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Thank you for your time in
answering our questions about getting published. Let’s begin by having
you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?
Simon Dillon: Why I decided to be an author is lost in the
mists of time. I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember, and never
stopped just because I left full-time education. I’ve written short stories,
screenplays (shorts and features), and eventually settled on novels as my
preferred form of writing.
As for this novel, there were two main sources of inspiration for Phantom
Audition. Firstly, the idea of an actor taking advice on roles from a
medium comes from the late, great Peter Sellers, who did exactly that in real
life. In the novel, protagonist Mia Yardley’s late husband Steven, a famous
actor, took a film role playing famous abstract artist Edward Bingley, who like
Steven committed suicide in mysterious circumstances. When Mia discovers Steven
took this role on the advice of a medium, she comes to suspect her husband may
have buried himself in the role a little too much, to the point where
supernatural forces were involved.
The second source of inspiration for Phantom Audition
is A Fantastic Woman. This Chilean film, which won Best Foreign Film at
the 2018 Oscars, might at first appear an odd choice as an influence on Phantom
Audition. Nonetheless, it actually provided the initial spark that
launched the idea for the novel. The story concerns a transgender woman dealing
with the death of her partner, finding herself isolated and ostracised by his
family. The film has a dreamlike, magical realist quality to it, and even at
times becomes a bit like a thriller (there’s a mysterious key which her partner
left, for example). Moreover, there is something of a descent into the
underworld/death and rebirth metaphor in the film, a story arc which is very
much echoed in my novel. One image particularly leapt out at me – that of a
ghostly vision of the dead partner staring out at her from a crowded nightclub
dance floor amid strobe lights. It’s an image I actually nicked, sorry, “paid
homage” to.
Is this your first book?
Simon Dillon: No, I’ve written
several other novels, including four others in the gothic mystery thriller/horror
genre.
With this particular book,
how did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you
choose this method?
Simon Dillon: This novel was
published by Dragon Soul Press, which traditionally published my previous two
novels Spectre of Springwell Forest and The Irresistible Summons.
It seemed natural for them to publish this one too, as it was in the same
genre.
Can you tell us a little
about your publishing journey? The pros
and cons?
Simon Dillon: I have tried many
times to get a mainstream publishing contract. I have had three agents and
three near misses, and then out of frustration self-published a number of my
works - including six children’s adventure novels, and a couple of other gothic
mysteries. I had varying degrees of relative success with this. In retrospect,
I really should have had a better editorial eye on some of that work. Always
hire an editor.
Dragon Soul Press came across
my path when they were looking for short story contributors, and after that one
thing led to another, and Spectre of Springwell Forest became one of the
first novels they published. Having an editor has made a huge difference, and
I’ve loved the covers they’ve prepared for my work. The right cover is
extremely important.
What lessons do you feel you
learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing
industry as a whole?
Simon Dillon: I may know a
thing or two about telling a story, but I know very little about marketing.
It’s a fiendishly difficult art which I find difficult to get right. Marketing
is particularly vital if you are with a small independent publisher, and
authors need to be prepared to do a lot of it on their own initiative. It’s an
uphill struggle but I’m gradually learning.
As for the publishing industry
as a whole, it’s harder than ever to get noticed, so aspiring authors have to
develop a thick skin and just keep at it.
Would you recommend this
method of publishing to other authors?
Simon Dillon: First prize is
always a mainstream publishing contract but going with independents has
benefits too. I was pleased with the speed at which my last three novels have
been released - all in less than a year! I’m not sure that would have happened
with a mainstream publisher.
What’s the best advice you
can give to aspiring authors?
Simon Dillon: Find a great ending and work backwards from
that point. Don’t waste your time on anything less than an ending that you
personally are absolutely blown away by.
Be aware of genre conventions and master them. Don’t break
an honoured convention unless for this reason: to replace it with something
better. Working within a formula is fine, but don’t be predictable. Agatha
Christie worked within a formula, with consistently unpredictable results. Give
the reader what they want, but not the way they expect it.
Develop a very thick skin and be prepared to keep learning
over a very long period of time. The first three novels I wrote will (rightly)
never see the light of day. After that, books I thought were brilliant when I
first wrote them, I now see as considerably less impressive.
Also, just because you have a good idea, doesn’t mean there
isn’t an even better, great idea waiting in the wings. Tunnel to find those few
gems. Ninety percent of your ideas will range from mediocre to rubbish, so it’s
worth sketching out multiple versions of scenes, characters, outlines, and so
on. In the end, you’ll hit gold, but you have to keep at it.
Try not to grind an axe by being overly concerned with the “message” of your
novel. You are an author, not a preacher, politician, or activist. Instead,
simply concentrate on telling a good story with no other agenda. Whatever is
important to you will then be inherent in the text. What’s more, your beliefs
will come over far less finger-waggingly and far more convincingly.
Finally,
writing is 1 percent talent, 99 percent hard work. If you are serious, you have
to be prepared to sacrifice a lot of time and be ruthlessly disciplined. But
success is possible, if you keep at it.
As for this novel, there were two main sources of inspiration for Phantom Audition. Firstly, the idea of an actor taking advice on roles from a medium comes from the late, great Peter Sellers, who did exactly that in real life. In the novel, protagonist Mia Yardley’s late husband Steven, a famous actor, took a film role playing famous abstract artist Edward Bingley, who like Steven committed suicide in mysterious circumstances. When Mia discovers Steven took this role on the advice of a medium, she comes to suspect her husband may have buried himself in the role a little too much, to the point where supernatural forces were involved.
Try not to grind an axe by being overly concerned with the “message” of your novel. You are an author, not a preacher, politician, or activist. Instead, simply concentrate on telling a good story with no other agenda. Whatever is important to you will then be inherent in the text. What’s more, your beliefs will come over far less finger-waggingly and far more convincingly.
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