Joining me today from Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan is author Percival Constantine, and he’s here to talk about The Lost Continent. Thank you, Percival, for taking the time to chat to me. Please sit down, get comfortable and let’s begin.

About Percival Constantine

Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Percival Constantine grew up on a fairly consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, video games, and TV shows. At the age of ten, he first began writing and has never really stopped.

Percival has been working in publishing since 2005 in various capacities—author, editor, formatter, letterer—and has written books, short stories, comics, and more. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Mass Media from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in English and Screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University.

Currently, Percival lives in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, where he works as a literature and writing instructor at the Minami Academy. He is also a contributing writer for WhatCulture, Taiken Japan, and Creators.co.

What’s the name of the book you’d like to talk about?
The Lost Continent

Tell us a bit about your book
Elisa Hill is a myth hunter, an adventurer who seeks out the truth behind the legends of the past, and it’s a job she was born into. Her parents were myth hunters as well and the one legend they could never prove was the myth of the lost continent of Lemuria. Now Elisa has the opportunity to finish the work her parents began. But the secrets of this lost civilization hold great value for a sinister secret society and a ruthless assassin, and both will stop at nothing—not even murder—to gain their prize. Elisa must rely on friends and unlikely allies in order to make it to the lost continent. Because if she fails, those same secrets could spell doom for mankind!

If there was a film or TV adaptation of your book, who would you like to see play your characters?
That’s a good question. For Elisa, I often thought about who might be able to play her in a movie or TV show, but I couldn’t really settle on anyone who I felt really fit the character. Then I watched a TV series called Dark Matter and I think Melissa O’Neil would be perfect in the role. Asami, who is a major character throughout the series, was inspired by Japanese actress Eihi Shiina. So she’s still who I’d want to see in the role. Max Finch, Elisa’s mentor, is Morgan Freeman all over. Lucas Davalos, who’s a scoundrel in the series and is a sometimes-enemy, sometimes-ally, I see as sort of a Matthew McConaughey-type. Wade, who is the representative we meet of the organization called The Order, would probably fit Danny DeVito like a glove. And as for Seth, the main villain of the first book, probably Benedict Cumberbatch.

How important are character names to you in your books? Is there a special meaning to any of the names?
It depends on the character. Sometimes there’s an important reason why I pick a name, other times I’ll just choose something from a name generator. In the case of Elisa, I took her first name from a friend of mine from high school. I just really liked the way the name rolled off the tongue and thought it would be great for a character.

Give us an insight into your main character. What makes them unique?
Elisa is kind of a walking contradiction. She was raised by myth hunters who tried to instill the importance of their work into her, but then she took all that training and education and used it for personal profit when she was a young woman. Now she’s come around to her parents’ way of thinking, their deaths having shocked her into realization. But she still has that adrenaline junkie inside of her and she still has a bit of that rash attitude that she had before. There’s a part of her that still desires that life she used to have, a time when her and Lucas were partners and indebted to no one but themselves. And whenever their paths cross, Elisa’s reminded of those feelings like a punch in the gut.

Where do your ideas come from?
No specific place. I get ideas from all over the place. Books and movies—both fiction and non-fiction—are big sources of ideas for me. Other times it will be things I see around me or just going down the rabbit hole on Wikipedia.

What do you think about trailers for books? Do you have a trailer or do you intend to create one for your own book?
I think they look pretty snazzy, but I’m not sure if they’re actually useful for selling books. If you don’t mind the high price-tag, or if you have the equipment and skill to create one yourself, then go for it. I’ve seen some that look really great but I’ve seen others that look really amateurish. But I haven’t seen any proof that they’re anything other than a large investment of time and/or money that doesn’t really pay off in the end. It seems they could be useful with ads. Facebook allows video ads and you can post ads on your Amazon author page. YouTube advertising might change the game with these completely.

I don’t have any trailers, but I have done some film editing work and have played around with Adobe After Effects some. I’ve considered doing a trailer, but it’s hard to find the right way to convert your book into a trailer.

What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
Sticking with this writing thing, I guess. I was always told writing was a pipe dream, but now I’ve been writing and publishing for almost ten years. And each year, I get a little bit better at it. I’ve gone from making one figure a month to two to three, so that’s something. I’m still not where I want to be, but I think I’ll get there.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Ideally, my wife and I would be living in Hawaii and I’d be able to work completely from home. Maybe not making all my income solely from writing, but at the very least a good chunk of it. I’m a teacher as well and I’d love to continue teaching, hopefully adjunct courses online, preferably in film or creative writing.

Have you always liked to write?
Absolutely, for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I used to fill up spiral-bound notebooks from cover to cover with awful stories and bad fanfic. That shifted to computer and the Internet in junior high and high school, where I joined up with a fanfic community and wrote like a madman.

What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors?
There are two types of aspiring writers—those who talk about writing and those who write. If you’re someone who just likes talking about writing, then maybe take stock of what you’re doing. But if you’re someone who actually writes, then keep at it. Finish that first book, put it aside, and start the next book. If you haven’t decided on traditional or self-publishing, really study the two routes and make a decision that’s right for you. Do your research (something I didn’t do when I got started and caused me to miss out on a lot of opportunities) and keep at it.

If you didn’t like writing books, or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?
My current day job is teaching literature and I enjoy that. So I would probably just focus on that.

Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?
Oh yeah, I read them. If a reader personally emails me a review of a book, I’ll respond with a simple thanks. But reviews on Amazon or Goodreads? I don’t respond to those. Regardless of the tone of my response, I don’t think any benefit can come from it. When I read a bad review, it depends on what they’re saying. If the review shows that the reader doesn’t like the genre, then I’m not going to worry about those (although I’ll double-check to make sure I’m not miscategorized somewhere). If a review is just pure spite, then I definitely don’t worry about those. Where a reviewer has some legitimate criticism about the book, then I’ll think about it. I won’t go back and alter the book because I don’t believe in changing past books (with the exception of fixing technical issues). But I will keep that in mind going forward when I write my next book.

What is your best marketing tip?
Yikes, I wish I knew. When it comes to marketing, I feel like I’m drunk and stumbling through a dark room. But I guess I’d say have a good website. Not Facebook, not your Amazon page, not yourname.freehostingsite.com, but yourname.com. Make sure it’s clean and easy to use. Your website should make it clear who you are, what books you have out (and where those books can be purchased), and have an easy sign-up process for your mailing list.

What is your least favourite part of the writing / publishing process?
The middle part of the book. That’s when I start to get second thoughts about it every single time and want to pull my hair out.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
I always say never say never. But I don’t see myself writing anything in romance or erotica. They’re just not genres that appeal to me as a reader so I doubt I could do them justice as a writer.

Do you have a favourite conference / convention that you like to attend? What is it?
I’ve only been to the Japan Writers Conference and it’s been fun, but there’s an extremely small genre fiction presence and an even smaller self-publishing presence. I’m planning to move back to America in the near future so once I’m settled in, I plan to start attending some other conferences. I’d really like to go to the Smarter Artist Summit and the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention. And some other ones, too.

Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than others?
I don’t think I’ve ever written a sex scene, but I imagine that’d be the one that’s difficult for me to write.

How long does it usually take you to write the first draft of a book?
Depends on the length, usually about a month or so.

What are you working on now?
I am planning a new series and hopefully I’ll be writing it by the time this interview goes live. It’s a mystery/crime series focused on a female private investigator operating in modern-day Japan. The first book will be called Idol Threat. I’m pretty excited about this book.

Do you have any unique or quirky writing habits?
Nothing too quirky. My schedule is to wake up, putz around on the Internet checking email for half an hour to an hour, then I shower, pour some coffee, and get started. I write in twenty-minute sprints so I’ll turn on an 8tracks.com playlist that fits the genre I’m writing in, turn on Freedom for twenty minutes to block social media and email, and then go until the timer rings. I’ll take a 5-10 minute break, then start my next sprint. I do three sprints a day and that gets me about 2000 words, give or take.

How has your environment or upbringing impacted your writing?
My childhood home was a bit secluded. There weren’t other kids around us so I spent a lot of time in my room. I watched a lot of movies, TV shows, played a lot of video games, and read a lot of comic books. All that contributed to my desire to create stories, I think.

Describe what your ideal writing space looks like.
I’d really like an L-shaped desk. Right now I struggle for real estate on my desk and I’d like to have two separate areas. Computer on one side, paper on the other. I also want to get a desktop computer once I settle down in the States, something like the Mac Pro that has a lot more power than my little MacBook Air.

Why should a potential reader buy your book(s)?
If you enjoy action-packed stories with great characters and a fun read, you’d be a fool not to give them a shot. You can even get the first book in each of my series free if you sign up for my mailing list.

What’s the strangest thing you have ever had to research for your book?
Three words: Nazi death cult.

What’s something you’re really good at that few people know about?
I’ve been told I’m a really good cook.

What’s an interesting fact about your book?
Lemuria, the lost continent featured in the book, is based on a mixture of legends. A big focus of the plot is James Churchward and tablets that explain the existence of Lemuria. There’s a scene later on in the book that takes place at the Yonaguni Monument, which are underwater ruins. All of this is based on fact…well, sort of. James Churchward was a real person who talked about being shown tablets in India that explain the history of an ancient society that lived on a continent called Mu and he wrote down his findings in a book called Mu, The Motherhood of Man. And the Yonaguni Monument is a real thing off the coast of Japan. There are structures beneath the water there that some believe are too precise to be natural and so they must be remnants of Lemuria/Mu.

Of course, all that’s pseudo-science without much basis in reality. But for the stuff of fiction, it’s perfect.

Why did you choose to write in your genre? If you write in more than one, how do you balance them?
I wanted to write something pulpy along the lines of Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. At the moment I write in more than one and how I balance them is I alternate series. So if I write a Myth Hunter book this month then next month, I’ll do Vanguard.

Where did your love of books come from?
It started with comic books. From there, I eventually branched into reading prose and I love both.

How long have you been writing?
For as long as I can remember.

What advice would you give to your younger self?
Do your research, write more often, and start a mailing list earlier.

What would the main character in your book have to say about you?
She’d probably cut my throat for all the crap I’ve put her through.

Do you have a day job in addition to being a writer? If so, what do you do during the day?
Yeah, I do a few different things. My main day job is teaching Japanese literature at an English-language academy here in Kagoshima. I also teach some business English classes at a nearby company. And I provide author services. I do editing and design work through Larks and Katydids and I do some freelance design for Pro Se Productions, too.

Of all the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?
That’s kind of like asking a parent to pick their favorite child, isn’t it? I don’t know I could do it. Elisa’s always got a soft spot for me. She was one of the first characters I created (albeit in a very different form originally).

Are your characters based on real people, are they imaginary or a combination of both?
Combination. I take aspects of people I’ve met in real life or characters in movies or TV shows and mix and match them together.

When you’re writing, do you listen to music or do you need silence?
I have to have something in the background. I save playlists on 8tracks.com that are composed of movie soundtracks focused around genres I write in and I’ll queue up one of those before I get started.

Who are your favourite authors, and why?
Grant Morrison is definitely up there. He’s got the love of the classic superhero stuff that I do and he also adds in so much originality and creativity to it. Kurt Vonnegut I love for his humor and satire, although his stuff is very different from what I write. Elmore Leonard is a master of dialogue.

If you’re an indie author, what’s the best thing about being an indie author?
Freedom. I can work on what I want when I want. If I want to schedule a price promotion or a giveaway for one of my books, I can just do it. I don’t need to ask for permission. If I’m not happy with my covers, I can change them, it doesn’t have to go through approval. If I want to try and get my books in another format, I don’t need to check with my agent to see if I still have those rights.

What do you find most challenging about writing?
Marketing, hands down. It changes so much and it’s really tough to keep up, especially when there are so many people who clearly know what they’re doing and I’m fumbling around.

Where can readers go to discover more about you and your books?
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads