StanleyWheeler

 

Author Interview with

Thomas K. Davis 

Author of The Versatile Layer Series

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I’m currently editing the final novel in my Versatile Layer series. It’s been a long road to get here but it was worth it.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

I was just daydreaming at work most days and the story started to play out in my head. Character conversations. A space colony with an Art-deco aesthetic. The conflicts started to take shape. Before I knew it, I had to start jotting down notes. Eventually I had the first chapter of the Versatile Layer saga. I just had to figure out how to write a book.

Do you write in more than one genre?

I’ve only worked on my 9-book series thus far. Which is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy story. I have an idea for a comedic action book about vampires that I’m ironing out at the moment.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

My dialog flows very naturally. I pride myself on it. I’m a student of films and TV. So, when you read my work it’s like a movie playing out in your head.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I think my sense of humor and love of music really comes through in my writing. Which is funny because I wrote a Sci-Fi/Fantasy series. But it’s important to have moments of levity and joy in your work.

My love of music really inspired how I wrote book 6 of Versatile Layer: Traitor. In that novel, one of my characters (Agatha Park) is a huge punk fan. So, the soundtrack of the book is all of the punk songs I was listening to at the time. I actually list the song titles in the chapters so you can put the music on and read along with it. It’s a novel with an OST.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I’ve always been a huge Sci-Fi fan. I loved shows like Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, and films like Blade Runner 2049 and Valerian- City of a Thousand Planets. Media like this has influenced my own work. I write fiction that has meaning but knows when to not take itself too seriously.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

I'd recommend "The Rose" by Paul Alleva. It’s a really mind bending sci-fi vampire read.

 Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

Wow. First book that pops into my head when asked is The Daughters of Death: Versatile layer book 4. It’s a turning point in the series with lots of action and character development. It focuses mainly on a character named Edith Fafnir. She’s a badass military sniper with a bionic left eye and a complicated past. It’s a hell of a ride and the characters are never the same afterwards. So many storylines come to a head in the story but I was careful to write it in a way that’s inviting to newcomers. You can drop into any of the Versatile Layer books and get your footing rather quickly. But the story is more rewarding if you start from the beginning.

 

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

I’ve presented at 3 conventions so far. The biggest convention was the IABX (Independent Authors Book Experience). It was a great experience. I picked up a few fans in the process and met some really great authors. Presenting at that convention really helped me to develop my sales pitch. It taught me to summarize what the series is and how to best hook a potential reader. With Covid happening, I started to set up at local outside markets to sell my books. I’ve gotten some good results that way. I’m better at pitching my work in person than I am online.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

What is the bit of the writing process that gets your writery brain grinning?

I love when the story starts to evolve in ways that I didn’t initially plan for. I introduce a character near the end of book 6 just because I need to initiate an action sequence. By book 7 that character has a name and relationships. By book 8 that character is super important to the story and I don’t know how I would’ve advanced towards my endgame without them. I didn’t plan for that character but they became essential. But that’s my process. I have my beginning and my end but the middle fills out as I write. If fact (I say in fact a lot), I always write the first and last chapters at the same time. Then I jump around to different chapters between.

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

The aliens in my story are called the Arez. They’re a tribal, tall, red skinned, Amazonian warrior race. They’re kinda like afro-futuristic alien elves. Anyway, they have a phrase in their culture. “I poured all of my strength into you.” It’s normally used by a parent or a teacher (master) to express that the student has excelled at their training. It’s something that I wrote without giving it much thought. But as the story progressed, the phrase got used on several occasions. It just fit and made sense for this alien culture.

Another quote from the series that I really love comes from one of the two main characters, Captain Jake Takeda. He’s a soldier who (while he’s a decent guy) fights really dirty on the battlefield. In book 2: The Glass Runner, he’s educating a young soldier on what it really takes to survive and win in battle.

“Battles are an exercise in deception. You sell your opponent on a story. You get him to agree to a set of rules. Then you break those rules. There’s no honor on the battlefield. There’s only the mission.” This quote is Jake’s key to survival. He controls the fight by setting up the expectations of how the battle will play out. Then he operates outside of those boundaries that he established. If he tells you, “let’s duel honorably with swords.” Then he’s going to end the fight with a gun. 

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Thanks to Thomas for participating. Those are some groovy book covers he has. I'm also glad to know that I'm not the only one who introduces characters for one purpose, only to have them develop beyond that purpose into someone integral to the story. That makes me think of the character Joan in my novel Smoke, and Lieutenant Roberts in The Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. Smoke would have been only half a story without Joan. If you've read Threading the Rude Eye (the first book in the series), you probably didn't realize that Lt. Roberts was going to be a throw-away character who would disappear after the first couple chapters--perhaps a redshirt--but I couldn't let him go. Things developed and he grew into a great character whose importance grows with each book in the series.

But enough about books. The deafening roar of artillery fire, the call of the bugle, the thunder of pounding hooves, the rattle of musketry, and the beat of the drum to the pas de charge continues with turn 6 of the battle of Leipzig. 

Turn 6 saw the French retake both Markleberg on the Allied left and Wachau in the center. On the Allied right, the cannon once more pounded Liebertwolkwitz. Russian infantry followed as the smoke cleared. The French brigade holding the town didn't escape from the town as a cohesive unit. 

Even though the Allied artillery pummeled the French pretty hard, the outlook from that side of the field is not bright. A number of batteries have been reduced to the brink of elimination. The Prussian infantry on the left will have to be very lucky to hold Crostewitz and Auenhayn--from which they started the battle. They paid more than they could afford to take Markleberg and Wachau. The center is held by the fatigued cossack division. A coordinated French attack there could drive through to Guldengossa. The one hope the Allies have is to hold Liebertwolkwitz--until 12:30, which is more than two hours away. Technically, the Allied army is one unit away from breaking. They need the Riders of Rohan, the Winged Hussars, or a flight of A-10 Warthogs to save their bacon, but the fire's hot and the bacon is already sizzling.

Here's a view across the field from Markleberg, Crostewitz, and Auenhayn in foreground to Liebertwolkwitzat the far end. The remains of the Alied left are gathered around Auenhayn and Crostewitz. 

The Allies will be lucky to last another hour.