Interview with G.J. Stevens
Interview with G.J. Stevens
Today I’m talking to the popular writer G.J. Stevens who writes sci-fi, thrillers, and apocalyptic fiction. Thanks for speaking to me today, Gareth.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Writing excites me. Both the story telling and the other factual work I do for promotion, it even bleeds into my day job, but not quite in the same way.
How many hours a day do you write?
I have a day job and a family, so I have to consciously make time to write. I arrive at work over an hour early when I have my semi-open plan office to myself and I try to make the most of that time. When I’m writing fiction and in the middle of a draft I write for the full hour and a half in the morning, just firing words on to the screen in a first draft. During the second half of my lunch break I’ll try and organize what I wrote in the morning into something more sensible. The chapters of my debut novel, In The End, where intentionally kept short for my ideal reader, a friend who shares a passion for apocalypse fiction, and I would publish each day over WhatsApp for her to read the same day. The timescale suited well. It’s very rare that I get any other time, so when I do I try my best not to waste it.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Yes. I think my full name is boring and so I looked at my family tree and picked a name from a few generations away, Clifford Ford. I’m an introvert when it comes to my writing, something which I’m trying to overcome and one step I’ve taken is to drop the pseudonym as I get closer to publishing. Using my initials and last name is a step closer.
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It took just over three months to first and second draft In The End, writing a chapter a day for somewhere between five to seven days a week. That’s fast for me, but I really hit inspiration and was highly motivated to deliver something each day because I was sending to my friend and publishing on my blog at the same time. If for some reason I didn’t deliver on the day she would send me a message directly or via her husband, who is my oldest and best friend. The preparation and long edits on the other hand are much more difficult to measure and seem to take so much longer!
Do you believe in writer’s block?
I haven’t suffered so far, but I read some great advice from Jeffery Sommers in Writing Without Rules about how writers block can be caused by many separate problems, with the key to unblocking the creativity being in identifying the underlying cause.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
I’ve written six other books which are light paranormal and based around the same two protagonists. I shopped the first book around with literary agents for a year or so and whilst learning the writing craft, rewrote and reedited about twenty times along with writing the sequels. My main issue with those was I was naïve about genre. The result ended up being a thriller sci-fi and I wasn’t happy with the label. Anyway, after scores of rejections from agents and praise from those professionals which did read, I’ve put it to bed for the time being at least. I now think that if I re-read those works I would want to rewrite them from scratch again and I think I’ve exhausted my enthusiasm on that front, at least for now.
How did you get connected with so many authors for your interviews?
I blog a lot with the intention to publicize my work and I took a decision to provide an open and honest almost diary like insight into my publishing journey. As my following built other authors provided amazing feedback and praise. I had a lot of takers when I started advertising for authors on my blog and Twitter. I also had respondents who were writing for and editing an anthology. They like my work and so gave me access to a large number of other authors who were interested.
What is/are your book(s) about?
In The End follows the first few days of an apocalyptic outbreak of disease the likes of which the protagonist, Logan, and his friends have never seen before. The book follows like a camera over his shoulder as they race to safety with Logan finding he has to not only overcome his own fears, but when his friends look to him to save them, he needs to figure out if he’s up to the task.
If you could spend time a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
I wouldn’t want to spend time with any of the characters if it was during the time covered in the book. I would be no good for anyone and would be the first to fall! Writing about a race to save your life is easy, doing it on the other hand would not be!
Where can we find you online?
@stevens_gj
Any website or resources that have been helpful to you as a writer?
I blog about the writing, publication and marketing processes involved. I’m no way and expert but I describe my journey, what works for me and what didn’t, plus so many authors get involved too, giving me information I never would have found. The interviews help too. Two books stand out, the often quoted On Writing by Stephan King, even though he constantly breaks his own guidance in his fiction works, and more recently Writing Without Rules by Jeffery Somers, which was recommended to me by one of my author interviews. I devoured the book whilst on holiday and have already put a lot of the advice into practice.
Many thanks for the offer of the interview, I really enjoyed answering these questions.
GJ Stevens
COULD YOU SURVIVE THE END OF CIVILISATION? 
What if you woke to find the electricity off, the internet down and the streets deserted? What if you were forced to run for your life, no longer top of the food chain? What if the government had no interest in keeping you alive, but you’d found a reason to struggle on, a new meaning to this life, those around every corner intent on hunting you down?
Meet Logan. That’s me. The first to believe the world had changed forever. The first to urge our friends to run. The first to kill, but not the first victim. I was the first to see for myself as nature bent before my eyes. With death surrounding, getting ever closer, they looked to me for answers.
Can Logan overcome his fears and find what it takes to get them all to safety, or will it be the end for humanity?
In The End is the debut novel from GJ Stevens, a compelling apocalyptic thriller that will leave you breathless, immersing you in their fight for survival.