[Guest Post]: Writing “The Devil Whispered” by Shawn Starkweather

Today, I have a guest author Shawn Starkweather on my blog. Shawn talks about writing his science fiction/mystery novel The Devil Whispered.

Guest Post

As the date of publication for my debut novel, The Devil Whispered, neared, I found myself completely out of steam to get it across the finish line. It’s hard to quantify the amount of energy, research, and effort that I’ve funnelled towards the success of this story, so you can imagine my dismay at feeling so uninspired at such a critical time.

I wondered if it was just that I was totally out of gas. From trying to understand marketing, social media outreach, book blasts, blurbs, and the hundreds of other components of a launch – all of which are potentially critical to the process – had I just put everything I had into it and forgotten to leave something in reserve to facilitate bringing the journey to a close? Maybe.

I reached out to my mother, who seemed infinitely more energetic and engaged about the process than I was feeling, and she was convinced it was a defense mechanism. If I didn’t care about the success of the book, I couldn’t be let down or disappointed if it failed. That didn’t feel quite right either, but she had some other ideas that were helpful to process and digest.

I’m a bit of an introvert. I can wear the right face and get enthusiastic, but I’m at my best on my own, applying my creativity to a project of some kind. I’d been full of energy and pizzazz throughout that part of the process. When I was in my own world, coming up with ideas and plot twists, I was infinitely inspired. I could do it obsessively until everything was exactly the way I wanted it to be.

Mom told me that she thought it made sense that since I was reaching the part of the journey where I became dependent on other people it would be a lot more difficult to maintain that enthusiasm. My time alone with my art, where it was up to me whether or not it was good enough, was coming to an end. Now, it was time to release the art into the world and subject it to the judgement of anyone interested in reading it.

While that was helpful to consider, and probably true to some extent, the real issue was that I was having a hard time seeing a path to success that didn’t rely on some viral phenomenon. Even if everyone that cared and supported me bought a copy of the book, I couldn’t really see a way for it to escape from the community out into the world at large. I was having a hard time processing the idea that as a society, we’ve moved into an era where the success of an artist, while certainly somewhat impacted by their talent, feels more reliant on luck than drive or skill.

There are billions of people with voices who want to be heard, and technology that gives everyone that opportunity, but it’s the people who decide when something really catches on fire. Many of the things I’ve seen indicate that the quality of the content that becomes viral is fairly irrelevant and I was feeling my motivation dwindle and fade because I was having a hard time imagining my ripple extending outward across the pond.

None of that really matters. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the process of creating art was fulfilling to me, and that was all I needed. Sure, I want to be recognized and successful, but we can’t create art for that purpose alone. We have to need to share it with the world. The world may or may not listen, but you need to tell that story anyhow, because it’s desperately trying to escape the solitude of being locked in your mind alone and being picked at to your notions of perfection. It wants to be out there – not to be judged, but because it will have fulfilled its purpose of bringing you more alive by participating in its creation. It was a good lesson to remember.

About the Book

Genre: Science-Fiction/Mystery/Detective

Date Published: 1st March 2021

Retired special-forces commander Jacobi Slate is drawn into a downward-spiraling vortex of fear and doubt while investigating a brutal murder committed by an old friend. As evidence mounts that someone else might be pulling strings from the shadows, Jacobi struggles to understand a developing connection to his own past, which is quickly catching up to him. 

Near-future cyberpunk collides with gritty detective noir in this fast-paced thriller that shines a light on both the vast shortcomings and the noble heroism of the human condition. To unravel the mystery, Jacobi will pull on every thread while chasing leads from the squalor of the most dangerous streets to the high-tech towers of the wealthy elite on his quest to understand a truth he might not be ready to face.

About the Author

Shawn lives in Massachusetts with his wife and the handful of childhood stuffed animals that they’ve been unable to part ways with, even despite the awkward situation it occasionally puts their house guests in. He wields a coveted Associates of Liberal Arts degree from Greenfield Community college in an overly enthusiastic, flailing manner, and puts it to work writing both fantasy and science fiction stories. Using subliminal codes and hidden messaging carefully placed throughout his books, he plans to captivate the minds of his readers and insidiously manipulate them into purchasing subsequent releases.
As a novelist, musician, graphic designer, and a purveyor of fine games, Shawn is often confused about exactly who he is when he wakes up in the morning. It’s been said (by him) that perhaps he embodies all of these things so equally that a singular definition could not comprehensively impart a satisfactory description. With your support, and a sufficient demand for more novels, he secretly hopes that he’ll have no choice but to formally acknowledge the prevailing label of ‘author’ and spend the rest of his days providing a sense of wonder and adventure to everyone who helped him solidify his nebulous identity.
 

Contact Links

Website: https://shawnstarkweather.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarkWriting

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stark_Books

Blog: https://shawnstarkweather.com/blog/blogpost1.html

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-starkweather-465311201/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B08NWGCY9S 

Purchase Links

Giveaway

$5 Amazon Gift Card + eBook Copy

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/408264011305