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Today we interview the author (bmacke01) of "Defiance"
WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
The Interview
MG: How did you come up with the book?
bmacke01: As cliché as it sounds, Defiance was born out of a dream. I had been reading a lot of apocalyptic books at the time, as well as watching a lot of the 'Walking Dead', and one day I just woke up with this scene in my head. Just this vivid dream of being in this camp where I was travelling with this group of people trying to run from someone, trying to get somewhere safe. I woke up and this scene, this feeling, of being there it just wouldn't leave. I went to Starbucks to get a coffee, and I just had this urge to start write it down, it was as if I needed to experience it, or to document it. And so, in the Starbucks I just pulled out my phone and started typing into Notes, and I wrote about two thousand words. It just started pouring out of me, this idea of what it would feel like to be alone in the woods and stumbling upon this camp. Eventually that turned into Ryan as a character, and her stumbling into Logan and Ben's paths and the story was born.
MG: What was the most difficult thing for you to write in the book?
bmacke01: This book especially compared to other works I've written, just flowed, I worked on it every day for about four months and at the end of that I had a book. I never set out to write a full manuscript or to have it become what it is, never even started sharing it until years later. So much was effortless, and it was truly a story I wanted to tell. But if I had to choose a point that was impactful it would be the scenes where Ryan shares and remembers her brother and that relationship. My relationship with my own brother is very important to me, and even writing about the experience of losing that relationship, was really upsetting. Beyond that, I always find ending a story difficult. I don't like letting characters go, and find it challenging to write conclusions that I think are adequate for myself, my readers, and then for the characters themselves.
MG: Was there any certain inspiration for the book?
bmacke01: Yes. There were many inspirations for Defiance. My background is in Political Science, and the idea of international relations, the impact of revolutions, natural disasters, the breakdown of societal contracts, is something that I spent many years contemplating and definitely comes out in my writing. Stories I was reading at the time also played a role in inspiring the plot mostly at the time it was post-apocalyptic, dystopian Young Adult titles. I also pulled a lot of inspiration from my own relationships with friends and family.
MG: What was your favorite thing about the book?
bmacke01: My favourite thing about Defiance was the atmosphere. I love winter and snow. I love the quietness and stillness that only true deep frost can encompass and create, and I truly loved trying to capture that within feeling within this story. It was so much fun trying to recreate that sense of true wilderness, and the vastness that only nature can inspire. I really enjoyed writing about nighttime and the feel of the woods, and the caves, and the feel of that. Creating the atmosphere and trying to have it convey part of the story telling was really my favourite part, and I hope I was able to do it justice. It was the scenery and landscape in this story, and having it be integral to the story itself.
MG: Do you go back and edit often before publishing anything?
bmacke01: Haha. Yes.
Yeah, I edit my work constantly. I don't know if I will ever be happy with a copy of any of my stories or feel that it can't be edited further or improved upon. I truly believe that I can always find better or more concise ways to express or capture feelings and moments, to make dialogue flow more naturally, to improve the grammar and structure, or to streamline scenes or expand plot points and make them more impactful.
The edition of Defiance that I have posted currently is completely different from the original first draft I had written of it. Whole scenes are different or even deleted. The structure, pacing, word choices, names and relationships have all evolved through rounds of editing as I've reworked the story over and over. And even still I still feel that it could benefit from many more rounds of reads and critiques. Before I post anything, it has probably gone through three or four rounds of edits, and then as people read and comment I continue to go through and edit in response. So yeah, I edit my work often, as I'm writing it, before I publish it, and then after as well.
MG: Were you surprised to see the reads it has gotten?
bmacke01: Yes, I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the reads that the story has gotten. I think anyone who shares their work hopes that people will want to read it and will subsequently enjoy it, but when you actually see the numbers growing and then start to receive positive feedback it's a little surreal. As much as I hoped people would enjoy it, I think it's natural to also have doubts and to have that small voice in your head that says it's never going to happen. So yes, I'm very surprised that people are reading this story that came by really by accident based on a dream.
MG: Was there any feedback that really stuck out to you?
bmacke01: I think the feedback that sticks out to me the most, is the attachment and reactions that readers have had to different characters and their relationships. It's really fun for me to see people's comments as they go through one my stories and get attached to a character or invested in a relationship and then react as they unfold. For instance, in Defiance, it was always people's reactions and feedback to Ryan's relationships with Ben and Logan that sticks out in my head, how invested they become. It's really interesting to see how other people interpret these relationships, and they can be so vastly different than how I think of them, or see them, or even how I even think I wrote them. Some of the comments I remember most are the ones that say something about a character that I wasn't even aware of. It's fascinating how readers can see characters in a light or with these flaws that I didn't even know was a part of them.
MG: Where is the best place you get your ideas from?
bmacke01: I think the place I most enjoy getting ideas from is my own life and background. I enjoy using situations that I have faced or contemplating ones that I could potentially face, and then exploring them in different ways through my characters.
MG: Anything you would like to say to your readers?
bmacke01: I would love to say just thank you. Thank you all so very much. Writing can be so solitary, and the stories are so personal, that sharing them is intimidating, at least for me it is, and so to have people not only want to read what I've written, but also to enjoy them is unbelievable. My readers are also just so absolutely positive and encouraging, and their support is so strong it really pushes me to continue writing and pursuing my passion. I appreciate every single one of them so much and want to say how much it means to me that they fell in love with these characters as much as I did. So, thank you to everyone who has read anything I've written over the last four years, you all are wonderful.
End of Interview
Thank you to bmacke01 for the lovely interview. We enjoyed the interview as much as we loved the book.
