Noel Zamot interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

Hello! My name is Noel Zamot, I am the author of “The Archer’s Thread,” a genre-bending thriller about redemption and sacrifice. 

When did your love of books begin?

In high school. Two books stood out: “Of Human Bondage,” by Somerset Maugham, the first time a book made me cry. The second, “Ficciones,” (Fictions) by Jorge Luis Borges. I had no idea anyone could ever write so perfectly about magical and impossible questions, somewhere between life and dreams. 

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I studied engineering, yet my favorite classes were writing. I took one writing course which I completely failed—I was trying to write what I thought someone else might like. I still have the manuscript, completely red with edits, unabashedly horrible. I enrolled in another class, led by a certain Joe Haldeman, winner of the Hugo Award and so much more. That was the first time I discovered flow while writing—. everything during that semester revolved around Professor Haldeman’s class. I learned that to have any hope of writing well, you must do so about things you are passionate about, the stuff you either desperately want to tell the world, or desperately want to hide.  To this day, my greatest writing achievement is being offered a spot to Joe Haldeman’s invitation-only writing seminar. I kept writing through a (first) career in the military, and restarted during a Congressional appointment in economic development. 

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Challenging, fulfilling, full of lessons. Writing was flow. Editing was much harder. Albert Camus said “A true masterpiece does not tell everything.” The hardest part of writing was taking things out that I was convinced were necessary, but weren’t. 

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Write about something that you are obsessed with, good or bad. Write about anything — about writing itself, about the ink gliding on the page, the sound of the keyboard, the storm inside your mind, whatever. Just start. In a while, those islands of prose will somehow connect into a story you never knew was in you. Write about people you love, about people you wish you’d loved; about people you hate, about people who hate you. You’ll create characters you wish you could meet in real life. You’ll write something that hurts to put on the page, and realize that is what makes it priceless. If you are terrified to put your deepest thoughts out there for the world to see, and yet are incapable of keeping them to yourself, congratulations: You’ll do well. 
Once you have a manuscript, don’t shy away from spending time and money on editors. Passages you thought were clever and insightful will turn out to be disasters; you’ll inevitably miss issues with grammar, pacing and wording; and you’ll be blind to your own inconsistencies. A large part of my acknowledgements was to my beta readers. Without their feedback (brutal at times, yet always valuable) my debut novel would’ve been a mess. 

Tell us about your book/books:

I like writing speculative fiction, where the real world intersects with a seemingly innocuous “what if?” “The Archer’s Thread” is about Simon Lyons, a man who is losing his mind because he can see ten seconds into the future. He’s understandably valuable to a certain few who don’t know the condition is driving him insane. He hits rock bottom and leaves everything behind, spending his days drinking, beating up petty criminals, and failing to kill himself. A book from his past leads him to Dr. Kelly Austin, a young university professor with an inexplicable gift: around her, Simon can only see the present. The sense of calm and sanity around Kelly is intoxicating, and Simon uses every tool at his disposal to enter her life, find the cure to his affliction, and leave.
That’s when his past comes crashing back into his life, stopping at nothing to keep his secrets hidden. When someone discovers the impact Kelly has on him, they decide to use her to bring Simon in, or forever take him out. In the end, Simon is forced to choose between the comfort of a hidden past, or the terror of sacrifice and redemption.
My books focus on story and characters, and borrow heavily from personal and professional experience. A fellow author once quipped “To become a writer, you must plagiarize your life.” I find combining “what if” questions with episodes from my past to be enjoyable and fulfilling.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I have been fortunate to be part of a very supportive writers community in the Tampa Bay area. The feedback I’ve received from my fellow writers has been essential in creating and improving my work. I am deeply inspired by the dedication, talent, insight, and rigor of my fellow authors.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

First, thank you for reading my work. Thank you for telling me you love (or hate) my characters, how you’d wish you could meet them in person. That is the highest praise I can imagine as a writer. Second: Thank you for understanding that, like life, books are difficult to pigeonhole in one genre. Thank you for understanding and appreciating that a thriller can be romantic, that science can be exciting, and that mysteries can be insightful. 

Where can people connect with you?

Visit my website at noelzamot.com
Twitter and Instagram: @noel_zamot
Facebook: @NoelZamotAuthor
You can read the first chapters of “The Archer’s Thread” here: https://amzn.to/3ExJDTK