The Author Interviews: #2: Benjamin W PHILLIPS

In this series, I'll be interviewing self-published authors and writers about their books and their lives as writers.For my second interview, I had the privilege of interviewing Benjamin W. PHILLIPS on 16/07/2016. PHILLIPS writes new adult science fiction, new adult urban fantasy and epic adult high fantasy.Let's get started.What made you want to become a writer?One of the many reasons why I chose the keyboard over the gun so to say is because of the inaccurate way mentally ill or physically disabled people are often portrayed within the media. The mentally ill are often the people who are used as the villains of various television shows such as Criminal Minds, NCIS, or Bones, or in films such as Stonehearst Asylum, Session Nine, and Shutter Island. I began writing because I wanted to try to be a voice for those that don’t have one. I wanted to try to help stop the spread of inaccurate representations of the mentally ill or physically disabled and stop the spread of inaccurate information about them.Nearly every time a Schizophrenic is shown in some form of media, be it a television show, a film, a video game, and so on, that person is depicted as violent, or slobbering at the mouth, or crazy or a whole host of other such portrayals that, while they tell a gripping story, are wholly false.Not everyone that has Schizophrenia is violent and wants to kill people. I know, because I happen to have Schizophrenia and I find the misinformation and abuse of the mentally ill or physically disabled at the hands of the media to be offensive, so I want to try to help change that.With Marvel Comics Studio’s ‘Daredevil,’ most people who are blind can’t do many of the things that Daredevil\ Matt Murdock does in the show and too often I run into people thinking that they can. One of the things I want to try to do with my writing, other than trying to stymie the flow of misinformation, is to show that we’re just as human as anyone else. I’ve included a small excerpt from something that one of my characters says in my New Adult Urban Fantasy novel that I think might help sum all of this up quite nicely:“Though we’re of different skin, our breath; our souls shall always be alike, for we are the children of the world, and the world weeps as its brightest stars are burned upon the pyres of hate, fear, and intolerance. My tears are not for my friend, but for the death of compassion, trust, and love. Too late did I finally see… Our blood is just as red, and our tears just as clear, as everyone else, and they flow just as easily once shed.”— Whyte Foxx, Shards of the Crystal Rose.Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever considered trying other genres?I chose the fantasy genres because they were the easiest way for me to construct and build believable characters and the worlds in which they are found. I moved into Science Fiction because I wanted a harder challenge. Whereas in Fantasy, magic can be used to get into or out of most situations and the fight scenes can be several pages long, Science Fiction offers its own challenges in the forms of technology and how everything works. Often, I have found that Science Fiction is usually a little more plot driven than character driven, which is usually the case for Fantasy genres. Yes, I am actually planning on writing in as many genres as I can from Steampunk to Cyberpunk to Western to Romance to Historical Fiction and anything in-between. No genre is off limits to me so long as it is some form of Fiction.What do you love most about writing and why?I love bringing my characters and worlds to life the most. I enjoy it immensely because being able to twist and spin words to form a coherent and complete picture in the minds of my readers with whichever novel they’re paging through is just plain fun. I enjoy it because I still see magic within the world, no matter how dark and frightening it may become, and I want to share that beauty with other people.What do you dislike about writing and why?There really isn’t anything within the writing process that I truly can say that I dislike. Sure, some of it is a little frustrating or boring, but it’s all part and parcel of being a writer and getting one’s work out there to the world, so I just take it in stride as best I can and move on, usually with my face going: ---____--- or doing a mental ‘face-meet-desk’ slam quite a few times along the way.If you could trade places with any of your characters, which would you choose and why?None. I am their Historian, nothing more. It is not my place to trade my story for theirs.If you could live in any of the worlds you have created, which would you choose and why?I’d prefer to live in a world similar to Star Trek: The Next Generation, but specifically any time after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis occurred. It would be so much easier to write with the use of a holographic generation tool, such as the Enterprise’s holodeck!What's your writing routine or schedule like? Do you struggle to find time to write? How do you stay organised and keep to your deadlines?The way in which I write is very complicated and would probably drive others nuts. Suffice to say, each version of my rough draft goes through about a dozen or so rewrites before I post about it on Facebook or save it to a Master Document on my computer. I don’t have any other job at the moment, so I have plenty of time to write. I do my best to stay organised by refusing to let anyone else use my typewriter or my computer, let alone the stations in which they’re located.I keep my notes tacked to the wall within easy reach and I have dozens of sharpened pencils to jot quick plot ideas down. I also keep a filing cabinet of things that will help me in constructing whatever novel I’m working on at the time and thoroughly empty it before starting a new novel. All of the stuff I remove from the cabinet is then stored in a large plastic box to be gone through at a later time.Who or what inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?Anything and everything. For example, when I came up with the name of the main character of my New Adult Science Fiction novel, Solarium Flare, I was cooking breakfast for myself and was trying desperately to figure out the name of this young woman’s voice I kept hearing in my mind who was telling me her story. Well, I reached for a certain bottle of ground up spice and it just sort of fell into place, including the girl’s nickname. Other such odd ways of coming up with names have occurred for other characters, scenes, and so forth for the rest of the books I am working on, too.Do you have a favourite author and if so, why do you enjoy their work?Nope.What do you find most challenging about being an indie/ self-published author and why?Trying to afford a knowledgeable editor on my paltry income because of their usually insanely high prices, so it makes it all that much more difficult to get my work published. Combine that with the hundreds of dishonest and greedy publishing companies out there that only care about the bottom line rather than caring about the integrity their author’s works, the quality of the work they do print, and the author’s themselves, it can be very frustrating to try to get my work out there to the masses. I’ve had several major setbacks and bruises along the way, but I am stronger for it.Any COMMENTS/ NOTES to the reader:If you’re looking into writing a book yourself, awesome! That’s great, but do yourself a favour—get the stars out of your mind and eyes as soon as you can. You need to realize, and quickly, that the publishing world is brutal and plagued by dishonest, corrupt, greedy people that only see you and your work as the proverbial cash cow and they’ll treat you as such. Therefore, the best advice I can give a new writer is this:Learn when to walk away from the company you sign with and never, ever, EVER sign anything you’re unsure about. If a publisher is dodgy with their answers to even the most basic of questions, run. If they come across as too much of a good deal, run. Always research the company you’re about to give your work to and make certain that you have a clause in your contract that returns your publishing and book rights to you one-hundred-percent, because without that, you’re hosed if you suddenly find yourself kicked to the curb. Some of the many things to look out for so that you know to steer away from that company are:If the publisher or employees of the company continually bash other authors, especially those that used to work for them,Engaging in smear campaigns against other authors or companies,Constantly prevaricating their answers to your questions,Blaming the author for poor book sales or poor returns on their novels or projects,And lastly, being unable or unwilling to answer one very powerful question with an adequate answer:“What can your company do for me as an author, or for my manuscript, that I cannot do for myself on my own as a self-published author?”You’ll have to decide for yourself what is and is not an acceptable answer to that question, but for me, things like ‘free exposure’ or ‘free editing’ or ‘massive sales revenues’ are shifty answers at best and need more looking into. Like I said, if the company itself or representative of that company come across as shifty, dodgy, or otherwise too much of a good deal, do yourself a big favour and run away. You’ll save yourself all of the heartache and tears and rage at being screwed and you’ll be better off for it.The final piece of advice I can give to any new author out there is learn how to accept and take criticism of your work, especially when someone writes a bad or poor review of that work. Not everyone out there is going to agree with you, not everyone is going to like your work, and sometimes you just end up having to deal with the jerks that decide to be trolls, so you need to develop a thick ‘lizard’s skin’ when it comes to writing. Remember, those that hate, will find even the smallest reason to hate. Those that love, will find every reason to do so.***Thanks to Benjamin W. PHILLIPS for this interview. I wish him all the best with his work! If you would like more information about this author,please click here.