?

It was actually a rather difficult process. It was the first piece of fiction I ever wrote, and after I finished it the first time, I put it away for a few months, then read it, and it was so terrible I decided no one would ever see it. I went on to other projects like the first book in The Gods Within. Then about five years later I decided to go back to A Choice of Treasons because I really wanted to write that story. Before I started on it the second time, I threw the old manuscript away, forcing me to rewrite without using anything from the first manuscript.

As to having it all mapped out: No. I usually know the beginning and end, and some of the significant events between the two, then while writing I have to figure out how to get from one to the other. Frequently the beginning and end change in the process.

A prequel is scheduled for next year. Can you tell us a bit about what to expect?

In A Choice of Treasons York is in his early thirties and the span of the story only covers about three months in his life. I wanted to go back and explore where York came from. Of Treasons Born opens with York, at the age of eleven, being convicted of a rather heinous crime, and sentenced to life in prison. He’s a foster kid who’s made a lot of bad decisions, and now he needs to start making some good ones. He’s pressed into the navy, and the story follows him as he grows up.

What other plans do you have for this series?

I’m thinking of a tween book, with York in his mid-twenties. And more than one fan wants me to write a sequel to A Choice of Treasons. I haven’t yet come up with a story good-enough to leave the reader with a solid umph in the gut, and I don’t want to write the story unless I can.

A Choice of Treasons was first released some years ago, but is now soon to be re-released as an ebook by Open Road Media. Have there been many changes to this edition compared to the original?

No real substantive changes, just a few modifications for consistency in the story line, mostly to make sure references in the later book to York’s past are consistent.

What are your expectations now that you have a major publisher behind you?

As a self-published author I started out with rather modest expectations, even though I had, what many consider, extremely good success as an indie. But as I get more involved with the process and the people at Open Road, my excitement is growing in leaps and bounds.

From a question to the audience at the World Science Fiction Convention to a book deal with Open Road Media. That’s an interesting story you have to tell us about?

Because of the “question to the audience” two years ago at WorldCon, I met Betsy Mitchell of Open Road Integrated Media–if anyone’s interested I detailed the incident in a blog article. Back then there were very few in the publishing industry who were thinking “outside the box” when it came to successful self-published indies. I approached quite a few, and most often I saw fear in their eyes, as if someone like me threatened them, when, in fact, I was approaching them because I wanted to work with them. Even then Betsy and the people at Open Road were way ahead of the curve when it came to thinking of ways traditional publishing can work with indies.

You also have a Fantasy series that have been well received called The Gods Within. Can you tell us a bit about it?

The first book in the series, Child of the Sword, was the book that went viral and made it for me. It’s the story of a feral child who’s adopted by a clan of wizards and witches because he has some magic of his own, though he doesn’t realize it. I think his appeal is that he isn’t the best swordsman, or the best horseman, and he’s a little shy and unsure of himself. He has a monumental task before him, and he has to grow and learn to survive it.

Your writing spans many genres from Epic Fantasy and Urban Fantasy to Hard Science Fiction. Which genre do you enjoy the most?

Whichever one I happen to be writing at the moment, though in general I couldn’t pick one over the other. I write in all three sub-genres because I read copious quantities of all three and I love them.

What got you into writing in the first place? Any particular authors that have been huge inspirations?

A long time ago someone gave me something by Robert Heinlein, and I loved it so much I hunted down and read everything he’d written–I think. Next I devoured E. E. Doc Smith, Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Roger Zelazny, and of course Tolkien.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of the writing process, and why?

Favorite: when right in the middle of a sentence a character does something I didn’t know was going to happen, and it fits nicely with the character and story. Least favorite: editing, proof-reading, editing, proof-reading, editing . . .

How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?

I walk around the house mumbling to myself–it drives my wife crazy–lost in some strange world, thinking through dialog, plots, not really putting words on paper–or electrons in computer–just scribbling little notes. I might do that for two or three weeks, then something in my head clicks, and I’ll sit down and start writing. At that point I’ll write twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for two or three weeks, and I’ll put out 30,000 words. Then I go back to the thinking and mumbling, and repeat the whole thing again.

What has been most surprising to you in your writing and publishing career?

I was surprised at how friendly and welcoming some really big-name writers can be to an indie. I still get snubbed by the occasional author who thinks you’re not really legitimate if you’re not traditionally published, but the majority of them are supportive and encouraging.

What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?

Favorites, in alphabetical order: Marie Brennan, Pierce Brown, Jim Butcher, Jack Campbell, David B. Coe, Glen Cook, Julie E. Czerneda, Peter David, Steven Erikson, Kim Harrison, Barb & J. C. Hendee, Robin Hobb, E. E. Knight, Scott Lynch, Marianne de Pierres, John Ringo, Tad Williams.

Non-Fiction: Recently read The Admirals, by Walter R. Borneman. It’s the story of the four admirals who were largely responsible for the US’s victories at sea during WWII. Fascinating reading, especially if you’re a fan of history, and military SF.

What are you doing when not writing, any hobbies?

For thirty years, while working at a very demanding day-job, my hobby was writing SF&F. During that time I wrote four books, then got lucky enough with The Gods Within to quit my day-job and write full time. In the last three years I’ve written five more books and I’m having the time of my life doing my hobby full time. I play a little golf–badly–and enjoy travel, like to do big projects at home like remodeling our bathrooms. I’m a scientist (Ph.D. Electrical Engineering), specialty is laser physics, and I enjoy putting together talks about science for non-scientists. I’ve given a talk at some Cons titled “Bad Science in Laser Weapons, or why can’t the SF writers get it right?” I enjoy having a little fun with that kind of thing.

What’s next? Do you have more exciting new projects you’re working on at the moment?

Right now I’m in the mumbling and thinking phase for Never Dead Enough, the third book in my urban fantasy series, The Dead Among Us–no zombies or vampires. I’ve also got an idea for a book that blends hard SF and some fantasy/mystical themes–working title is Tranquility Lost. And during those thirty years that my day-job took priority, I put together a large file full of ideas, so I’m just going to keep on writing the next book.

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