Q&A with G. Donald Black - Episode 2

Welcome to Q&A Episode 2! As you are undoubtedly aware (since you're the ones sending them my way), I receive a lot of questions. Fortunately for you, I love getting reader mail. Is there a better way to interact with my readers short of showing up in your living room for afternoon tea? I think not. So with that, let's dive in to this episode's batch of interesting interrogatories...

Many of your stories are written from the perspectives of disparate voices. How do you switch from one to the other?

Well, first of all, I take that as a major compliment, because that’s exactly what I’m trying to do - and hopefully you like them. There was a short period of time in my twenties where I considered pursuing an acting career. The thought of embodying different characters and seeing the stories through their eyes was very appealing to me. Since I ended up ditching the acting life – or more accurately, never had a legitimate shot at doing it - I wanted to see if I could get the same satisfaction from writing the way an actor would act. You’ll see that play out in stories like Rick’s Pics, Just Shoot Me, and a little in New Tricks, where I’m writing as the narrator. It’s a blast for me to hear their voices come to life and write from their wildly different perspectives. For me it makes the writing even more enjoyable, because it’s literally a different adventure every time I start typing.

Are you AI?

A legitimate question in this day and age, but no. Sorry to spoil the spoilers, but I’m a real life, flesh and blood author. On one hand I see this question as a little disappointing, in that the immediate reaction of many people is to think that good stories must be computer-generated. Thankfully I’m old school. Not only am I a live person, but I don’t rely on artificial intelligence for anything. I certainly see the appeal that technology may have to some. After all, it would be very easy to spit out AI-written literature to the masses and cash in on our society’s voracious appetite for new content. But (1) stories should be about quality, not quantity, and (2) what would be the fun of that for me? Remember, I chose to do this because I love to write. If I used a crutch to do my work, it wouldn’t be a fraction as rewarding as coming up with the perfect set of words to paint a scene. Nope, no AI for me. Now back to my typewriter…

How do you name your characters?

This is one of the fun chores I have when building a story, and I probably put too much time into the task. But for me these stories are my legacy. Once they’re born, I can’t change them. No more editing or revising. No more punching up the ending. And certainly no more changing the names of the players. That’s why I give extra special attention to making sure the names are just right. Sometimes they have hidden meaning, both within the story or outside the context of the work. Sometimes they are personal references to my own life, favorite cousins or people I’ve promised to include in my stories. Sometimes the sound of the name has to flow correctly or have a certain rhythm, meaning the cadence and number of syllables are important. And sometimes a name just sounds cool to me, as in naming a hero something like Corbin Steele or Theyon Stone. So next time you read one of my stories, know that the characters are special to me and that they were named with as much love as my own children. Just don’t tell my kids that.

Who is your biggest writing influence?

There are so many that come to mind, a few of which I’ve listed in the home page bio. I love how Stephen King threads pop culture into his stories so we can all relate a little better to the narrative, and I admire Dean Koontz’s love of dogs and his ability to make us believe that the supernatural is actually just natural. I love M. Night Shyamalan’s twists and the respect for history Dan Simmons has for his work. And I really love where Blake Crouch is coming from – just unreal stuff…literally. So I can’t choose just one influence. But I’ve consciously tried to set myself apart from not only my favorites, but all other writers. I want my work to be a complete reflection of who I am. But of course who I am is a product of all the books I’ve absorbed throughout my life, as well as all the tragedies and triumphs I’ve experienced along the way. That’s the same for everyone. You’re a product of your environment. So perhaps the most answerable version of the question is what is my biggest writing influence, not who. And my response would be: All of it.

What’s your take on trigger or content warnings?

This is a brand new concept for me. Being old school, I grew up in a world before triggers – or at least we didn’t call them that. When I picked up a book for the first time, I could generally tell by the title, the cover, or the author what to expect. So if I found the book in the horror section of my local bookstore, I didn’t think it was going to be a love story where the characters romanced among rainbows and unicorns. But times have changed and I can see both sides of the issue – on one hand, you don’t want readers triggered by your content and adversely affected by something meant to entertain, and on the other hand you run the risk of spoiling surprises and ruining the fun for the many readers that don’t have triggers. So while I am sensitive to the feelings of anyone potentially affected by triggers in my stories, every reader of my work should realize before they flip to the first page that there is a likelihood of the story containing disturbing content. After all, it’s horror. It’s meant to horrify and scare and make you cringe. That said, I love my readers and (you may have already noticed) I sign off every message with the phrase “Stay well.” After all, healthy readers keep reading. So what’s a horror writer to do about triggers? Well, I think I found a good solution. For those prone to triggers, you can click here to see which potentially upsetting content may be contained in all of my individual works. And this link is available on every story purchase page so you can check before you buy. Spoiler alert: While no specific story content is provided, if you’d rather dive head first into the chaos and enjoy the GDB roller coaster without knowing what twists and turns lie ahead, go on about your business and forget you ever read this post. Whatever you decide, please, please, please enjoy my stories. I trust you to make the decision that’s right for you. Now off you go…

Thanks again for the awesome questions. I really enjoy answering them, so send me more! For those of you so inclined, use the Connect page to send your comments and queries. Yours might even end up in the next Q&A post.

Until next time, stay well!