1. What is your name and where do you call
home?
Hello, I’m Thomas Winship. I live in the
United States, about an hour north of New York City.
2. Do you have a pen name?
No.
Thomas Winship is my given name.
3. What is the name of your most recent
book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
My most recent book is Væmpires: White Christmas. With tensions
between humans, vampires, and væmpires at an all-time high, world leaders
schedule a holiday summit to salvage peace.
4. Do you have plans for a new book? Is
this book part of a series?
Absolutely—more than one, actually. I
have a lot of plans for the Væmpires series. I’m currently working on a
zombie-related piece that takes place immediately after Væmpires: Revolution (book one) and bridges the gap between books
one and two. After that, I’ll start book two.
5. What or who inspired you to start
writing? And how long have you been writing?
I’ve always been an avid reader, but I
never gave much thought to writing. About a dozen years ago, creative writing
courses taken in college started to open my eyes to the possibility… but
something always seemed to be in the way.
My wife, Elaine, deserves credit for finally
pushing me to follow my dream. In early 2007 she convinced me that it was time
to stop wasting time, and I listened.
6. Do you gift books to readers for book
reviews?
Of course. I gift either e-books or hard
copies, whichever the reviewer prefers.
7. How did you come up with the cover? Who
designed the cover of your book?
A friend, Dave Dougherty, designed the
cover. I shared some very basic ideas with him, but he came up with the cover
concepts on his own.
8. Which is your favourite cover of all the
books you have written?
The covers of Væmpires: Revolution and Væmpires:
White Christmas are based upon the same template, so both are currently my
favorite.
9. Is there anything you would change about
your book covers?
No. I’m perfectly satisfied with both
covers.
10. Would you have different book covers for
different countries?
At this point, I wouldn’t. The covers
really capture the spirit of the stories. Of course, I want to reach fans in
the most effective ways possible, so I’m always open to the idea.
11. How did you come up with the title for
your book?
I chose White Christmas because it is associated with so many positive
things pertaining to the holiday—snow, the music, and the specials—but, most
importantly, our inherent belief that dreams can come true.
12. Is there anything you would change about
your book? And why?
I would love for it to be a mass-market
release that’s in the hands of people all across the globe. Beyond that, I’m
happy with it.
13. Do you have a book trailer? And what are
your thoughts on book trailers?
I love book trailers. Any way to get the
message out there and connect with fans is a good thing. One day I hope to put
together trailers that rival movie previews.
For now, though, my homemade trailers are available on my YouTube
channel.
14. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks,
hardcovers or audiobooks?
I prefer physical novels. Hardcovers are
best, although I typically buy paperbacks for two reasons—cost and size. I have
several thousand books, so storage is always an issue. I do insist on hardcover
(where possible) for certain authors and subjects, in particular Stephen King
and Star Wars.
My library of e-books is growing by the
day because it is the future of publishing, but I only own one audiobook.
15. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
Yes, I am. I spent a year trying to get
attention from the publishing industry for my first novel (a mystery). It was a
very frustrating and confusing year, mostly because the feedback was so
inconsistent.
Once I finished the first draft of
Væmpires novel, I decided to self-publish and avoid the headache.
16. Have you ever read a book more than
once? And if so what was it?
Yes, I have—but only a few. Don’t get me
wrong, there are many books I would love to read again, but my TBR list is
always so large that it seems like a luxury I can’t afford.
I was more apt to do so as a child. I
read Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Alan Dean Foster’s Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye,
C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, and
Madeline L’Engle’s Time books multiple
times. For a few years, reading The Tower
Treasure (the first Hardy Boys book) each Thanksgiving Day was a tradition.
I’ve read most of Stephen King’s early
works more than once, but I’ve read It,
The Stand, The Talisman, and the first four Gunslinger novels multiple times. Other multiple reads are Timothy
Zahn’s Thrawn (Star Wars) trilogy and
Peter Straub’s Koko.
17. Have you ever bought a specific edition
of a book because of its cover? (For example a UK, US or Canadian version)
On rare occasions, I’ve purchased a specific
version of a comic-related book because the cover featured an artist I like,
but I’ve never elected to purchase a cover from a different geographic area.
Until amazon came along, I purchased most books from a bookstore, so there was
never a choice between covers. Even now, I typically buy the US version without
looking at alternatives.
18. Have you ever read a book just based on
its cover?
Absolutely. I walk through the local
Barnes & Noble at least once every other week, just looking for new books.
The cover is what causes me to grab it off the shelf in the first place.
Of course, I have an addictive
personality (i.e., if I like a book, I have to purchase and read everything in
the author’s bibliography), so I have to constantly restrain myself from
grabbing too many.
19. Has the quality of the cover of a book
ever put you off of reading it?
Yes, unfortunately, although I do try to
be open-minded. Still, I’d rather see a cover with just the title and author’s
name than some horrid visual.
20. What book are you reading at the moment?
And in what format?
I’m currently reading Chris Jordan’s Measure of Darkness in mass-market
paperback.
21. Do you have any advice for other
writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to
writing?
Probably nothing that isn’t clichéd… but
you have to write for the love of writing. If you write for fame or praise or
leaving your mark on this world, you’re going to get your heart broken.
The best advice I ever received was from
my editor, Neal Hock: “trust in your abilities.”
22. Where can your readers follow you?
I’d like to say,
“Thank you” to Rachel for taking the time to interview me and to all of you for
stopping by.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!
Thank you so much for this interview, Rachel. Very interesting and thought-provoking questions.
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