Ask the Author: Bill Schutt
Answered Questions (10)
Bill Schutt
Hey Hunter,
I’d say Fall 2023 would be the earliest. My editor should have the manuscript back to me in January.
Cheers! Bill
I’d say Fall 2023 would be the earliest. My editor should have the manuscript back to me in January.
Cheers! Bill
Bill Schutt
I'm currently reading The Book Thief, with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on deck. As for thrillers, I'd like to check out Ararat by Christopher Golden.
Bill Schutt
What was that shadowy figure that seemed to inhabit my garage when I was a kid?
Bill Schutt
Bob and Yanni Thorne (from "Hell's Gate"), because I wrote them based on two very close friends.
Bill Schutt
With "Cannibalism" (which they're calling "Eat Me" in the U.K.), it just seemed like a logical followup, thematically, to "Dark Banquet" which looked at the natural history of blood-feeding creatures. Both topics are generally greeted with some degree of horror, derision or disgust. As I thought there would be, there were plenty of interesting stories to tell about the real science behind the myths and misconceptions. It made for some interesting field trips as well. My next nonfiction book (which I'll be co-authoring with artist Patricia J. Wynne) will follow a similar format.
The initial idea for Hell's Gate came to me when I visited the Central Plateau region of Brazil and commented to my friend that until recently it would have been pretty easy to hide just about anything in a place so far from prying eyes. The potential for strange and undiscovered fauna in such a spot was also something that struck me during my visit there. My coauthor and I simply riffed on those ideas, added some truly nasty technology, and the result was Hell's Gate.
The initial idea for Hell's Gate came to me when I visited the Central Plateau region of Brazil and commented to my friend that until recently it would have been pretty easy to hide just about anything in a place so far from prying eyes. The potential for strange and undiscovered fauna in such a spot was also something that struck me during my visit there. My coauthor and I simply riffed on those ideas, added some truly nasty technology, and the result was Hell's Gate.
Bill Schutt
I think I'm always inspired by the great talents in the field of literature and filmmaking. These are the people who've put the beautiful words and incredible imagery into my head and they inspire me to do something similar. Anyone who reads Hell's Gate will see that type of inspiration throughout (e.g., we've always been huge fans of epic scenes constructed with care and detail). We often find ourselves giving a subtle nod to a favorite film or spending extra time on the smallest period detail or bit of dialogue - all of the things we loved about books and films.
Bill Schutt
J.R. Finch and I are currently finishing up the sequel to Hell's Gate and we're REALLY thrilled with the results. I'm also working on a proposal for my next non-fiction book. This one will be co-authored with my wonderful artist friend Patricia J. Wynne, whose marvelous figures appear in all of my books, including Hell's Gate.
Bill Schutt
Let's see... in no particular order: Write every day. When writing fiction, work on sections of dialogue over and over until they sound exactly like real people having an exchange or a conversation. Get writers to read and critique your work (which is why I so loved the Southampton College Summer Writer's Conference). And on that note, if you can attend a writer's conference you should seriously consider it. Do what ever you can to land a hardworking agent and here's where networking skills are a HUGE plus. For example, after taking this exact route myself, I've probably made the initial intro of at least 6 of my writer friends to the person who would ultimately become their literary agent. Be persistent without being a pain. Send thank you notes and show appreciation when people spend time helping you.
Bill Schutt
Fiction allows us to create a version of our own world (starting in 1944), populated by characters we've created and who often interact with historical figures and deal with real or imagined events. (The sequel to Hell's Gate takes place in 1946.) Since we love history, science and nature, what could be better? It's also great fun to have your characters coping with aspects of science, technology and culture (like music and slang) that existed back then. We've got even more of that going on in the sequel, since quite a bit of it takes place in NYC.
My nonfiction books allow me to educate people about topics that appear at first glance (and okay, maybe even second and third glance) to be disgusting or simply horrible (like blood-feeding or cannibalism). By using humor and keeping things lively (both of which I think are VITAL to being a successful teacher) I try to leave my readers feeling as enthusiastic about these topics as I do. I think I've found an interesting followup to blood-feeders and cannibalism but I'm keeping that topic under my hat for a bit longer.
My nonfiction books allow me to educate people about topics that appear at first glance (and okay, maybe even second and third glance) to be disgusting or simply horrible (like blood-feeding or cannibalism). By using humor and keeping things lively (both of which I think are VITAL to being a successful teacher) I try to leave my readers feeling as enthusiastic about these topics as I do. I think I've found an interesting followup to blood-feeders and cannibalism but I'm keeping that topic under my hat for a bit longer.
Bill Schutt
I've been lucky in that regard, and it's never happened to me while while writing non-fiction (in which chapters are pretty well mapped out before I write them). But if I do get stuck on something in a novel I can usually get past it by starting to write dialogue for the scene in question. Let's say it's a scene about a helicopter approaching a mountain. I'd start with a conversation between the pilot and copilot. Things seem to follow pretty naturally after that, in this case as we approach the mountain through their eyes.
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