Interview With the Geek Girl: Interview: Author Val Tobin

Q: So, tell the readers a bit about you.

A: I’m addicted to reading and have always had a compulsion to write. I especially wanted to publish my fiction, but denied that urge for a long time. I was a software/web developer for ten years, I got my Reiki Master/Teacher certifications, I studied the paranormal—I’ve always had a love of anything strange and otherwordly. That has crept into my writing.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Parapsychic Science and am currently working on a masters in parapsychology. I’m also working on the sequel to The Experiencers, which should be available in November 2014.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for your book, The Experiencers? How did you come up with the name of it?

A: The idea came to me while I was out walking—something I do almost every day. I was thinking about sky watches I’d attended with the UFO group to which we belong. Sky watches are just what the name implies: you sit outside and watch the sky for unusual activity. Typically, you have a video camera recording it, just in case.

I started asking “what if” questions. What if a UFO group having a sky watch actually has an encounter with an alien craft and manages to get evidence of ET visitation? What if a conspiracy really exists and the covert agency colluding with the aliens knows this group has discovered the truth?

Images of some scenes popped into my head: a group of people sitting outside, chatting, when a spacecraft appears; a woman’s body lying in an alley; a man dropping dead on a loading dock; a woman in her bedroom confronting an intruder who wants to kidnap her; during the struggle, the woman’s daughter walks in the door, forcing the woman to bargain with the kidnapper for the safety of her child.

I’ve used most of those scenes in the novel, though they’re not exactly as I saw them.

The name of the novel took a while to figure out. I originally had a working title of Unidentified, which I didn’t like. It was just something to name the file. After batting around some other possibilities, I settled on The Experiencers, which is a term that some people use to refer to those who’ve had encounters with extraterrestrials. I believe the one to have originally used the term is Dr. John Mack.

There is some controversy associated with the term, though. Some who have had abduction experiences argue that they don’t want to tone down the impact this kind of experience has on them. They want to use the term “abductee,” because they feel it describes what’s happening to them more accurately. They see the term “experiencers” as a euphemism.

Q: What is your favourite colour? (This must be read in a British accent a-la Monty Python)

A: Yellow

Q: Do you have any special rituals or quirks when writing? Special foods or drinks? Troll doll on the desk/Etc.

A: I have a pendulum close by, which I consult sometimes while I write.

For food, I have my Isagenix snack foods close at hand, and for drinks, my bottle of water and my box of t+ Chai from Isagenix. I drink herbal teas when I’m writing.

Q: What was the easiest part about writing The Experiencers?

A: Once I knew what I wanted a scene to be about, the writing flowed. It felt sometimes like it was being channeled. I knew the whole story arc before I started writing.

Q: What was the hardest part?

A: The hardest part was all the stuff that isn’t part of the writing process, like putting the manuscript into e-book format and getting an EIN from the IRS and all those other things that drag me away from doing what I love most, which is writing.

Q: Do you like bacon?

A: Yes, but I don’t eat it often.

Q: How long have you been writing, or wanting to write and when did you actually write your first story?

A: I’ve been writing since I was six, but kept my fiction hidden and unfinished. I wrote technical articles for Community MX when Macromedia still existed and then wrote some stuff for Suite 101. I also contributed a story (non-fiction) to Doreen Virtue and Grant Virtue’s book Angel Words.

Q: Do you have a favourite character from your book/books? If so, who and why?

A: I guess my favourite character is Michael Valiant, because he’s not your typical hero. He starts off as more of an anti-hero. He’s a killer. I am fascinated by the idea that someone might do horrible things, but still have a good heart. I explored this in the novel.

Q: Are you working on anything else right now? If so, can you tell us anything about it?

A: I’m working on the sequel to The Experiencers. The working title is In the Valley of the Headless Men, but I know that will change. It follows Carolyn to the Agency, and takes Michael to Nahanni and back.

Nahanni is in the Northwest Territories, and legends refer to it as “The Valley of the Headless Men.”

Legends say that a tribe of Aboriginals disappeared from that valley, which is actually called Deadmen Valley. Prospectors’ bodies with the heads missing were found there, and that’s when people started calling it The Valley of the Headless Men. I thought it would be the perfect location for an alien base, so I incorporated it into the novel.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers of this interview? (This is a great place to put your links!)

A: The Experiencers can be found on Smashwords and Amazon. A paperback edition is also available.

My website: http://www.serenitynowgifts.com/

My FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/valtobinauthor?ref=bookmarks

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/416221

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KBYG53Q

Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00KBYG53Q

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KBYG53Q

Paperback edition on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Experiencers-Valiant-Chronicles-Volume/dp/0992093317

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