MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR T.J. WEEKS🌟

 

What’s your name and what genre would you consider your books to be?

TJ Weeks & my books vary from physiological, suspense, thriller, horror, romance & children.

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?

It would depend on which book you were talking about, but on my latest book, “Building A Monster”, I’d say that it started with how many cases there are of bullying & abuse in the world. It was a book that for the first time I wrote for me instead of trying to stay ahead of the curve.

How did you get interested in writing this particular genre (historical novels, mysteries, sci-fi, children’s books, etc.)?

As far as ‘Building A Monster’, I have kids of my own & have watched young adult movies my whole life, no matter if it was something I was interested in or one that I just watched because it was loved by my children.

 

What kind of research did you do for this book?

I did more of an outside looking in for this book. My son is actually my step son & his father was an (excuse my language) piece of shit. He hasn’t been able to see him for years because he’s failed all of his drug tests & last thing we’ve heard from him was him sending an email saying that he wanted to hang him to break all ties. I’ve never been a perfect person, but I have never heard such a piece of crap in my life. Either way you put it, my step kids that I consider my kids have been through a lot in their life & I’ve heard their stories & wanted to react. This was the only way to react without getting jail time.

Can you tell me about your Series?

Book 2 is being worked on as we speak, as well as book 4 of The Horror Squad. Soon to come will be 3.5 of The Horror Squad as well as comic book 2 & the film.

Do you have a favorite book out of this series?

The Devil Days series which is called ‘Valley Drift’ is my favorite series. I’d have to say that book 1 of that is my favorite. It covered the devil playing with kids, mind games, twists, etc.

Where did you get the inspiration/idea for your series?

For ‘The Horror Squad’ it was more along the lines of several fans that asked me to write in the zombie genre & wanted to be characters, so I made it happen, but it was a book that I never planned on putting out & definitely didn’t plan on it becoming a series. ‘Valley Drift’ was actually going to be a standalone book until fans started spouting that they wanted more. ‘Building A Monster’ is just because I want to stand for something that matters.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

‘The Horror Squad’ was solely based off what I know of my fans & actual conversations that I’ve had with my friends with a zombie background. ‘Building A Monster’ was solely off of what I’ve heard & have learned from bullying & abuse. ‘Valley Drift’ had a lot of research to it, especially when it came to the morgue section. It took many hours of research & many phone calls to whomever would take them to find out what many of the tools where called.

 

Was it always meant to become a series?

None of my books were really meant to be a series, but that’s how I think all books start out…an idea & you either fill it or you have more to say which leads to another book.

What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

My daily working day consists of talking with fans, notes, going through all my books in progress & figuring out which one I want to work on for that day. I don’t set word count goals, I learned a long time ago that if I just do what I can do per day, it’s good enough. Setting goals is just setting up for failure, plus I think it just rushes the mind on a story that should have time spent with it.

Do you have a new book in the making and if so, what’s the name of your upcoming book?

Building A Monster 2, Accent Evil, The Horror Squad 4

How important are character names to you in your books? Is there a special meaning to any of the names?

Names don’t mean anything to me, the meaning comes from how you build them.

 

Where do your ideas come from?

My ideas come from everywhere. The whole “What if” clause, “people listening” in public, etc.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

The writing part. I have found that the more books I put out, the more time I spend online having to market & promote. I know that there are several authors out there that have had the luck of finding promoters that have brought in enough income where they can focus on writing alone, but I still lack on great sales.

What do you think of book trailers? Do you have a trailer or do you intend to create one for your own book?

I tried making many video trailers, but never had much luck. My main luck comes from word of mouth, so if I have to sling a few copies out to fans so there’s an opinion out there…so be it.

What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?

My biggest accomplishment was coming home from Iraq, but as far as books go I’d have to say ‘Deadly Mountain’ because it was the first challenge I ever took towards myself to becoming a writer in the actual story industry.

What’s the best thing about being an author?

I get to make up shit for a living.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully the same place I am now, just with more sales & more followers.

Have you always liked to write?

It’s funny you should ask. I found a spiral from when I was in the 2nd grade the other day & I was even writing stories & poetry back then, so I’d say yes.

What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Just get out there & do it. Unless you’re best friends with some big name author that’s going to actually help you out, don’t expect big sales, don’t expect for people to know who you are, just write & become who you’re supposed to be.

If you didn’t like writing books, or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?

My wife always tells me that I don’t give myself enough credit. It’s not that I don’t think I’m good enough, it’s just that I don’t know how to reach the people. However, if I didn’t write I would either go back helping my dad or go back to music.

Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?

I don’t respond to any review, everyone is entitled to their own opinion & I take reviews as a grain of salt. I’ve noticed that some of my fans get more pissed off about some reviews than I do.

What is your least favourite part of the writing / publishing process?

The waiting game. You have to wait for edits, betas, formatting, etc. You DON’T want to rush this process, but there’s always that eager to get it out.

What are you working on now?

Building A Monster 2, The Horror Squad 4 & Accent Evil

Can you give us a few tasty morsels from your work-in-progress?

Not at the moment, it’s mainly notes & one of them is going to be bringing in a secret guest author that I’m not willing to put out at the moment.

Why did you choose to write in your genre? If you write in more than one, how do you balance them?

I balance all my genres by my moods.

Where did your love of books come from?

It all started with movies. They fascinated me & I wanted to know the story as a whole, so I read the books.

Do you have any favorite authors or favorite books?

Iris Johansen & Dan Brown…book: ‘Deadlock’

Of all the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?

My favorite is my own character that comes into The Horror Squad

Where can readers go to discover more about you and your books?

http://www.tjweeks.com or http://www.amazon.com/TJ-Weeks/e/B00QG4AENW

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

A little of both. I guess it depends on what kind of scene you’re writing.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Kris turning on the TV. As soon as I have it going on in the background, I may as well just close down my computer because it distracts the hell out of me.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I definitely want the readers to be happy, but I’m more concerned with what makes me happy. If I don’t enjoy what I’m writing, that file generally gets dumped into my desktop trashcan pretty quick.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

To be honest, I don’t have many friends in the writing world. Maybe I’m different or not liked, but to list a few that I do talk to & actually helps me out: Thomas Watson, James Wallace & Allen Gamboa. I hear from a few others from time to time, but as far as support as sharing my links it’s a tossup between more fans than authors.

If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

A Walk Through Hell’ & it’s on amazon right now…lol

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

How can I help? Answer: Share, leave a review…none of this takes much of your time.

 

 

Where can your fans find you and follow??

http://www.amazon.com/TJ-Weeks/e/B00QG4AENW , https://www.facebook.com/groups/1483829198575945/ , http://www.facebook.com/tjweeksofficial , http://www.twitter.com/tjweeks6 … lol it’s probably just easier to google me.

Thank you for taking your time to do this interview ❤️