Author of Behind the Curtain
Today, I am excited to invite Philip J Dennis back for a return visit to talk to us about his latest book, Behind the Curtain. You can check out his interview back in 2021 here.
Helen: Welcome back, Philip. I’m thrilled to see you have released more books since we last spoke. Congratulations on the release of Behind the Curtain. Tell us a little about it.
Philip: My newest novel, full novel, is Behind the Curtain. I released it last May on Amazon.
It follows the life – partial life – of Jason Scott, from starting off as a child, becoming a child actor, and then, as an adult, returning to the movie business.
The story, though, is told partly as a retrospective. It starts with Jason at a wellbeing centre. Sort of like a rehab centre. As part of his treatment, he has agreed to work on a biography with a journalist friend. There’s a little back and forth between timelines, but I know that can get confusing in books, so I would switch between third-person and first-person tense. It really helps to allow Jason to be the one telling his story.
I do have a short stories collection on Amazon. All Hope is Gone, and other short stories, if people want to have a look at that too.
Helen: I love the cover. You’ve continued with the theme of silhouettes which give it a touch of mystery. What were your thoughts behind your design?
Philip: I’d mentioned this in our last interview. The style of the cover originated back to my first book, Isaac’s Fall. I had an image in mind, but did not want to spend large amounts of money for a cover artist to put together. At the time, I was only starting out. It was a hobby that I was hoping would lead somewhere.
So, my next books in the trilogy followed the same style – a silhouette of the main character against an appropriate background. When I was designing the cover for The Wrong Apocalypse – which you read and gave a very generous review for – I kind of felt that the silhouette-thing was now sort of my style.
With Behind the Curtain – a silhouette of a man on a stage, a curtain behind him, spotlights and lens flares all around, it fit the story. I can see hidden meaning in that, which is funny, because it is pure fluke. Not intentional at all. I wonder how many writers do something that people read deep meaning into and it was completely unintentional. Just a fluke. Haha.
Helen: Your title also suggests hidden meanings. How did you come up with the book title?
Philip: Behind the Curtain was a working title. It was not intended to be the final one. It was a simple title that gave a hint at what the story was about. But I would start to refer to the story by that title, and then on later drafts, I ended up working the title into the story and part of the dialogue. It was already part of the theme, and the ending – hint, hint – so it just stuck.
Helen: I had a feeling there was a connection to the story somewhere! Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?
Philip: Funnily enough, this book I started writing about ten years or more before it was released. It was actually the second book I started to write. Isaac’s Fall being the first. When I started it, I knew nearly all the major plot points, and I got about ninety percent of the way through it on the first draft. But I was struggling with the tone and the flow of the story. I felt that the story was too big for me to be able to do it justice. I might have mentioned this in our last interview. I have definitely mentioned it somewhere before.
When the Pandemic hit, I wanted to revisit it. I read over the first draft, refreshing myself on simple story points, and started again. This time I got about a third of the way through and hit a wall. It was a hard time and I didn’t have it in me to do a book so serious. That’s when I started to write The Wrong Apocalypse. That was light and fun, and it just flowed out of me. Very cathartic, given that we were at the end of Lockdown.
After that, I went back to it.
I was also spurred on by the book Daisy Jones and The Six – this was before the TV series, of course – completely different in regards to story and style, but it reminded me of the film Almost Famous, which was something of an inspiration for Behind the Curtain anyway.
So, to get back to your question, a major challenge for my writing is being in the right headspace to be able to write the story, and knowing what you can accomplish at that time. It’s perfectly fine to leave a work-in-progress and move on to something else for a while. You’ll circle back to it eventually. If you try to force the story, if you aren’t feeling it, then that could work against you.
Helen: Who inspired you to first start writing?
Philip: Easy. My wife. Jan. I first started writing following a really weird and vivid dream I had. This is going back about fifteen years now. I told Jan about it the next day and she thought it was such a weird, detailed dream, but that it would make a great story. So, secretly, I started writing down what I knew from the dream, putting it into a narrative.
A week or two later, we were talking about it. Jan said that she had started to write it down. I didn’t know this, at the time, and told her that I had too. She said she had written about three or four pages, then asked me what I’d done. It was about forty.
Anyway, it was her that spurred me on to keep writing. I wrote about seven drafts of that story – which is not one that I released. I will come back to it though. It is a really interesting premise. Seven drafts, though, was a lot of time. But, it was practice.
Jan would read over what I had done, give me notes, tell me what worked and what didn’t, which she does for all my writing. She is the first person I write for, the first person to hear my ideas, that I talk them over with, who reads the chapters as and when they are done, and then the finished story.
She has also stopped me deleting everything in a fit of frustration on a number of occasions. Thank God!
Helen: That is so funny that you both started writing the same story. I’m glad you took your pages and turned them into a book! What are you currently working on?
Philip: At the moment, I am jumping between a couple of WIPs. I’m focusing on a second book to Somewhere Else. That was a kid’s book I wrote for my son, Jacob, with him as the main character. It is a fun, adventure, fantasy/fairytale book that pokes fun at some of the tropes of fairytales and their characters, or archetypes. I don’t have a name yet, but I will think of something.
The other one was a paranormal-thriller. Not a horror, I should state. I won’t go into the premise of it, only because it is early in the first draft, and I don’t know how long it will take to complete.
I also want to do a sequel to The Wrong Apocalypse – got some notes and chapters on that. And then I’ve got a couple of other new stories running through my mind too. Do you ever find you have ideas but not the time to work on them all?
Helen: I have so many ideas and not enough time to write them! I have three epic fantasy series started, and the challenge for me is which series to focus on, because I love the characters in all of them, and they are so different! Enough about us. Which books have you been reading and would recommend to others?
Philip: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Such a good book. Short, but that’s not a negative. If you can, get the illustrated paperback. The artwork is great.
Been reading a lot of Blake Crouch over the last year or so. Wayward Pines series. Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade.
And I’ve started Mantis by Kotaro Isaka. It’s the third in a trilogy. You’ve probably heard of the film Bullet Train. That was the second book in his trilogy. They are fun, action-packed and an easy read.
Helen: And which is your favourite book?
Philip: Still American Gods by Neil Gaiman. And Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If you want something whimsical, then go for Good Omens. If you want something that plays around with religion, myth and folklore and makes them its own, go for American Gods. That might be due another re-read soon, I think.
Helen: Thank you so much for joining me today. Just to finish, what advice would you give new writers?
Philip: Keep writing for you. You are the first person you should be writing for. I know that I said that my wife was the first person I write for, but I meant that as externally. It’s like that saying, “Charity begins at home,” well, writing begins with you.
I think Neil Gaiman said something, to butcher his saying, “The first draft is for you. The second is for the reader.”
And, keep writing. Get the first draft done. Even if it is full of holes. Get it done. The holes can be filled in later drafts. They call it a Vomit Draft, I believe. Get it all out, no matter how bad. You can clean it up later. Bit of a gross analogy but I like it.
About the Author
Philip J Dennis
Philip J Dennis, born and raised in Liverpool, England, is the author of several books spanning different genres, from paranormal and crime thriller, to a children’s book he had written for his son, a comedy horror, and a fictional biography.
His novels include the …and all that’s in between trilogy. Isaac’s Fall, Harmony’s Choice, and Faith’s Rise. As well as Somewhere Else, The Wrong Apocalypse, and the newly released Behind The Curtain.
He currently lives in Liverpool, with his wife and son, and continues to write. He can be followed on Instagram @Philip_J_Dennis as well as on Goodreads, where he welcomes questions and queries.
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Purchase Philip’s book: Behind the Curtain via Amazon
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
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If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
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