Ask the Author: Derek Milman
Answered Questions (15)
Derek Milman
Sometimes I had to seek out books on my own, since I wasn't always being inspired by what we were reading in school. Some stuff that rocked my world at a young age:
1. Giovanni's Room - Baldwin
2. Pale Fire - Nabokov
3. Invisible Man - Ellison
4. Song of Solomon - Morrison
5. The Accidental Tourist - Tyler
6. A Farewell to Arms - Hemingway
7. The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky
8. And Then There Were None - Christie
9. It/Misery - King
10. Andromeda Strain/Travels/Sphere/Jurassic Park - Crichton
1. Giovanni's Room - Baldwin
2. Pale Fire - Nabokov
3. Invisible Man - Ellison
4. Song of Solomon - Morrison
5. The Accidental Tourist - Tyler
6. A Farewell to Arms - Hemingway
7. The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky
8. And Then There Were None - Christie
9. It/Misery - King
10. Andromeda Strain/Travels/Sphere/Jurassic Park - Crichton
Derek Milman
the strange air-raid type sirens I hear in my Brooklyn neighborhood every Friday at around 4 pm
Derek Milman
I had long been a fan of Hitchcock and 'North by Northwest' in particular. I kept seeing, in my head, some sort of updated 21st century version of this idea, with Hitchcockian parallels and locales: a guy who's in the wrong place at the wrong time, who gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity.
I wanted a queer kid to be the hero, but not some muscled toned jock superstar, but an ordinary kid, somewhat self-destructive, with a real broken past, who has a lot to overcome. There were many elements in my head that had to sort of coalesce, which they did, on the page, slowly, driven by the individual characterizations. Also, I've always been interested in the underbelly of American suburbia - what's really going on behind those well-trimmed hedges??
I liked the idea of moral gray areas, where hero and villain meet in a misty interzone of shady ethics and questionable practices. The original film is so influential, and such a genre bender, and I wanted the book to be fun, but also filled with humor, and have lots of layers that get unexpectedly stripped away revealing a tender and palpable emotional core. It started as a single sentence of an idea, in my head, like all my books do. My agent loved my idea and convinced me to write the book.
I wanted a queer kid to be the hero, but not some muscled toned jock superstar, but an ordinary kid, somewhat self-destructive, with a real broken past, who has a lot to overcome. There were many elements in my head that had to sort of coalesce, which they did, on the page, slowly, driven by the individual characterizations. Also, I've always been interested in the underbelly of American suburbia - what's really going on behind those well-trimmed hedges??
I liked the idea of moral gray areas, where hero and villain meet in a misty interzone of shady ethics and questionable practices. The original film is so influential, and such a genre bender, and I wanted the book to be fun, but also filled with humor, and have lots of layers that get unexpectedly stripped away revealing a tender and palpable emotional core. It started as a single sentence of an idea, in my head, like all my books do. My agent loved my idea and convinced me to write the book.
Derek Milman
I really want to go to Ready Player One's OASIS and play all day and all night.
Derek Milman
If you have a list of films that have inspired you, find their screenplays, and read them. If you want to write fiction, read widely within your genre, stay true to your voice and your vision, but find a critique partner (or group) who can give you objective early feedback about your work and your progress. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck! -D
Derek Milman
Hi Namrata, thank you so much! I would say the novel veers more into suspense/thriller territory, but there are definite moments of terror given some of the situations Aidan finds himself in!
Derek Milman
Ah yeah, thank you so much Ressa. Tom Whalen was the artist and Jessie Gang was the designer! They did BRILLIANT work.
Derek Milman
The empty wooden house, smelling of rot and fermented licorice, was littered with brown-stained bandages, in piles on the cracked floorboards. Through the grimy, broken windows, she could see their un-bandaged, desiccated bodies high up in the trees, tangled in the branches, dead amber eyes staring in at her, waiting.
Derek Milman
Hillbilly Elegy, The Haters, Sapiens, All The Light We Cannot See, The Night Ocean.
Derek Milman
I can sit in a cafe, squeeze my eyes shut, and force myself to scribble down a bunch of crazy ideas. The one that seems the most viable a few days (or weeks later) is the one that gets my personal green light.
Scream All Night is partly inspired by Hammer horror films from the '50s. At one point Hammer moved into Bray Studios, which was basically a big house in the English countryside (where they shot Rocky Horror). They filmed these gothic creature features there, using every angle in every room, before they decamped. I figured there was a book somewhere in this..
Scream All Night is partly inspired by Hammer horror films from the '50s. At one point Hammer moved into Bray Studios, which was basically a big house in the English countryside (where they shot Rocky Horror). They filmed these gothic creature features there, using every angle in every room, before they decamped. I figured there was a book somewhere in this..
Derek Milman
Listening to people, and their own stories. Every person you meet is a walking book. Reading. Looking at art.
Derek Milman
Revising a new YA manuscript! This one is a Hitchcockian suspense/thriller. I'm really excited about it!
Derek Milman
Stop aspiring! Just do it! Write every day. Read as much as you can. Every other writer was where you are right now at one point in their life.
Derek Milman
I love looking at the world and having things inspire me that can be added to a book. In that light, everything glows with a certain potential. I love building characterizations, and delving into psychologies. I love when my own characters surprise me. The creative process in general is really just a precious, mysterious, magical thing.
And It's a great thing to tell people at dinner parties, when people ask what you do. Everyone's always like: "oh, reaaallly?"
And It's a great thing to tell people at dinner parties, when people ask what you do. Everyone's always like: "oh, reaaallly?"
Derek Milman
It's not so much of a problem for me. If I'm struggling in any way it means whatever I'm writing isn't working and I usually just cut it and start over. And then I take a long walk.
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