Tom became an author, writer’s unblocker, meditation guide, temporal alchemist, and ambient music composer by accident. He still doesn’t know what he wants to do when he grows up.
Author interview – Tom Evans
When did you start writing, and why?
I wrote my first book by accident. It just came through. No reason or motivation other than to let the Muse take me.
At what age did you take yourself seriously as a writer?
This happened when I wrote my first book of pure philosophy, called This We Know. Here, I’m writing about what I thought about the world, as opposed to writing a book explaining a process.
How long did it take you to write your first book?
Less than one transatlantic plane flight. I wrote 100 Years of Ermintrude at 39,000 feet—a life story.
What was your last book about?
A novel called Soulwaves: A Future History—which features Beijing and Wuhan, starting some forty years hence (as well as the CSS, Moon, and Mars).
What are you working on right now?
I have just finishing writing twelve short stories that are the prequel/sequel to the novel. The novel took fifteen years and fifteen other books to write. I wrote these in less than two months during lockdown.
What is your writing process like? Do you plot or do you just dive in? How many drafts do you go through before the work is final?
Normally just one or two drafts max. I write after and in meditation. I use a mind map for the meta structure and plot. The writing itself just flows through me, as if I am the first reader.
What do you struggle with most as a writer?
Marketing and promotion.
What advice would you give to writers dealing with the same or similar struggle?
Be creative about marketing and have fun. Stop if you are not enjoying it. Try and do something left field that makes people do a double take.
Have you always had that struggle or has it changed over time?
Now I have moved to writing fiction, it is like being a first-time writer and I am learning from the ground up again.
Do you prefer the term ‘writer’ or ‘author’, and why?
I prefer the term scribe.
Who’s your favourite author?
Douglas Adams.
What’s your favourite book?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for its sense of fun and sheer audacity.
What’s your favourite book on the craft?
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
What’s the best writing advice you were ever given?
Write the end first and don’t stop to research while you are writing.