Today, we’re speaking with Inkubator Books’ author Stephen Penner. Stephen is the author of The Rain City Legal Thriller Series.
Inkubator Books: When did you start writing?
Stephen Penner: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I would write comic books and murder mysteries with my friends as the characters. I wrote my first novel in 2000 although it wasn’t published then. I began writing fiction professionally about fifteen years ago. I experimented with a few different genres before I finally followed the maxim “write what you know” and settled into legal thrillers about twelve years ago.
IB: What does a typical day of writing look like for you?
SP: I don’t really have a typical day of writing. I fit my writing in whenever I have the time. Sometimes that’s a lunch hour, sometimes it’s a Saturday afternoon, sometimes it’s at the end of the day when everyone else is asleep and the house is quiet.
IB: Do you base your characters off people you know or are they all the product of your imagination?
SP: Some of my characters are inspired by people I know, or more commonly by one particular aspect of their personality. Once that initial spark creates the idea of the character, the character takes on a life of their own and quickly diverges from the person who inspired them. That only makes sense to me because the character will end up interacting with all new people and situations that I make up for them.
IB: What’s the most difficult part of your writing process?
SP: Finding the time to write. I’m fortunate that I’ve never struggled with writer’s block. I always have ideas and can’t wait to get back to wherever I left my characters at the end of my last writing session.
IB: What comes first for you – plot or characters?
SP: Characters come first for me. I write a series, so it’s the same main characters in each installment, and I craft new and interesting plots for them to follow. The plots are also dependent on the characters. My main character is a lawyer. He has a case to solve and a client to represent. You won’t see him flying into space to fight aliens or discovering an ancient book of magic.
IB: Which of your books is your favorite? Why?
SP: I would say my favorite book (so far!) is Burden of Proof. It’s the first in my Rain City Legal Thriller Series and introduces my main characters, attorney Dan Raine and his companion Rebecca Sommers. I really like the flow of that book and the way the two of them get to know and learn to trust each other.
IB: How would you describe your ideal reader?
SP: My ideal reader is someone who wants to be entertained and surprised, and maybe learn a few things along the way. I want my reader to feel like they’re on a journey with me and my characters. I want them to feel like they’re right there in the courtroom for the closing argument or in the back alley for the fist fight.
IB: What are you doing when you aren’t writing?
SP: I still practice law, so I spend time doing that job. I also have a family and love spending time with them. Outside of that and writing, I enjoy painting and spending time relaxing in nature.
IB: What does your writing space look like?
SP: My writing space is wherever I can open my laptop: my couch, my desk, even the front seat of my car. I have some spaces that I find more comfortable than others, but when the opportunity and mood to write finally coincide, I will take any space that affords me the ability to lay down some words and pull my characters to the next leg of their adventure.
IB: Have you ever traveled to research for a book?
SP: Not really. Most of my books are set in the Seattle area where I’ve lived most of my adult life. The locations are ones I already know and think would make an interesting setting for a scene. I may venture out to see how things have changed since the last time I was there, but I’ve seen a lot of the city and enjoy putting my favorite parts into my books.
IB: How do you come up with names for your characters?
SP: I usually try a few on for size until I get one that seems to fit the nature of the character. I don’t write fantasy, so I don’t need to come up with original names or elaborate naming conventions. I do try to avoid having too many characters whose names start with the same letter. That can be confusing for some readers (including me!) so I try to avoid that.
IB: What was your favorite childhood book?
SP: I really enjoyed the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. I recall one called Vampire Express because I’ve always preferred werewolves to vampires, so after I read that book, I wrote my own werewolf Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story.
IB: Have you ever abandoned a book you were writing? How did you know it was the right thing to do?
SP: I’ve never abandoned a book once I started writing it, but I have a few that I’ve outlined and haven’t gotten back to yet. I’m looking forward to writing those someday, but I can only write so fast and right now I’m really focused on my Rain City series.
IB: Do you have any tips for first-time authors?
SP: It might be cliché, but being a professional author is a marathon, not a sprint. I wrote my first novel in 2000. Now I have 31 published novels, along with several short stories and other works. I follow the advice that the best marketing for a book is another book. I love getting reviews that say they’ve just discovered one of my books and are going to look for others. Building a backlist takes time. That’s okay. Get started and keep writing.
IB: How do you approach your genre in a unique way?
SP: With almost 30 years’ experience as a trial attorney, I think I bring an authenticity to my stories that not all similar novels have. I make sure that the legal problems my characters face are realistic and the rules and laws they have to navigate are accurate. I also like to spend time not just on the law, but on how the characters feel about larger issues like justice and fairness in a system that doesn’t always seem to attain those goals. All that and a twist at the end!
IB: How do you manage the “whodunit” aspects of your story as far as clues and revelations? Do you outline?
SP: I outline heavily. Before I start writing, I will have a detailed outline of what happens in every chapter. Some things will change as I write the story, of course, but I always know what’s coming. I also write from beginning to end. I don’t jump around and write scenes out of order. That allows me both to plant clues early in the story and to make satisfying call-backs to things that happened earlier in the story. I know what the twist at the end will be and I write toward that.
IB: What’s one thing you wish your readers knew about you?
SP: I hope my readers know that I really appreciate their support and am so grateful whenever I hear they’ve enjoyed one of my stories. I’m very fortunate to be able to be a professional writer and I know that wouldn’t be possible without my readers.
IB: Which do you enjoy writing more: dialogue or internal thoughts?
SP: I really enjoy writing dialogue. Dialogue can reveal those internal thoughts, and I love to play with the give and take of a clever conversation. I think good dialogue can really drive a story and reveal the deeper aspects of the characters’ personalities.
Thanks to Stephen Penner for sitting down with us today.
Want to read Stephen’s books? Check out his titles on Amazon.
You can find him at the following places:
Website: www.stephenpenner.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStephenPenner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenpenner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenpenner_author/
