Wayne Turmel
I’m a Canadian,
Living in Las Vegas
Good morning, Wayne, and welcome to Vision and Verse. Can you tell us what you've written?
I’ve written 15 books, most are in the business/leadership space, but I’ve also written 4 novels, with a fifth out in December. The latest is an Urban Fantasy Detective Thriller called Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk.
What is your favorite genre to write?
My first novels were historical fiction, and I love doing the research and putting my brain in another time and place. With Urban Fantasy, I can really cut loose and have more humor in the story and make the dialog more modern and amusing. Plus, since Johnny Lycan is written in First Person, I get to pretend to be a werewolf all day, which is very cool.
Favorite food.
Chicken wings. There’s something primal about tearing meat off a bone. By the way, boneless chicken wings are an abomination. They are just Chicken Nuggets for people who drink beer.
Tea or coffee? Both, but the sacred bean juice is what keeps me going most days.
Pizza or ice cream?
What kind of Sophie’s Choice nightmare do we live in that we must make that decision? Ice cream, though. It’s nature’s perfect food.
Wine or beer or soda or what?
Soda during the day, Beer at night I suppose. Only soda or coffee when I’m writing though, Hemingway be darned.
Where would you like to visit?
I want to spend some real time in Brazil. The music, the people, that cute accent where they say “jhush” a lot…..
Favorite musical artist.
This is sooooo hard. Nobody told me there would be a quiz. I suppose if I
have to pick one, BB King?
Do you listen to music when you write? What?
Surprisingly, as I get older I don’t listen to music as much as I did when
I was younger. When I am drafting and plotting, I listen to folk/singer songwriters like Steve Earle and John Hiatt. When writing if I do have
music on it’s classical with no lyrics.
What makes you laugh?
I was a professional comedian for 18 years, and find humor almost everywhere. Mostly what makes me laugh is how people respond (often inappropriately) to stressful situations. I don’t like cringe comedy like Borat where people are set up to look like idiots.
Favorite work of art or sculpture.
I’m not a real visual-arts kind of guy, but Edward Hopper’s work feels so cinematic, there’s a noir edginess to it and it’s almost always sad. Nighthawks at a Diner is a bit trite, but it’s a kick in the pants always.
How old were you when you started writing?
I have always written, my whole life. In my late teens and twenties, it was material for my comedy act. Then I turned to screenplays. When I left show business I started writing nonfiction as part of my day job, but when I turned 50, I decided I would never be a “real writer,” until I wrote a novel and put out The Count of the Sahara.
Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?
I create a rough outline at the beginning of the book (where to start, key plot points, where it ends up) then roughly outline/doodle in a spiral notebook 3 chapters at a time. That gives me a track to run on but plenty of chances to indulge new ideas when my characters get all feral and try to take me places I didn’t plan.
Describe your perfect evening.
Dinner out with my wife, somewhere delicious but not too fancy. A cocktail or two, and maybe some live music. Then finish the evening sitting on the deck. And in bed before midnight. I’m an early bird. And old.
Where do you get your inspiration? Living in Las Vegas, there are about 5 stories an hour that come to mind. I see someone and immediately try to imagine a backstory for them or hear snippets of conversation and start to fill in the blanks. That’s why I don’t walk with headphones on. I like to hear things unexpectedly.
The most important tool a writer has is the ability to ask, “what if?” Johnny Lycan came from asking, what would a werewolf do for a living? What if he was a detective? How would that change things….. et voila.
What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I find I can’t beat writers block by sheer brute force. I need to think about things and noodle them in my head before trying to get them on the page. The most useful thing I do is sit on the deck with a cigar and an old-fashioned spiral notebook and just brainstorm. Nobody can make heads or tails of my scratchings, but they all come together to make sense and move my story forward.
Who is your favorite author?
I’m bibliographically promiscuous (which means I’m a book slut) and read across a lot of different genres, so picking a favorite depends on what genre I’m reading and what kind of mood I’m in. My favorite literary author at the moment is Mark Helprin (A Winter’s Tale, Paris in the Present Tense.) His prose is so beautiful he makes me want to quit writing and slink away in shame. Hunter S Thompson corrupted me early.
Best book you ever read.
I have read The Three Musketeers probably 20 times. It’s my favorite book (Adventure! Swords! Buckles being swashed!) Now, is it the BEST book I ever read? Who cares?
Last book you read.
Just finished Fonda Lee’s Jade Legacy, the conclusion of her Green Bone Saga. Think The Godfather, in Asia, with Kung Fu and a little Magic thrown in. I’m super impressed that she pulled that off.
What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
Wow that question supposes I could make a living writing. Someone once asked what I’d do if I won the lottery, I said I’d keep writing novels until the money was gone….
I would love to be a history professor at some little college somewhere and have young people have to listen to me rattle on.
Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
Dear lord, how is a guy supposed to answer that? The obvious answer is my mother, who was both a hard-ass Baptist Sunday school teacher, and the person who taught me to always be curious. Most importantly, she never told me to stop asking, “Why?” even when it drives everyone else crazy.
If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
I have an intense fascination with Sir Richard Francis Burton, who was an explorer, linguist, fencing and weapons expert, and pornographer. He’d probably be a real a—hole in real life, but for one night it would be worth it to watch that brain in action.
What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
I am completely convinced it’s difficult to be a good writer if you don’t hang with/talk to/read other writers. Join a book club. Join a writer’s group, even if it’s just online (although drinking with other authors in person is WAY more fun). They will turn you onto things you’d never otherwise read, expose you to genres outside your own, and kick your butt when needed.
Do you have some links for us to follow you?
Linktree https://linktr.ee/Wturmel
My Website www.WayneTurmel.com
My Amazon author page https://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Turmel/e/B00J5PGNWU/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Wturmel
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wayne.turmel/
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