Interviews

February 2023 Interview with KevinDPhillips

Give us an insight on the person behind the book, speak about yourself as a person and then as a writer?

There are many things that pique my interest, almost to my detriment. Hiking, making music, gaming, driving, and much more. I think this is what ultimately led me to not only my career choices but also my eventual interest in writing stories. As a manager at a hospital or as a superintendent of construction before that, the day-to-day grind have been a great avenue for my logical side. There are times creativity come into play, of course, but not to the degree that which can satisfy. So, I look for other ways to express myself. Writing has always been where I can be the most creative. The only limit is my mind and not the relationship between my fingers and the neck of a guitar or my physical ability to hike for miles. It's true freedom of the mind, heart, and soul. I try to remember that each time I begin to type. Another important thing that defines my writing is that I write for myself and not for others. It's my journey just as much as it is the main character's journey. With the possibility of getting "too deep," I see the stories people create as no different than reality. It's what's inside of us, begging to come out.

You gave a brief overview of yourself and where your love for mysteries came from but if you had to pick one book or author that really inspired you who would it be?

I mention it briefly in the "Author's Note" section of The Maple Leaf, but Fever 1793 is a book that I could say had a great influence on my writing when it comes to grounded fiction. Funnily enough, the direct inspiration for The Maple Leaf was one of my favorite films The Shawshank Redemption and its amazing story about a man's escape from prison after decades of being locked up. Of course, I must mention Stephen King when it comes to the dark side of my stories.

What inspired The Maple Leaf?

The superficial inspiration for the book was the movie The Shawshank Redemption. When I dig deeper, it reflects my mind's constant battle with rumination and the never-ending dungeon of thoughts that rumination can cause. The significance of a maple leaf is how something so small can cause such a change in someone's life. When I think about it, the leaf could be replaced with any random, small object and it would work in a similar matter within the story. That is, besides the beauty of the leaf and how the floating of the leaf in the beginning represents William floating randomly along his journey.

What part in the book did you enjoy writing the most and which part was the hardest to write?

The most enjoyable part of the process was reflecting on the story I wrote years before and trying to remember the major plot points. The beginning chapter is my favorite part in any book and I have to say the same goes for The Maple Leaf. The middle section was the hardest, as I already had the beginning and end planned out. At the same time, it was still enjoyable because I went into the book as though I was on the journey myself. Meaning, I did not know what would happen next or who would be introduced until I wrote down the words.

What would you describe as a writer's block?

As a point in the story where the writer becomes either bored of their own work and therefore the creativity slows to a crawl – or when outside situations take over to the point where writing seems unimportant. I could also see it as writing myself into a corner, like the plot has no way forward because of something you wrote earlier that may require an entire rewrite, deletion, or it was not the logical outcome expected.

Were there any moments while writing in which you hit a block or wall how did you overcome it?

When I reached the middle section, around Chapter 12, I quit writing altogether for about a year and a half. I had no idea what to write and I believe I became bored of my own work. It wasn't until I noticed my story gaining traction that I got some more motivation to continue. Eventually, a few ideas popped up and I wrote to completion. I also decided that I would write no matter what, and if the story became dull, I would throw whatever insane idea I could at the page to keep my interest. I think it turned out quite well 😊

What did you want to achieve with this book, has it achieved the goal you set out for it?

I had "writing my own novel" on my bucket list, so I guess I completed my goal. I never expected success or for it to even be any good. The amount of love and support it's gotten has been absolutely amazing and so now I have been delving into website creation, advertising, and searching for editor's and perhaps a publisher. We'll see how that goes!

What came first, the plot or the characters, give us some insights on the initial startup.

The very first detail was a man trapped in a small room trying to escape – so I'd say the plot came first. As far as the characters, they were created while writing and not before.

From the first draft to what we see presented to us now, what has changed or developed from there?

I have added the author's note as well as many new scenes since the first draft. A metric ton of grammar and punctuation editing took place the 2nd time around. And the final draft you see today has much more character development added, as well as some answering some questions a bit more clearly.

What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?

Have fun. It's an adventure. Bring snacks. Write down ideas when they pop up. It's ok to give yourself a break. Let your emotions, mind, spirit, soul, body, and everything else do their thing! That's where the magic is in your book, it's not all in the logic or the vocabulary. Like how we can tell the difference between a band that plays for technical perfection and a band that plays for their love of the music, the same goes for writing your story. Love what you're writing.

What's next?

I recently announced that the sequel to The Maple Leaf is officially being written and a part of the first chapter is available to read on Wattpad. The title is The Maple Tree and the most I can say now is that it follows the characters introduced in the first book.

I also have been writing Sprouts, which is a standalone book set in the same world as The Maple series – keen readers will pick up on plenty of surprises and connections between the two. It is focused more heavily on the Horror aspect than the mystery/thriller aspects.

At the end of the day... who truly knows what's next? I'm excited to find out! 😊