Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a writer and musician, living in Nacogdoches, Texas, which is between my two favorite places: Austin and New Orleans. I’ve written five novels, including three in the Dutch Curridge series. I was named one of the Top Five Texas Authors of 2014 for Spirit Trap, the third book in the series. It follows a Fort Worth detective in the mid to late 1950s and is set against the social and racial changes that were taking place, as well as the thriving live music scene that was so much a part of the town. Add in colorful places like downtown’s Hell’s Half Acre and the Jacksboro Highway, and, as a writer, there’s a lot to work with.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book CONSTELLATIONS came out in April of this year. Several things came together to inspire it. The small riverboat towns which flourished around East Texas in the early part of the twentieth century and then disappeared when the railroad came. Slave narratives and Civil War histories. My enduring fascination with early blues music and southern music of the early twentieth century in general. And, last but not least, a very intriguing and bizarre Rolling Stone interview with Bob Dylan, in which he dug into the idea of transfiguration, what it means and how it might work.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I’m working on a specific project, I try to create an environment that I can submerge myself in. I do a great deal of research, because most of my books are period pieces. By the time I’m actually writing, I probably have a corresponding music playlist that I’m listening to, and, if I’m reading or watching anything, that probably ties into it as well. Other than that, I have two kids, so I usually just look for time where they’re either occupied elsewhere or asleep.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The list is long, but I’ll name the two authors who had the greatest influence. Flannery O’Connor, whose poetic prose captivated me and showed me a world that was both strange and familiar to me. I read all of her work in my teenage years, and her influence remains all these years later.
Second of all, Joe Lansdale. My dad started gave me one or two of Joe’s books when I was a young adult, and, when I found out he lived in the same town as me, it focused my attention really quick that someone in Nacogdoches could not only write but write well and make a good living at it.
Years later, I’m good friends with Joe, and he continues to write, continues to inspire me and just keeps getting better at what he does. I can only hope I’m doing the same.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on two different novels, and I have a couple more tossing around in the back of my mind. First is a project I’ve been researching and working on for quite a while. It’s a story about a young Texas man who goes to the Philippines to serve in World War II, and it’s called Reconciliation. The second is a mystery set in Texarkana, Texas, which I believe might be the beginning of another book series. I also have a fourth Dutch Curridge book that I’m really looking forward to. I’ve got enough to keep me out of trouble, if I can just manage the time to complete them all.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve always been a better writer than I am a promoter, so I’m still feeling my way through that side of things. I do have a fan Facebook page and a Twitter account. I also have a author website (thetimbryant.com) as well as a blog (tim-blog.com), but beyond those things, I just continually experiment, looking for the sites that fit and get what I’m doing and also know how to find the readers who do.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Advice for new writers: 1.) Write and write often. There are a lot of people who talk about writing. If you follow through, you’re already ahead of half of the pack. 2.) Don’t write for markets. Write what you would like to read.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Joe Lansdale told me several years ago: Write like everybody you know is dead.
What are you reading now?
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem and a stack of Pacific World War II history books.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep doing what I’m doing and work harder to get my name and my books out to readers.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s such a hard question, and it would likely change from day to day. I’m sure I’ll forget something important, but, right now, it would probably be:
1. Paradise Sky by Joe Lansdale (his newest, and I’m dying to read it.)
2. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories, by Flannery O’Connor
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
4. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
That leaves off too many others like Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver. Can I please bring six?
Author Websites and Profiles
Tim Bryant Website
Tim Bryant Amazon Profile
Tim Bryant’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account