Author Interview — Kyle Toucher
Kyle Toucher — horror writer, ex front man for Dr. Know and an Emmy-winning visual effects artist.
1. Tell us about you and your writing, be it novels, screenplays, or non-fiction. Do you have a book coming out or already released?
My name is Kyle Toucher. I’m likely best known as the front man/songwriter for the band Dr. Know. After that, I’d think my twenty-plus year career in Visual Effects, which spans from Star Trek: Voyager, to Firefly, Battlestar: Galactica, and Top Gun: Maverick just to name a few. These days, I’m writing fiction, largely in the horror realm. My novel Live Wire was released on April 14, by the good folks at Crystal Lake Publishing.
Live Wire is a high-octane, full-throttle horror novel. Not only does it contain action on a massive scale, but it also drills deep into the psyche of our characters as a malevolent force, summoned from the very fabric of creation, escapes its captors―then flees into the power grid. Soon, miles upon miles of hundred-foot electrical towers, those steel giants everyone has seen winding through the landscape, become animated beneath a colossal, cyclonic storm. In tandem arrives The Signal, a dissonant machine language, an intrusive frequency that bores into the emotional fabric of those unfortunate enough to be swayed by it. Surviving the marauding giants is terrible enough, but the danger and bloodletting are compounded when the most sensitive frayed ends of guilt and shame are exposed.
If pressed into an elevator pitch, I’d say it’s the closest you can get to Stephen King and Michael Crichton on an afternoon bender, planning epic atrocities together.
Live Wire is a wide-spectrum read that burns hot and bleeds red. Black Magic meets Big Tech. What could go wrong?
2. What is the first book that hit you emotionally?
That’s a tough one. I was very young when I read The Exorcist, and that stuck with me. I didn’t know books could do that. I’d read The Amityville Horror before that, I believe. When you’re that young, things tend to leave a mark. The Andromeda Strain, also read when very young, made an imprint.
For pure emotional punch? Kind really nailed the emotional waters of adolescence in many books, but he really hit the nail on the head with It. The segment in Dan Simmons’s Hyperion where Sol Weintraub has to deal with his daughter aging in reverse is absolutely heart-wrenching.
3. What is your writing Kryptonite?
Work, distractions, typos, and prepositional phrases.
4. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
I have. I’ve gone months without looking at anyone else’s work but my own. Not the best idea.
5. Do you write under your real name or a pseudonym? What do you think are the benefits and disadvantages of using a pseudonym?
Real name. I suppose the pen name is a shield for some. Never occurred to me, though.
6. What would it be if you could tell your younger writing self, anything?
Never stop. No gaps. Hendrix said, “Keep pushing ahead.” He was right.
7. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
A good chair. Good cigars. Solid state backup drives. Blanton’s bourbon.
8. How do you maximize your writing time?
I just hope I fall into The Zone. When I do, keep at it until the spell breaks.
9. What are three things you must have in your writing space to stay focused?
Quiet. I don’t blast music anymore when I write. When the weather’s nice I move operations outside, which, of course, lends itself to cigars and pipe tobacco. I like to have one or more of the cats around, too.
10. Do you normally think of the plot first or the characters first? Can you describe the process?
Actually, it varies and I never really outline. It’s the second and third edit pass where I narrow the focus. Live Wire, however, was a bit different as it grew from a short story I wrote in my twenties, then rewrote in my early thirties. I had a template, and the novel that we see today is a fully realized, large-scale version of that story, written by someone who’s lived a lot longer since its inception. What that means is that my life experience since 1986 really helped focus the characterization and, I hope readers agree, the reality of the people snared in an utterly impossible set of conditions. But it does get straightened out and coherent before the first beta reader sees anything.
Life Returns, my novella released right before Live Wire, had the fortune of a Dr. Know song serving as its genesis, so the bare bones of the story were already there…all I did was wedge it into the larger fictional universe I’m building. The lyrics were written when I was 20. Novella at 60. There were certain details and twists that could not be crammed into a rip-roaring hardcore punk/metal tune.
I never know where inspiration will strike. Sometimes it appears while in a state of road-hypnosis stuck in traffic. Other times it’s a fragment of a sentence someone utters in conversation. It always finds a way to make itself known. I rarely write with any type of outline, which makes the rewrites arduous, but the fractal nature of the creation process is beautifully feral. Ride that bull as long as you’re able, I say, then buckle down and smooth it all out.
When I have a premise in my head, I start rambling with the idea. Characters walk in, and one or two eventually emerge as the frontrunners. Very short outings, such as Flash Fiction pieces, are a little more organized from the outset. A little.
11. How many hours a day do you write?
Variable. During the covid hysteria, all bloody day, and another session at night. When work is crazy, I try either before dawn or after 8 PM. Weekends when I can grab it.
12. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
Writing makes you better, not wishing.
13. Do you believe in writer’s block? How do you deal with it?
Oh, I’ve had shitty days. It is, however, a good opportunity to edit the piece up until the point where I petered out. That can get the embers glowing again.
Bonus Q 1: Do you think writers should write books according to what readers want, or according to what they are passionate about?
I presume in some situations, both. If you have a franchise that’s really connecting, for example, I’m sure that’s possible. Above all, do what you’re good at. When I find myself in that situation, I will let you know!
Bonus Q 2: What are the most common pitfalls for amateur writers? Or, what are some pitfalls you wish you could’ve avoided as a beginning writer?
Self-doubt. Defeatism. Chasing the Hot Thing. Instead, be you, and keep at it. Critics hated Black Sabbath, and look at their 48-year career. Keep pushing ahead.
Link time:
Twitter: @kyletoucher
Live Wire: http://getbook.at/Live_Wire
Life Returns: http://getbook.at/LifeReturns
https://www.amazon.com/author/kyle-toucher
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions.
Message from Lee Pletzers.
Hello, I’m doing a series of indie interviews to introduce writers that readers may never have discovered. Would you like to be interviewed by me? I have 13 questions plus 2 bonus questions for good measure. The interview will be posted on Medium and linked through social media platforms. I will also add any links and a few images you’d like. Let me know via DM on Twitter or in the comments here. Cheers.
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