My Interview with Declan Finn!

Welcome, Declan – I am looking forward to our talk today.  You have such an interesting resume and array of books.  I am thrilled to get to know you and to introduce you to my readers!

• I always kick off my interviews with the same question.  Therefore, please tell us how you’d describe yourself?
  • The target is a 5’10” Caucasian male, 40, overweight, blond, nearsighted, and spends about 8 hours a day at the computer, pumping out anywhere from two to ten thousand words at a time.
  • … Not that I’ve written too many police procedurals or anything. Honestly, I’m fairly boring. The most interesting parts of me are the people who live in my head.
• I try to keep my interview focused on literature while getting to know the literary figure we are meeting.  Something unique to you is your Catholicism.  As you have written, “I’m Catholic – it’s part of me, and part of who I am, and part of my stories, so it comes with the package,” I feel we need to address this topic to fully understand you as a person and author as well as to have a deeper insight into your books.
  • Do you consider yourself to be a Christian writer – why, or why not?
    • I’m a Christian who writes, so, maybe.
    • I generally dislike the concept of “Christian Fiction.” It may be an accurate description of my work, but the genre label has been so tarnished, I try not to slander anyone with the term unless I’m feeling mean-spirited. Seriously, when was the last time you heard Narnia labeled “Christian fiction”? Or Lord of the Rings? Sadly, “Christian fiction” has been synonymous with bad Hallmark movies: bland, colorless, with cardboard cutouts for characters. I have far too many explosions to be allowed into the genre.
  • How does your faith influence your writing?  Does it determine the topics, genre, or style you use?
    • It influences me whether I want it to or not. I wrote a murder mystery at a science fiction convention, I ended up with an unplanned scene at Sunday mass (where the refrain was “May the Force be with you” the reply being “And with your spirit.”). I have a thriller with suitcase nukes, and the hero becomes a Catholic boy scout who fights like John Wick.
      • As a writer of thrillers, horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, do you feel Christianity limits your writing ceiling – why (or why not), and how?
        • I’ve never found it limiting. I come from the Deus Vult school: my villains need to be stopped, and it’s not going to happen with polite conversation. My violence is never gratuitous. But I believe in evil. And some times, evil does require a bullet to the head.
        • Honestly, my faith has limited my writing in they way world building limits my writing.
      • Conversely, do you feel your Christianity opens your writing opportunities up in ways a secular story might not permit – how, and why?
        • It’s definitely opened up types of stories. My vampire stories use the weaknesses of Bram Stoker vampires, but I use metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas (and some microbiology) to explain how vampirism works. My longest series thus far involves a cop with the powers of a saint, fighting against the forces of Hell; that helps when you consider how much potential there is for horror elements when you go into very basic Church demonology.
  • You can write without being obvious about one’s beliefs.  Why is it important for you to be so openly identified by your religion?
    • Part of it is branding, and part of it is warning label. I’ve actually had reviews whine about there being any faith in the fiction at all. At which point, I can honestly answer that they were warned. As for branding, it’s a way of telling people that, yes, I’m not going to insult you, or have whole chapters explaining why your faith is evil and you’re an idiot for believing it… Not that have a grudge about authors who do that or anything.
      • You speak about faith in fiction.  You have concerns about presenting a good story without being preachy, so how do you feel you find balance between giving a Christian story that is appealing to secular readers?
        • Because I don’t go out of my way to make it Christian. I don’t throw in speeches. I don’t give lectures unless it’s crucial to the story. I bore easily, and if I’m bored writing it, I have to stop. I’ve spiked whole chapters from an outline because I felt the story was too slow… so I swapped it out for a car bomb. The story moved faster.
        • If the story stops moving, it dies. And nothing stops a story faster than a lecture in the middle.
        • You say being Catholic is a part of your writing, but are your stories Christian or secular – why, or why not? 
          • Yes.
          • Honestly, it really depends on the book. My science fiction has faith in it because religion always has been a part of culture, no matter what the good commies of SciFi told us 50 years ago.
          • My fantasy has religion because it helps to use previously established rules in the metaphysics. I don’t have to develop too much on my own. Heck, even with my thrillers, religion slips in because stories run on characters, and characters need to do something with their Sundays too.
        • You write reviews of games.  How does your belief system influence your view of the gaming world, which tends to be quite violent? 
          • My view of gaming is influenced by gaming itself. Over a third of American households have a video game console. That means that the gaming world encompasses over a hundred million people in the US alone. If the gaming world were truly as violent as portrayed, the world would look like Mad Max. But, sadly, there’s no way to know how badly it’s misrepresented unless you’re into gaming, and not even a lot of “gaming journalists” bother to play games.
  • You’ve spoken about strong female characters.  I find your views fascinating for many reasons.  One is that, historically, women have been pushed into subservient roles.  I like that you feel there should be equality and well-defined female characters, but do you think this ideology fits with the patriarchal teachings of Catholicism?
    • As the Catholic church created the radical notion (2,000 years ago) that women were people and not property, I think that fits perfectly. One of the lines I steal the most comes from Joan of Arc, where she comes someone to “come out so I can send you to Hell.” I don’t know about you, but that’s sort of badass.
    • Heck, this patriarchy allowed the creation of the first female CEOs over a thousand years ago. She was just called Mother Superior, and ran a convent with what today would be a million-dollar agri-business. Catherine of Sienna was also fairly awesome. I won’t get into the flack we get for the respect we give Mary.
    • Heck, at the end of the day, I get my ideas on the development of female characters from Catholicism.
  • With today’s political climate, do you feel your Catholic expressions have hindered you in any way?  How, or why?
    • Oh, I’m sure they’ve hindered me. I can only go through self-publishing or small, independent presses to get my work released. But of course, I also have action and violence in my books, so I’ve had holy rollers whine at me as well. So I just can’t win.
      • Conversely, have you found being upfront about your faith has been beneficial in any way?
        • Not that I’ve noticed. I’m certain that there are people who have read my books because I’ve been clear about it, but there aren’t many. I feel there are more reviewers who have read my books despite the labels, and were all pleasantly surprised.
        • Though I have had people tell me they’ve come back to the church because of my books. I’m not entirely certain why, but I’ll take the win.
  • You were involved with The Catholic Geeks.  Who, or what, are they?
    • They technically still are a collection of Catholic nerds who banded together to discuss and show that yes, science fiction and fantasy can have faith as part of the genre. It’s in part a response to Catholic writer groups who sneering at genre fiction. Remember the holy rollers I mentioned above? Same people.
      • You hosted their talk show every Sunday.  Are you still involved with this program?  If so, how can listeners tune in?
        • When I host the program, I have to host it from my Facebook page. It used to be run out of Blog Talk Radio and the UI was terrible. You can check out my Facebook page or my personal page and check the videos.
        • Did/do you write for the show, such as script development?  If so, what does that entail?
          • I usually had the introduction and some questions written down in advance. But I usually played it by ear.
• Writers are readers.  I like to discuss the reading habits and histories of authors because I think that gives an insight into who they are, how they developed, and where their influences came from.  Therefore, I would like to talk about you as a reader in this section.
  • Were you a reader as a child, or when did you develop your love for literature?
    • I grew up in a household that had its own basement library, collected over decades of readers. There was no such thing as empty wall space, because that was where we put bookcases. In some cases, I had to read books before the films came out, because I understood at a young age that the books were always better. I read The Once and Future King and Mary Stewart’s Merlin cycle in sixth grade, and Les Miserables the summer before high school. My recreational reading in Freshman year of high school was a Tom Clancy novel a week. So, yes, I was a reader as a child.
  • What book(s) or author(s) made a lasting impression on you, and what about them did you find appealing?
    • Timothy Zahn taught me how to have fast-moving plots and action sequences while still having characters think.
    • Fred Saberhagen taught me how to take new approaches to mythology.
    • Joseph Garber’s Vertical Run taught me exactly how fast books can move.
      • You write in horror, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy.  How were you drawn to these genres?  Did it begin as a reader?
        • I started writing in general with science fiction, because it started as a fan fiction short story that spiraled. When I say spiraled, I mean the short story became a series of novels I wrote over the course of 15 months. And yes, I grew up with science fiction. It started with Star Wars and Star Trek, then the Baen library when I was a teenager.
        • Thrillers were just fun. See previous answer with Joseph Garber.
        • Horror… sigh. I genuinely hate horror. I really and truly do. Too much of “horror” seems to be a description of the writing. However, I have two series labeled horror. The first is Love at First Bite, which centers around vampires. The second one is Saint Tommy NYPD. I started writing both as urban fantasy. But since one series had vampires, it was labeled horror when it was nominated for awards. In the Saint Tommy series, my research into demonology and serial killers guided the development of the book, and that became a horror novel without it being a conscious decision.
• Let’s talk about you as a writer.
  • Where do you find your muse?  Do you get story inspirations from dreams, real life, other books?
    • After 25 years of doing this, I’ve pretty much warped my brain to be always “on.” I’ve made five books out of three graduate papers I wrote in college. My vampire series was developed because I was sick of how the genre has been handled. Saint Tommy was inspired by one class in a single college course, and it turned into twelve novels.
    • The answer is “All of the above.”
      • When I feel drained, I find renewal in reading and great scripts written for TV or film.  Others I’ve spoken to like to step away from the writing table and get out nature for a while.  How do you re-energize your creative juices?
        • I’ll let you know when they run out. Right now, turning my brain off can be a struggle on a day to day basis. I’ve only taken time off from writing in order to sell books. I would love to be able to stop for a few days and rest. I miss it. When I’m lucky, I can read. When I’m not lucky, I’m up until three in the morning because my brain is rewriting a scene.
  • Do you write every day?  What is your writing process – is it always the same, or does it depend on what you’re working on?
    • I write every weekday on the computer… and then I sneak in writing on a notepad on the weekends.
    • For the weekdays, I roll out of bed and go straight to the computer. I put on the music, mostly “symphonic metal,” and get to work. Occasionally, I remember to eat. I work from nine to five. I get more work done when my wife spends the night out, and then I can work until ten at night. But usually she likes to see me, so I can lock myself away for only so long.
      • Do you use any writing tools to help, and if so, what do you feel are the best available?
        • I’ve written with pen and paper, and LibreOffice on the computer. That’s all I really found useful. I tried Scrivner. I hate it, no matter how many people swear by it.
      • Do you use an editor or beta readers?  Why, or why not?
        • Always. I can only edit my own work with distance, anywhere between six weeks or six months. I need editors and beta readers in order to move on to the next book.
      • What about cover art – how much input do you have in your covers?
        • It varies from artist and publisher. But having made two of my own covers, I’ve vowed to never do it again if I can avoid it.
        • How important is it to you that your cover reflects your story, or appears genre specific, and why is this important to you?
          • My only opinion on the cover is that it should help sell the book. I’m not particularly interested beyond that. Unfortunately, marketing is the worst part of being a writer, and you will need to do it, no matter what avenue one takes.
        • How important are covers for sales?
          • Very. It’s one of the first things people see, if not the first thing. You can’t judge the content of a book by its cover, but it draws people in. Sometimes it can just be the brightness of the cover to attract the eye.
      • What about blurbs – at what point in the process do you generally write the blurb, or do you hire this out to someone else, and why?
        • Most of the time, I write blurbs five minutes before I need it.
  • What do you feel is the most difficult aspects of the writing industry?
    • Marketing. Hands down. You have to go out to social media and be… social. And be sociable in groups. And be sociable in general. If I were easily sociable, I wouldn’t be in a job that requires I be in a locked room nine hours a day.
      • For me, it is marketing.  How does your Patreon help or hinder you when it comes to marketing?
        • Patreon is the easiest marketing. Because the patrons are your readers. You don’t have to work for them to get the word about your word. They have the word. They are paying you to get the word.
        • How do you find new content for your Patreon supporters while still maintaining an active blog, hosting radio, reviewing games, and writing books?
          • I give them chapters from work in progress. Patrons are already reading my book before it gets published. Heck, all of my patrons get free ebooks. They may have the complete collection of my work already.
  • What do you feel is the best aspect of the writing industry?
    • Where I’m paid to play with my imaginary friends.
• What can we expect to see from you over the coming year?
  • Well, let’s see. My publisher Silver Empire just folded at the start of the month, so I’m spending a bit of time republishing them. I’m getting my Pius thrillers to one publisher, Love at First Bite to Three Ravens press, and Saint Tommy, NYPD to Tuscany Bay press. I’m working on editing books 4 and 5 of my White Ops space opera, which is also going to Tuscany Bay. And I have a sequel series to Love at First Bite that I hope to self publish starting this summer.
  • So I’m going to keep busy. Though I have a friend who’s getting married this July, so that’ll eat up a fair bit of time.
  • What is your current WIP?
    • I’m writing a series called Honeymoon from Hell, a sequel series to Love at First Bite. I’m on book #2, Blood Country. I hope to have book #1, The Neck Romancer, out in July.
  • What’s the best way for readers to connect with you and your books?
    • The best way to reach out to me directly is either by email (DeclanFinnInc@aol.com) my blog (declanfinn.com) or my substack (declanfinn.substack.com).
    • If there’s a social media platform, I’m on it: Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, Parler, Gettr, Gab. I’m also on Bitechute, I just don’t know how to get it to work yet.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with me today.  I really appreciate your visit.  It has been fun getting to know you.  I wish you all the best.  I look forward to reading your books!