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Lodestar Rising Trilogy (Synopsis)| Introducing Trisha Johnson
Read a sample of 'Kiiron' (Adobe Acrobat Reader)

TCR: When did the urge to first write hit you?

Trisha: I started telling stories quite young - about seven or eight. And my excuses to my parents for not doing my chores grew more inventive as I got older. I wrote my first story when I was sixteen. Then, I discovered boys.

TCR: How has your family taken your new-found celebrity? Are they supportive of your career choice?

Trisha: They're pleased, I think. My mother is always telling me I need to get out more, instead of spending half the night writing. If I have it, I don't think they know what celebrity status really means. I'm happy doing it, and that what counts with them.

TCR: Do you remember the first story you wrote? And where you've hidden it from the light of day? *grin*

Trisha: It was about a teenage girl's first job in a grocery store. I gave it up pretty quick, and wrote one about a rabbit that could talk. I think the dog ate that.

TCR: Some writers tell us that a story has to 'age' - that sometimes they may put an unworkable story in a drawer until something links with it, sometimes years later. Have you experienced this?

Trisha: Absolutely! After I'd finished "Kiiron", I went straight into the second part of the trilogy. After two chapters, I had to leave it. It was six months before I'd figured out the story line. Then I wrote for a year, straight and finished it. I was better prepared for the last book. In fact, I wrote the last chapter of that one before I started the first.

TCR: Do you have a routine to your writing? A favorite place? Time of day? Music or not?

Trisha: I'm thinking about the story during the day, and then I start writing early evening, and work on until two or three in the morning. I don't have a favourite place. Yes, music. Eagles, Bryan Adam, Tracy Chapman, Queen, and oldies - Eddy Cochran and the Everly Brothers. I love Rap, too, but it's way too energetic, thoughtful, and emotionally engaging. I just can't write when it's playing.

TCR: Do you think that Internet publishing will become a paying proposition? Do you foresee the avenues as to how that would occur?

Trisha: That's a hard one. Longer term, maybe? It's a mindset thing. Readers are used to handling books. We need a better medium than a PC - that's for sure. There are several options being bandied about, but there does seem to be a bit of a feeding frenzy to get into e-books. As for making money, it'll be difficult unless the questions of copyright and security can be dealt with. Then, yes, it will be profitable. Maybe you'll buy a 'reader' pre-loaded with a bunch of books you have chosen from a list, on demand, from the publisher, or from bookshop. Or maybe downloaded from the net - like MP3 - to your own reader. I think, though, that e-books have competition, in the form of print on demand, that might push them to the margins. Like I said, people still like to handle books.

TCR: What was Trisha, the young girl, interested in? Any hobbies?

Trisha: Animals, mostly. Horses dogs and cats. I hated boys - until I was sixteen. As for hobbies: Astronomy and history. I sound a bit boring, don't I?

TCR: Many novices begin writing in their spare time. Any hints on how they can work writing into their normal work schedule?

Trisha: Be disciplined. A day job pays the bills. Set aside a few hours a day, every day, to think, write, edit or re-write. If you're tired, miss a day - you'll be refreshed and impatient to get back to it the following day.

TCR: C J Cherryh says, "If you can stand the thought of not writing, don't attempt a career as a writer." Agree or disagree?

Trisha: Agree. I write because I just have to. If I dry up, I write something else, totally unconnected with the book. The mere fact that I'm writing relaxes me and the ideas flow, again. Then I go back to the book and carry on.

TCR: Sharon Green says she writes "for fun." Other authors have told us it's plain work. How do you feel about the process of writing?

Trisha: It varies. If I'm 'hot', it's fun. If I'm struggling over a sentence or paragraph… Grrr!

TCR: Orson Scott Card defines science fiction and fantasy this way: "Fantasy has trees on the cover, Sci-fi has rivets." What's your definition?

Trisha: That sounds a bit too cut and dried to me. Science Fiction is such a broad genre I think you can have whatever cover you like. Besides, most of the fantasy books I've seen have guys with long swords on the cover, or dwarfs, or wizards.

TCR: How important do you think ego is to an author?

Trisha: I think a writer needs belief in his or her talent and work, and a readiness to accept criticism, well intentioned or otherwise. An Ego is an important part of a healthy psyche, but it's too frequently confused with arrogance.

TCR: What exactly do agents DO for authors? What skills do they possess that the writer needs?

Trisha: Agents know the business - or should do. All a writer has is a book. It's the best book ever, of course, but they probably don't know the first thing about selling it to a publisher. A good agent will coach them, suggest changes and make it a more marketable product. They also know where to place the book.

TCR: Does a new writer submit to publishers first, or get an agent prior to submission?

Trisha: Get an agent first. Publishers play hard ball and also make the rules as they go along. An agent will handle that grief for you.

TCR: If you could choose right now, would you have youth without wisdom, or wisdom without youth? Why?

Trisha: Youth. Why? Enthusiasm, limitless energy, no self-imposed limits or expectations, and absolutely 'no fear'.

TCR: What advice would you give to an aspiring (or is that perspiring) writer who's never had anything published?

Trisha: Stick to your own style. When it's finished, get out there and keep pushing at doors until you get a break. Think 'unconventional', too.

TCR: Do you ever find your characters taking on a life of their own? Do they ever go off in a direction you hadn't planned for them?

Trisha: I write that way, anyway. I seldom know where I'm going. It sort of works itself out by the time I reach the end. But, yes, they do step off the page, and their mannerisms seem to creep into my own personality. That's not surprising, really. But I have to confess, there are at least a couple of dozen people inside my head, right now, plus the ones I'm in the process of creating. Sometimes it get a little crowded and noisy.

TCR: Can you tell us a bit about the "Lodestar Rising Trilogy" without giving too much away?

Trisha: Essentially, it's a story about two people from different cultures and worlds, trying to build a relationship against a background of political intrigue and a power struggle within the ruling military elite. Enter strange alien ships, genocide on a distant planet, a savage war, and the gradual revelation that a group of ancient races are engaged in an endless struggle, which takes no account of the rest of humanity. That conflict is the link between the three parts of the trilogy. The heroine has a dark, genetic secret, too, which doesn't exactly help the situation.

TCR: What is the next project you're working on?

Trisha: Well, I've now finished the trilogy, so I'm off to Arizona for a few weeks, to visit friends, then going on to Los Angeles for four days of meeting people. While I'm in LA, I'll be doing some location research for my next story, 'Miracle Man'. It's a sci-fi story about a faith healer. It's pretty early days, yet, but I'm talking to a producer in New York about that project. I also have two more ideas on the table. They, and 'Miracle Man' will go straight to screenplay, rather than start out as a novel.

TCR: Let's hope it all goes well for you. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

Trisha: Thanks for asking me.

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More about the Lodestar Rising Trilogy | Introducing Trisha Johnson

Read a sample of 'Kiiron' (Adobe Acrobat Reader)