Constellate Publishing authors Keith Roysdon and Jill Blocker go back to their journalism roots and interview each other.
Q&A Keith Roysdon and Jill Blocker
JILL: We first met when I was an intern at The Star Press, in Muncie, Indiana. You began and retired from your career in journalism. How has something that may have felt like the end of an era turned into a new chapter as an author?
KEITH: I didn’t recognize it at first, but I found a way to continue writing. The first day – literally the first day – I wasn’t working full-time in 2019, I saw an author I followed on social media say that he was soliciting people to contribute chapters to a book about movies. I immediately sent him an email. The anthology didn’t happen, but I was thinking, 24 hours after taking a buyout, about ways to keep writing. Luckily, Douglas Walker and I were working on our third true crime book. “The Westside Park Murders” was a pandemic book, coming out in 2021, so we did none of the personal appearances or signings like we had done with the first two. After writing all I could on “Westside” I began writing “Seven Angels,” following notes and an outline I’d begun 10 years earlier.
JILL: Your journalism focused on crime, politics, and community… What made you interested in these themes and how do these themes showcase themselves in your novels?
KEITH: Four – or maybe five – short novels I wrote in the early 2000s followed the story of a reporter at a newspaper in Middletown, Indiana, my fictional version of Muncie. Those books have never been published – maybe I should – but they drew heavily on my reporting experiences. I’ve since used some of those characters in other books: the reporter, Jack Richmond, is in “That October” at the start of his career in 1984; his friend, police officer Jess Peterson, is a rookie in “That October” and a grizzled old police chief in “Seven Angels.” I channeled what I had learned about cops, reporters, politicians, coroners and criminals into nearly everything I’ve written since.
KEITH: Your journalism career is something that’s important to you. How much – and how – does it affect your writing now?
JILL: I wish journalists were valued more in our society. Some of the most brilliant people I know are journalists -including some of the characters in the book. Journalists have the ability to sit down and understand important, complex issues and communicate them to the masses. Journalism definitely affects my writing style. I like short sentences and punchy lines, but more-so, I think accuracy and reliability in storytelling is one of our most important roles as writers. No one needs Fake News… real life is unbelievable enough.
KEITH: What are the challenges of writing characters and stories that are even loosely based on your life, as in HAPPILY AFTER EVER? How did you decide what to make close to your experiences and how much to fictionalize? (For me, I haven’t yet published anything that is really drawn from my life. Yet.)
JILL: “Happily After Ever” is not about me. 😉 Seriously though, I’m not exactly sure… I just always thought it was a story that should be told. I guess it’s up to the reader to decide if that’s true.
KEITH: When did you begin writing and when did you know you wanted to be a writer? What did you want to write? Books? Novels?
JILL: I always wanted to be a writer, but the path to being a “writer” wasn’t always super clear. On “Career Day,” in Kindergarten I remember drawing myself amongst a pile of books. But even though I had an idea of my identity at a young age, that faded a bit during middle school and high school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when it was time to apply for college. I was leaning toward interior design, but I switched to journalism my Sophomore year at Ball State University because my essays across various subjects were getting the best feedback. I wrote a 90 page paper on stem cell research, and it was actually informative and interesting. I got an A on it… so I continued on that path. I was obsessed with Anderson Cooper and everything going on in the news at the time. I worked at a TV news station in Seattle, and I felt like I found my true calling. Then, life sent me on a new adventure. Novel writing developed after years of writing in journals and taking online courses through Stanford University to learn structure, character development, timelines, and all the other practical guidelines for writing a novel.
ON LIVING
KEITH: You took a 3-month-long sabbatical to France to write. What did that time from everyday life, even in as a fairytale world as Switzerland, provide for your writing?
JILL: When I quit my job to move to France and write a book, I was finally able to identify as a “writer.” I say that in the sense that I was able to take the time to fully immerse myself in a new lifestyle. You don’t necessarily need an international move to make that happen, but it does help by providing a new mindset and environment. It allowed me space to create a new routine all by, and for, myself and my dreams. I woke up early, read for 1 hour, wrote for 2 hours, went to French class, and then in the evenings I took online writing classes. It was a fully-immersive routine that provided a strong basis for my identity as a writer and my craft.
KEITH: What’s your ideal writing environment – quiet office or house, or music playing, for example – and time of day to write?
JILL: I think France was my ideal writing environment… Now I have a toddler and my routine is constantly changing. I recently moved my office out of the living room, which has evolved into his playroom… that helped.
JILL: What does your writing routine look like?
KEITH: My routine is to not have a routine, at least not in hours. I write almost every day, but the hours of when I write vary in that I work around other things, like taking care of our cats, laundry and exercise or appointments or interviews. Some days I don’t write fiction but I’m writing articles for sites like CrimeReads. One thing I almost never do is write in the evening, because I’m brain-fried by that point.
ON WRITING
KEITH: Do you draft and draft or just bang it out, fixing things as you write?
JILL: Both, but fixing things as you write is harder! Try to outline, use the program Scrivener. Your future editor-self will thank you.
JILL: How long did it take to “write” your books “That October” and “Seven Angels”?
KEITH: I think “Seven Angels” took only about the last half of 2019 to write. I did go back, in 2022 and 2023, and add subplots (like the background of mountain woman Pearl) and characters (like Gloria’s half-brother Travis and the dangerous situations he got into). “That October” took about a year and a half in 2022 and 2023, but honestly that was mostly because I was enjoying listening to music from the late 1970s to mid-1984.
ON PUBLISHING
KEITH: You became very accustomed to and accomplished at using social media and graphics in your previous marketing work. What’s been most effective in promoting your own work and that of Constellate authors?
JILL: I wish I could get off social media… I hope we all do someday soon… But, for anyone doing online content marketing, Canva is your best friend. The most valuable thing on socials is community. It’s a way to stay connected with people all over the world. That’s what I value it for.
KEITH: How’s the experience of being a publisher going?
JILL: Running an imprint is exciting! The author list at Constellate Publishing is growing and we’re sharing stories on a global scale. We also have a literary foundation in the future, which I’m hoping can provide scholarships and grants for writers. There’s so much possibility in our constellation, and I’m excited to see it expand.
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