Written Author Interview
- Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do outside of writing? What is a day in the life like for you?
This is such a hard question. My name is Danny. I am a newly self-published author. Spiral is my first novel. Funny story, I had kept it a secret from my friends and family for years. So, when the day came and I self-published – a 300+ page novel with 80K words – I will never forget my mother saying; I didn’t know you knew this many words. What else? I was born in Queens, NY, moved out to Long Island, worked, and lived a good chunk of my early 20s in NYC, which makes me a weathered NY Mets and NY Knicks fan. Now, I live in New Jersey with my wife and our dog, Molly.
I’m currently in between jobs. Before this break, I was a User Experience Designer. Part of making digital products useful and enjoyable was testing—lots of testing. I was putting the work in front of users and seeing what worked and what didn’t. That experience made it easy for me to receive and accept constructive criticism of my writing.
Currently, I have a few writing projects. One that is on the complete opposite of the spectrum from my psychological thriller.
2. What inspired your first novel? What was the thing that got you into writing in the first place?
I’ve always thought of myself as a storyteller. I enjoyed telling stories. A long time ago, I had written a few short stories to get a feel for writing, a few pages at the most. During the COVID lockdowns, I binged horror movies on Netflix. After a while, I noticed the same human behaviors, tropes, etc. I said to my wife, I think I can tell a different type of horror story. She encouraged me, fast forward four
years, and I’m publishing my first Horror / Psychological Thriller. So I suppose I owe all of it to her, like many other things.
3. How do you come up with characters? Are they spontaneous or meticulously planned?
I wish I could plan out my stories and characters. I’m more of a Panster. I knew my protagonist, Charis, would have a dramatic character arc, but the question was how. There are a few ways; to experience life-changing events and through the people she would encounter. Every character that I introduce is meant to serve a purpose, to either instill something of value or to expose the worst part of our human instincts.
4. What are some of your favorite genres to read? Are there any books you’d recommend to first time readers or people looking for something new?
I don’t stick to any one or two particular book genres. I am drawn to stories that delve into ethics, values, and human behavior. If I could go back in time and choose a different path in life, I would have enjoyed studying Psychology because the human mind is incredibly fascinating. For Spiral, I went a few levels beyond portraying how Charis reacted to what was happening around her. I wanted to get deep into her psyche and let the readers see how she internalized everything happening around and to her, the constant fear, the way little things were chipping away at her armor, etc.
5. What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer?
When I decided to take my writing more seriously, I enrolled in a writing group and had a mentor. They had pointed out my mistakes with grammar, tense, etc. It was humbling. I thought it was easy to transpose this movie image from my head to paper, but there’s so much more to consider, such as dialogue tags, point-of-view, pace, tone, choice of words, etc. Commas! I’m constantly learning and relearning how to use punctuation marks as well.
Then there’s the non-technical aspect of being a writer. When I read other books, not just the well-established authors, but also other independent authors, I am in awe, and imposter syndrome does creep in. I know it’s not good to compare. I try not to and instead use those examples of where I want to be. Their work becomes my North Star.
6. What is your process for completing a novel from outline to final product?
Some writers are great at being Plotters. They have spreadsheets, post-its, etc. I am the complete opposite. As a Panster, I would say, here’s point A, there’s point B, and now I have to build bridges to span this Grand Canyon size gap that I created for myself. As I went down one path, I would feel differently the next day and either backtrack or take a different path. I don’t recommend this process to
anyone, it’s very organic and somewhat hazardous unless you like writing by the seat of your pants.
7. What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve written in your novel? Don’t worry, we don’t judge here.
There’s a character in my book, Atwood. He does some pretty wild things that benefit himself to the detriment of others. He’s as unhinged of a character as I’ve gone because he’s narcissistic, arrogant, self-indulgent… everything I can’t be would like to try. Ha!
8. What’s one thing about being a writer that absolutely drives you up the wall?
As a self-published author, I completely underestimated how much time and effort it takes to market yourself and your book. I’m jumping into a market as an unknown and it’s a constant battle to get a reader’s attention. I know it’s important to know as much about the author as the story itself, but I find it difficult to provide a concise introduction in the form of a reel, TikTok video, etc. That’s why I really appreciate podcasts and YouTube channels like this. It gives lesser-known, up-and-coming authors, a platform to shine, even if it’s only for an hour.
9. What does being a successful writer look like for you? What type of life do you want to live as a writer?
I suppose the ultimate dream is to say that you can live off the royalties from your books and spend every available time to write. That’s staking the flag on top of the mountain. I’m obviously not there yet, so I’ve defined success as moments when someone will give my book a chance, tell me they enjoyed reading it, and ask for more. I mean, it’s the ultimate validation that, yeah, I can do this.
My other success story that I hold near and dear, is about when I published my first novel. As customary, I gave a copy to my mother. I never thought she would read it. She’s more into TV and YouTube, but one morning my father sent me a photograph of her sitting in a chair, reading my book, with a dictionary because her English vocabulary is limited. My father said she’s been doing this for the past few days and is halfway done. I can’t tell you how difficult it was to hold back my tears. Yeah, that’s a successful moment for me.
10. Describe your writing journey. If you had to write a story centered around it, do you think you could pull it off?
The first thought in my head was of me sitting in a raft that was going down the Grand Rapids. I think I’m only at the very beginning of my writing journey. I stepped out the door and made it only to the sidewalk. Do I turn left, right, or cross the street? I don’t know. Much like my writing process, all I know is that I would
like to see myself in a few years with a healthy portfolio of stories to call my own. That happens between now and then… who knows? I might be able to answer this after a year or two.
Want More From Danny Tse?
Check out Spiral: https://a.co/d/8ngbXdG
Instagram: @danny.is.writing
Threads: @danny.is.writing
Facebook: @danny.is.writing
Book: Spiral The Descension of Charis Cross
Blurb: Charis was about to kick off a night on the town with friends when a mysterious plague turned everyone around her into violent, blood-thirsty killers. Trapped in her New York City apartment building, with danger lurking around every floor, her will to survive will be pushed to the brink.
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