Steampunk Writer Spotlight: An Interview with Steve DeWinter
Steve DeWinter writes action and adventure science fiction, including our favorite sub-genre, steampunk. I met Steve in 2015 when we both participated in that year's Virtual FantasyCon, and he interviewed me for his YouTube channel, Old Dog New Trx. If you're interested in getting to know a variety of genre authors, I highly recommend checking out the channel when you have the time.
A few days ago, I figured it was my turn to interview him. Here's the result!
The Interview
Jonathan Fesmire: Please tell us about you! What makes Steve DeWinter tick?
Steve DeWinter: Hi, I'm Steve DeWinter. Writer, author, publisher, editor in chief, and founder of a book box subscription service. What makes me tick? Entertaining others. That is why I get up every morning. JF: When did you start writing?
SDW: I started writing all the way back in grade school, coming up with all sorts of stories and ideas. But I finally got serious in 2006 when I wrote my first full length thriller, Inherit the Throne. What I loved about my first novel was that it has a kick-ass female as the main character. One of the things I love about my books is the strong characters that inhabit them no matter their gender. JF: When did you get into steampunk, and decide to write steampunk fiction?
SDW: I stumbled into writing steampunk. When I sat down to reimagine the classic, Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I thought it would make a great science-fiction tale set in the future. But after doing some research I realized that it would work really well to set it in the same time the story was originally written and turn it into a steampunk novel. I also took a cue from how novels were published during the Victorian era and ultimately released Steampunk Oz as a serialized story. I enjoyed rewriting the Wizard of Oz as a steampunk novel so much that I went on to make a second season of the series. JF: What are your influences, including other writers, makers, and so on?
SDW: My biggest influence has always been the great thriller author, Robert Ludlum. Because of his influence, no matter what genre or story type I write, my base story is always, at its core, a thriller. Now, I always credit Robert Ludlum with making me interested in writing. But I always give a shout out to my favorite thriller author, James Rollins, for actually making me set pen to paper. His masterful and imaginative thrillers inspired me more than anyone else to actually try my hand at this whole writing gig. JF: I think my readers would be most interested in your Steampunk Oz series. What can you tell us about it?
SDW: My Steampunk Oz series generated from an idea of retelling the Wizard of Oz as a science-fiction tale. What I like most about the series is that I gave Dorothy a purpose and the capability to drive her own story. It always bugged me in the original that she seemed to be simply along for the ride and wasn't really capable of doing anything about her situation. It might've been a result of the time of when it was written and how young girls were seen in society during the 1900’s. But in my retelling, Dorothy is one kick-ass female who can definitely hold her own in the horrible place that is Oz. JF: Do you have a favorite steampunk setting? For instance, Victorian England seems to be the most popular, but I enjoy the Wild West, and others blend steampunk with fantasy.
SDW: When I sat down to establish Oz at the turn of the 19th century and make it a steampunk novel, I read the original story again with fresh eyes and took lots of notes. One of the things I discovered in my reading was that as soon as Dorothy landed in Oz and asked the munchkins how to get out they were puzzled. They looked at her and said, "Oz is surrounded by desert on all four sides. Nobody gets out." It was then I realized Oz was a prison. An inescapable prison. So, I looked around in history during the turn-of-the-century to find out where all the major prisons were. And wouldn't you know it, Australia at that time was a penal colony. Even better, Australians like to shorten everything and they even refer to Australia as Oz. You can't make this stuff up. JF: What do you like most about being a writer?
SDW: The thing I like most about being a writer is being able to entertain people. I was always the jokester and comedian growing up and at school, much to the dismay of my teachers. But the main reason I do what I do is to entertain regardless of whether I am the one crafting the stories or introducing readers of all ages to the stories of others. JF: I know that you like to base some books on older books that are now in the public domain, but give them a serious twist. You did that with your Steampunk Oz series. What other books of yours are like that?
SDW: I'm a big fan of taking the old and making it new again. It was one of the things that drew me to retell the Wizard of Oz with a steampunk aesthetic. And yes, after the fun I had doing a complete rewrite of the Wizard of Oz I did the same thing with two other classic books. I reworked A Tale of Two Cities (A Tale of Two Cities with Dragons) and Oliver Twist (Oliver Twist: Victorian Vampire) into fantasy novels. The most interesting thing about that process was that I left about 90% of the original text intact, thus giving me the ability to say that Charles Dickens and I co-authored these two novels. With only minor cosmetic changes and adding a chapter or two I found I could completely rework those stories into something interesting beyond the original story. Yet they both read as if they were written as a fantasy novel and a vampire tale. And I am also confident that reading my versions of either of these two novels will still enable you to pass any test given in high school or college around these two books. JF: Do you attend many conventions? What are your favorites?
SDW: I've attended a few conventions here and there but never really found anything that I could settle into year after year. I may pop into a few occasionally that are near me but attending conventions is not my focus. Don't get me wrong, I always have fun at conventions but found my time was better spent crafting or finding more things to entertain others with.
JF: How hard do you push yourself?
SDW: Being an independent writer means that you are your own boss. And I am quite the task master when it comes to being a boss, so I push myself pretty hard. For most of my novels, while in the writing phase, I do not let myself stop until I've written a minimum of 4,000 words in a day. Some days I would be done before noon and others I would still be at my computer after midnight just to meet my daily goal. JF: As creative people, we need to know when to call a project done. When do you know a story or novel is finished?
SDW: A book is finished when it's published. No, I take that back. A book is finished when I publish it, readers come back to tell me mistakes that I nor my editors caught during the extensive editing phase, fix those mistakes, and republish again. Then it's done. JF: That's definitely an advantage of modern publishing! Now, if you could live in any sci-fi or fantasy world, what sort would it be? This could be one of your own creation. Or would you pass?
SDW: I would love to travel the galaxy in the comfort of a Star Trek spaceship. No matter how far they went where no one has gone before, they always got there in the lap of luxury.
JF: Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?
SDW: As well as being a writer and published author, I also have a literary journal called FICTION Silicon Valley where I find and publish other authors’ work from around the globe. I am also launching Book-Rover in December, a service that pre-reads and vets hardcover releases in the Middle Grade market. Our promise to our subscribers, be they busy moms, busy dads, grandparents, or even godparents, is that we at Book-Rover will find the fun-to-read books for the 8 to 12-year-olds in your life and send them the best hardcover book each month. The goal of Book-Rover is to create lifelong readers by sending children only the best books to read every month, because nothing will turn a child off of reading faster than giving them a book that is not fun to read.
Steve DeWinter's Bio
Steve DeWinter is a #1 Bestselling Amazon Action & Adventure Sci-Fi Author who has also co-authored two fantasy novels with Charles Dickens. Yes! That Charles Dickens. His books have hit #1 on the Amazon Children's Action & Adventure Sci-Fi Bestseller list, #1 on the Amazon Steampunk Bestseller list, and his adult thrillers reached as high as lucky #13 on the Amazon Action & Adventure Bestseller list. He also has the distinction of having nine books in the top twenty of the Amazon Children's Action & Adventure Sci-Fi Bestseller list all at the same time. When not writing, he curates and publishes other author's work as the Editor-in-Chief of FICTION Silicon Valley, a monthly literary journal. Go to http://fictionsv.com and join those who already enjoy life more with FICTION Silicon Valley - It's FREE!
