Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Kathy Stickles is talking with Timothy M. David, author of Tribulations.

FQ: Well… here we are again and I have to tell you that this book has surpassed the first, at least in my opinion. The storyline of Tribulations, while definitely darker, is absolutely amazing. How hard was it for you as a writer to take this different path with the characters, especially Emma?

DAVID: Hi Kathy, first I want to thank you for your great review, and I am happy you enjoyed it. The 2nd book is definitely darker, and it was always going to be. The Imposed Path was my introduction to the characters, powers, world, and the main plot points; huge info dump with action to keep the readers interested and a taste of what’s to come. The 2nd book let me delve into the personal journey of Emma, and really focus on the personal aspects of my heroes struggles with their mission. I always intended the series to focus on how I felt a superhero would be affected by their responsibilities. There are so many superhero stories that don’t show the realistic effects of physical and emotional trauma. Just like service members, law enforcement, firemen and paramedics, who witness and experience so many atrocities; my heroes experience these regularly. How does one deal with what they experience after the dust settles, after the celebration? The emotional toll from those experiences don’t just disappear; they are with that person forever; it becomes a part of who they are. The darker feeling of this book was always planned, so I was well prepared.

FQ: My favorite character, as you already know, is Mac (although I admit to it being a very hard choice) and it was wonderful to see him back although in a different way. Will he be returning in the future stories?

DAVID: I am happy to say yes, Mac will continue to be a main character in the story. His story will also have interesting twists and revelations, so I hope you won’t be disappointed. 

FQ: I felt that Emma’s mental state and choices in this book were a lot darker than in the first book, which was what I actually expected, but was it a lot harder for you as the author to bring Emma forward in this new way? Will Emma ever get to be happy and content with her path in life?

DAVID: That is a tough question, that I would have to say is both yes and no. I love my characters and the story. With The Imposed Path and Tribulations being from Emma’s POV, I definitely have feelings for her as my creation. So it is sometimes hard to write this story, and put her and all my characters through their most challenging situations. When it comes to the content itself, I actually do not have a problem writing it, and find it sort of therapeutic. I have faced topics like suicide in my personal life, and in my previous professional life before I retired. So the story actually relates a lot of my personal experiences in these various topics, but also takes parts from many others I observed. Tribulations has a real focus on the topic of suicide, the stages, the feelings, and the conflict. A lot of Emma comes from me in this aspect, as I did have my own personal journey with it. But something I learned in my life and old profession is there is never one way an individual will handle it. There are so many reasons, so many different ways people develop and express these feelings; no two I ever investigated were identical. I handled my problems one way, while others handle it a completely different way. I try to convey that in both Emma and Kristen, along with revelations of several of the other characters; as the feelings continue to pop up. These differences go for all the similar dark topics in the series as well, you’ll see how my characters react to traumas differently even from the same experiences. So I never had a problem with facing the topics; but I do occasionally shed a tear when I make my characters face them.

As for whether Emma will ever get to be happy, you’ll have to wait. But the ending of this book could provide an answer; as she finds a sense of peace in that final moment.

FQ: There is a lot of new technology in this story. Was that a lot of research on your part to get it down on paper correctly or are you literally just making it up as you go along?

DAVID: It is a mix of both. With Sci-Fi your imagination is unlimited, which is why I love it so much. I can come up with these amazing ideas that are obviously not real, but because of cosmic powers and alien technology they can be real in the story. But I do try my best to make the technologies believable. I spent a lot of time researching online or watching videos, to attempt to give my tech realism. I just hope people remember this is Sci-Fi. I even give a nod to real scientists when I have Mac explaining Faster Than Light (FTL) travel in this book. But in stories with Alien invasions and galaxy exploration, FTL is required, or it will take forever to have anything happen. So a mix of realism and fantasy comes into play with the technologies. But I do believe if humans are ever able to achieve FTL, which science says is impossible, then science as we know it will change. Who’s to say myself or any other Sci-Fi writer hasn’t accidently stumbled onto new science.

 FQ: The characters, not just Emma, but all of them are so well-developed and it really keeps the reader interested and involved. Did you start out knowing who they all “were” so-to-speak and have they stayed the way you first imagined them or do the characters sneak up on you and change without you expecting it?

DAVID: The primary six characters have all stayed the same since the short story that spawned this series, and so has Mac and Derek. The rest of the characters have definitely evolved; a lot of them didn’t even have names in the short story, like John, Emily, and the members of John’s team introduced in this book. Other characters have been introduced and developed that had no real part in the short story. For example Kat and Sveta. The human trafficking scene happened in the short story, but had no characters named or followed. But it was such a powerful scene in the short story I definitely wanted to add to it when converting the story into this series. That scene has such an impact on the series, and the Gem Keepers. With these new characters I have also been able to add so much more depth to my main characters. Emma especially, and while her core character hasn’t changed, she is definitely a more complex character then when I started. A character in my next book had a one sentence moment with no name in the short story. That character evolved so much, it is actually the reason I am estimating this as a 7 book series rather than 6, and added two chapters to Tribulations before releasing it. So I do get several characters that just sneak up on me, but add so much to the story and to the main characters.

FQ: Can you give the readers, and yes especially me,  a sneak-peek into what is going to happen in the next book?

DAVID: While I really can’t give too much. I will say the Gem Keepers story will only get harder. You can expect a lot of twists and surprises, returning of certain characters, and a very emotional story in the 3rd book. I will tease the next book will have the first alien planet, and alien characters who will join the Gem Keepers in their fight and become a part of their family. The title of the third book is “Opus of Torment” which describes the book to its core. If any readers want a sneak peek at the cover, I posted it on my Facebook page: Gem Keeper Creations. I am happy to say it won’t take nearly as long to get the next chapter in the series. I was really delayed on book two, primarily because I decided to do audiobooks. The 3rd book is expected to start the audiobook production in a week or two, and takes about 4 months to complete. My narrator Tiffany Magnuson is absolutely amazing in bringing my story and characters to life. I know the story inside and out, but listening to the audiobook makes it feel so different even for me.. So I am looking at an April or May 2025 release for Opus of Torment.

FQ: I have to admit to being curious if, after The Imposed Path came out, was there any criticism about the storyline, the darkness, or the lesbian characters that you were hit with? How did you handle it if that was the case?

DAVID: Surprisingly no, I really haven’t gotten many criticisms, but I also haven’t gotten a lot of sales, which is expected since I am still new. The Imposed Path placed in several award programs like Bookfest AWA Lesfic Bard Awards, and gets good comments for the most part. There are some criticisms, but mostly around the length of the book, which I totally understand. The Imposed Path is my info dump book, it has a lot of inner dialogue from Emma describing the world events and changes. But I tried to add some action or excitement to each chapter. The rest of the series won’t have that massive info dump, and focus on the story at hand. I did have one review by a reader that didn’t like how I handled the lesbian relationship, saying lesbian relationships are different then how I described. While I appreciate every comment whether positive or negative, I disagree with their comment. I do not believe there is any set normal way to describe any type of relationship. There is no norm or set standard, regardless of sexual orientation. I wrote the relationships of my main six characters the way I have experienced or witnessed relationships. It is hard to say there is a norm, when even the three relationships in my book are all different. Emma and Natalie’s relationship is very different from Dakota and Chloe’s. There is no set standard to love, if there was this world would be very boring.

FQ: What is your writing process? Do you do a little every day or spend entire days/weeks behind your keyboard. Do you do all your research first and then write or combine the two? And finally, is there a plan in place before you start writing that you stick to or do the plans get changed as you write?

DAVID:  I do not have any kind of set structure. I write when I feel like writing, whether that is 12 hours a day for two weeks, or two hours every three or four days. Writing is fun and I never want to make it feel like a job. A lot of times when I feel research is needed, I pause writing in that moment, do the research, then continue. So no, I have no set process while writing, but the publication part after the writing is done does take some planning. 

FQ: How important is it for a writer to have a strong support system while so engrossed in a story like this? Who or what is your biggest support?

DAVID: That is a really interesting question. Since this is mainly still just a hobby for me, I don’t require too much support when it comes to getting writing done or getting books released. I am not on anyone’s timeline or anything. But my family does support me, and I get encouragement from them and the small group of fans I have created to continue. But what intrigues me about this question is because of the content of what I am writing about, and goes along with what I discussed above. I am delving into a lot of controversial, dark, and very emotional topics. A lot of which I base on personal experience or close personal observation. As for my biggest support I have my family, but the actual writing is also therapeutic for me as I face these topics internally and on paper. So the question of support systems for writers is very intriguing. I know I am not the only author to deal with these types of topics, and would wonder how any of them handle it, and if they have support systems.

FQ: I asked you so much in the last interview that I guess now is the time to have some fun with questions so…if you could sit down with any author, dead or alive, and have a conversation, who would that author be and why?

DAVID: Oh this is a fun question. I would say it is a close tie between Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, but I would lean more to Asimov because of the time of his death. He was such an amazing Science Fiction writer, who utilized hard science from his time. He died in 1992 right before the beginning of so many technological advancements. So I would be super curious to know what his mind would create from today’s current technology and science. What would his mind be creating just based on the smart phone. The internet was so new back then, what would he think about wireless, Bluetooth, computers and the size differences and capabilities. My first computer in 1993 had two megabytes of ram and a 20 megabyte hard drive, which was amazing back then, but most kids nowadays probably don’t even know what a megabyte is. He was around when computers took up entire rooms with maybe a single megabyte of internal memory, and required external memory like floppy discs to operate. So I could only imagine what Asimov would do with modern technological advancements. Same would go for Clarke, but he did get to see some of the advancement before he died. But could you imagine what either of them would come up with in our current time? I mean so many great stories of Science Fiction were based on old technology capabilities. Spaceship designs were and still are based on old tech in science fiction. Look at Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry died before Asimov, and the foundations for the USS Enterprise are basically advanced old school tech. They still use the idea of computers needing to have large areas of space in current Star Trek movies/shows. But new technology would probably have Roddenberry writing the USS Enterprise as having a very small quantum computer capable of computing everything on the ship instantaneously without the need of such a large crew. There wouldn’t be all the exploding wall panels with blinking lights representing the massive computer idea. I think Asimov would definitely have enjoyed creating stories with current technology and science at his disposal. If I had that chance to meet Asimov, or any of the original Sci-Fi greats, I would just sit and listen to what a mind like theirs would create today.

Thank you again for the amazing review of Tribulations, and for these awesome questions. I look forward to hearing what you think of the rest of the series. To current or future fans of the series, I hope you all enjoy the story and journey. 

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