On Wednesday, November 12, 6 authors will gather at Indy Reads Books as part of The Downtown Writers Jam, Vol. 2 hosted by The Geeky Press. We’re currently curating those authors, and taking recommendations from friends, colleagues, and other people involved in the Indiana writing scene. Don’t wait to be nominated, though. You can submit your work for consideration.
Meanwhile, we wanted to introduce you to our second brave soul: Trey Dowell.
Trey Dowell
A former girlfriend of mine read the first short story I ever wrote, and being a good girlfriend, dutifully said “this is pretty good.”
A few weeks later, she told me about a 24-hour short story contest she found on the web, one in which 500 entrants received a topic via email, then had one full day to write and submit a story. I figured, “why not?”, entered the contest, and to my utter shock, won first place. From there, a passion for writing followed. The girlfriend did not. 😉
You can find him on Facebook or over at Simon & Shuster’s author page.
At The Downtown Writers Jam, Vol. 2
What’s the name of the piece from which your DWJ story comes? The Protectors.
What was the question or idea that sparked that original piece? I was listening to a song called “Miss Murder” which had lyrics about a man begging for a woman to take his life because he was so smitten with her. It started me thinking “What kind of power could a woman possess that would make her SO desirable that men would give her anything, including their own lives?” Then I thought “What type of man would be able to handle a woman so powerful?” In about 30 minutes of driving, I had the first 75 pages plotted out in my head.
Where can people find or buy your work? You can — and should — buy his books.
What should the audience expect from your storytelling at the Downtown Writers Jam? I try to write humorous, REAL dialogue…the kind you’d experience in your everyday life (so long as everyone around you was about 15% more interesting and witty.) I also strive for great action set-pieces, and really attempt to deliver four of five moments per story where a reader thinks “Holy crap, this next scene is gonna be COOL,” and can’t WAIT to turn the page.
Get to Reading
Best book or long-form writing we should read, but probably haven’t? And why? The Protectors is my first novel, so I heartily recommend that. But if anyone who enjoys short fiction should try “Ballistic”, my debut crime/suspense short story which was a finalist for the Derringer Award in 2011. It has the fast-paced, breathless action I’m known for, and a gritty noir feel that I’m proud of.
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