Indie Publishing Group Author Interview with Canadian Author Gabriel Tait
Welcome to Indie Publishing Group, Canadian Author Gabriel Tait, and welcome to our author interviews! If you could start by introducing yourself to everyone, tell them where you’re from and share a few of your interests and hobbies.
I’m Canadian Author Gabriel Tait, based in Toronto. I began writing fiction at fifty, after carrying the idea for Meeks since my early twenties. Reading is the main thing I enjoy outside writing. I’m in the library once a week, and I both buy and borrow books. I’m currently rereading Underworld by Don DeLillo.
What inspired you to start writing?
The original idea for Meeks came to me in my early twenties. It wasn’t very well developed, but I thought it was solid. Since I wasn’t a writer, I used to offer it to friends who were writing or starting out in filmmaking. None of them took me up on it. That’s where the whole Ranleigh Meeks story began, although I had no idea then who Ranleigh Meeks was. I’ve basically been expanding on that idea ever since.
What genre do you prefer to write in?
That’s a complicated question. Meeks is a psychological thriller. I like the genre, and some of Stephen King’s work helped inspire me. But I very deliberately changed genres for The Ranleigh Tapes, and my upcoming book, Echo, will take another left turn. I’m complicated to market because I don’t like repeating the same thing over and over again.
What is your writing process?
I need silence. I never listen to music while I write because I’m fully immersed in the world I’m creating. I also write the entire rough first draft before I begin fixing it. When the writing is flowing, I can forget to eat.
I write linearly, so if I get stuck, I end the chapter there and move to the next scene. I don’t try to arm-wrestle myself through the resistance.
Who are some of your favourite authors?
Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth and Jack Kerouac are a few of my favourites. King influenced me to tell the story straight, without a lot of flourish. McCarthy’s directness has influenced me too. All four are writers with unmistakable voices, and that matters to me.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on the final installment of the Meeks trilogy. The third book is titled Echo and is slated for release in late 2027.
How do you handle a bad review?
It’s a bit of the Wild West out there. If feedback is constructive, I’ll consider it. But I think there’s a difference between assessing a book’s merits and saying it wasn’t to your taste.
The example I use is Eddie Van Halen. If you don’t like heavy metal, that’s fine, but giving him one out of five as a guitarist because you dislike the music seems odd. Your taste doesn’t erase his ability.
I’ve seen reviews of widely admired novels that seem to come down to the reader not liking the book or not connecting with it. That’s their experience, but it doesn’t necessarily tell me much about the quality of the writing. I take bad reviews with a pinch of salt and consider the source. They don’t particularly bother me, although I’m willing to listen when someone has something useful to say.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do an author interview. Take a minute and check out Canadian Author Gabriel Tait using the links below:
Canadian Author Gabriel Tait Author Website
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