Behind the Screams #8: Tonya Walter
A 'From Pitch to Published' Q&A
Former ghostwriter of Child Safety pamphlets and Pagan Witchcraft guidebooks, US indie writer Tonya Walter has recently published her first novella through Unnerving Books. Already intrigued? Tonya answers 12 questions about the story behind her novella, Intro to Chaos…
Pitch me Intro to Chaos in one sentence.
Chaos can see the dead and has spent some time in purgatory herself, but when she gets waylaid in a literal ghost town full of angry spirits trapped in a violent past, nothing she’s experienced prepares her for the hell about to break loose.
What came first, the idea or the title?
Intro to Chaos is a mix of three different stories I’d had bouncing around in my head for several years. When I finally sat down to write the thing, I came up with a main character who had the abilities needed to tell the tale. I honestly can’t remember if her name inspired the title or the other way around, but the idea definitely came first.
Where did the idea originate from?
The real inspiration for Intro to Chaos was a town I lived in for a while during high school. I’d wanted to turn this town into a horror story for years, because it was such fertile ground for it, but never found the right narrative. I finally decided to pillage from a few other ideas I had. I basically created a story simply to illustrate how creepy I found this place, and the story dictated the characters. I needed someone to see the pack of feral dogs, and I needed a context in which a pack of feral dogs made sense. I couldn’t just list off all the wild things that happened there because, as surreal as it all was, it didn’t make a story. I pulled very little from the town’s actual history, but I think the stories I used conveyed the essence of the place.
How long did it take to write?
Editing took a while, but I got the story out in a week. Pieces of it had been brewing in my head for years but once I gave those ideas a home, they just kind of fell into place.
Are you a plotter or pantser?
Generally, I’m a pantser. I love diving into the middle of an idea and discovering different facets of it as I go. Chaos was definitely my most “plotted” project. I used Scrivener for the first time and loved the corkboard feature, which allowed me to shuffle around all my preestablished elements.
Paper or screen?
I go back and forth. I tend to need pen and paper for dialogue heavy scenes. If a story gets at all emotional, I’ll leave the laptop and grab a notebook. I feel like I use a different part of my brain when I’m on a computer. I can’t explain this, but it’s been working for me.
Edit as you go or at the end?
I edit as I go. I had a mentor years ago who told me to just get the story out and “fix it in post.” I try, but I can’t seem to barrel forward until I get the previous scene up to a certain standard. It doesn’t have to be perfect (it never is) but I have to get things lined up just right before I can jump back into the flow, if that makes sense.
Do you beta?
I was lucky enough to have two non-writer friends beta read for me. I don’t usually have that luxury, but the timing worked out and they gave me some great feedback. Chaos is the fastest-paced story I’ve done, and I had to know if it was coherent before I sent it out anywhere. I couldn’t have had better eyes on it, either. They are two of the most honest people I know, which is what I needed. The fact that they liked the book was a huge confidence boost, because I knew they would be the ones to tell me if it sucked. Most of the time I’m flying blind, and I can’t tell if I’ve hit my mark until I sell something, or get lucky and find an editor with enough time to provide feedback on a rejection.
How did you approach your publisher?
Unnerving Books just happened to be open for novella submissions when I finished Intro to Chaos and I sent him (Eddie Generous) the pitch.
Who designed the cover art?
Eddie Generous does all the cover designs for Unnerving himself, which I find damned impressive.
How many times was the book rejected?
Unnerving Books was the first shot I took, and he accepted it. I’ve had stories and novellas I’ve been shopping around for years, so I this was pleasantly surprising, to say the least.
Recommend another indie writer who doesn’t get enough love.
How do I pick just one!! One of my first published stories was in Lamplight Magazine, and in my author copy I discovered Die Booth, who had a creepy story about a cursed bottle of wine. I read their collection, Making Friends (and Other Fictions,) which reads like a bunch of eerie, half-remembered dreams, and I think everyone should check it out. I have to mention S.H. Cooper, also, who hooked me with Inheriting Her Ghosts, because I am a sucker for gothic stories. Each of her novellas are so different from one other. I admire that, I think because I so often get stuck in a vibe.
Intro to Chaos is available now on kindle. To follow Tonya on socials, search for Pterodactyl Weather.