Getting to know author Rian Torr

Today I met Rian Torr, author of New London Masquerade. Not only is Rian a published author, but he is also an established painter and songwriter. This is a man of many incredible talents. His art has recently won awards for Best Use of the Medium and Best Religious.

Please tell me about your novel. Who or what was your inspiration behind it?

I call New London Masquerade an Alien Invasion Supernatural Horror Love Epic. A group of kids are cursed to become their Halloween costumes (mummy, wulf, zombie & dragun), then as young adults they are hunted down by the man who cursed them--all while the Devilbilly-Ichen goatling aliens begin their invasion.

What are some of your favorite genres to read and to write?

 I studied English at uni, so I can appreciate all genres. I would rather read a good novel in a dry genre than a bad one in a hot one.

When you sit down to write, do you do it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper or do you use a computer? Do you prefer one way or the other?

I am 36, so I started with pen and paper and grew into computers. I no longer use the pen, except for song-writing, because my hand cannot move fast enough. Back in the day, the hand was plenty fast, because the words were not.

What do you do when you are not writing? Do you pick up some from your to be read pile?

I don't actually read regularly anymore. I switched from reading to writing. Looking back, I realize I mainly got into reading in order to learn how to write. It was that and a way to escape reality. I can still escape reality through writing, however, so now that I'm ready, all that's left is to write.

Compared to when you first started writing, have you notice any big changes in your writing style or how you write compared from then to now? 

Yes, major changes. From the speed, to the congruence, to the flow, to the immediate action, extended dialogue, shorter paragraphs--more dashes--swifter pace. Everything gets easier and more suited to your style the longer you write. I used to try to write from the end backward, then later from the beginning on--but now it's more all at once, during the loose outlining phase--then from beginning to end in one pass quick pass.

What has been your favorite part of being an author? What has been your least favorite?

Fav part is the creative catharsis. Least is the time away from friends.

Besides writing and reading, what is your most favorite thing to do?

Bicycling, painting--time with cats--health info--ancient alien docs--politics.

Did you have any teacher in school that encouraged you to write? Did you take their advice? 

Yes, Mr. Davis encouraged my novel writing. He graded me high and advised me to submit to publishers.

We all have our little things when it comes to reading, is there anything that bugs you when you read a novel? What is it?

 I find that when I do try to force myself to read, I cannot make it past a paragraph without seeing something I would not do--in fiction at least. In non-fiction I'm only there for the facts so I overlook bad style. In stories, I want to be hooked by both the words and what they conjure.

What do you listen to when you write? Do you find one type of music over another that inspires you to write? Why?

I like binaural beats or anything without words. The words interfere. I only listen to music with words when I'm not writing.

Book Synopsis:

 When Gavin Callow moved to New London to take care of his grandson Devin Drake, after the boy’s folk perished in a fated plane crash one Halloween Eve--he never would have guessed where his growing suspicions would lead him--and what his secret black arts would soon unleash. He would spend the rest of his days hunting down the monsters of his own conjuring--in a desperate effort to redeem his soul before the end times were over. Meanwhile, the Devilbilly Motherships began arriving--and all of Earth faced a long, dark reckoning. So the first wave of the Ichen Invasion began ...

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