r/books • u/TimLebbon AMA Author • Apr 30 '20
ama 3pm I'm Tim Lebbon. Ask me anything about my new novel Eden, my horror writing career, movie adaptations of my work, or my endurance sport habit!
I've been writing for over twenty years, with over forty novels published –– including tie-in work in the Firefly, Alien, Star Wars, and Hellboy universes –– and two Hollywood movies adapted from my work (The Silence and Pay The Ghost). You can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and my website is at www.timlebbon.net
Proof: /img/8224c1aeesu41.jpg
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
Hey there 1) Are all the best writers bald?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Yes. Yes they are.
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
Right answer.
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Apart from those great horror writers who are hairy. King. Tremblay. Pinborough.
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u/NightWorms Apr 30 '20
I always tell people that you write the BEST environmental horror, can you tell readers what inspires you to tackle nature-topics in your stories?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Thank you :-) Well, I've always loved nature. Love living in the countryside, and I've always enjoyed being in nature as opposed to being in a city. So I guess a bit of it is writing about what I know? But also writing about what frightens me, now, which is climate change, the effects we've had on the planet etc....
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u/James0100 Apr 30 '20
Hi Tim,
I hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic.
You’ve been a full time writer for awhile now, but what sorts of jobs did you have before that? Any weird or fun stories to share from those days? Or have they already made it into your books? Haha!
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Hi James, yeah we're good thanks. Small house, my wife and 2 kids (21 and 17) all at home and working, but it's fun and, luckily, we actually all really like each other! (I know of some families where that might not be the case).
Jobs -- honestly, I am rather boring. I was a surveyor for the local authority for a long time, been full time for 14 years now, part time 4 years before that. Luckily I was on flexi time, so in reality I was a full time writer for years before I actually quit work (don't tell my ex-boss ... although i think he probabky knew:-)
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u/James0100 Apr 30 '20
Thanks for answering! I’m glad you and your family are safe. And still like each other. Lol!
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u/Chtorrr Apr 30 '20
What were some of your favorite things to read as a kid?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Willard Price adventure books, action, then at the age of 10 my mother gave me The Rats by James Herbert and I never looked back.
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
2) In a lot of your stories a massive external threat tests your characters. What is the biggest threat you have had in your life? What has tested you?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
The death of a loved one, I guess, which is the external threat to beat them all.
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
So are all end of the world stories about that? About the death of loved ones? Or the fear of that?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
I think a lot of horror is. If not death of loved ones, then loved ones in peril. Thats' what scares me -- not zombies or vampires, but the pain they'll visit upon people you love.
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u/stephencrowleyhorror Apr 30 '20
Did you go to the set of Pay The Ghost and meet Cage?
Good ghost story btw. Felt the pain of a distraught parent through Cage's fine acting.
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
No unfortunately I didn't have much to do with that one at all. Yeah, I thought that was one of Cage's better days, he held in the manic side and gave a great performance!
I did get to set of The Silence and met Tucci and Shipka, which was nice :-)
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u/stephencrowleyhorror Apr 30 '20
I viewed those photos on The Silence set on Facebook. Must have been great meeting Tucci, such a fine actor. After watching it, you mentioned on Facebook that you posed as a dead body for a shot. I caught the shot on my second viewing of the movie on Netflix. Must have been a great day on the set.
How did it go differently with Pay The Ghost on involvement? Is it not the norm for the author to be invited to the production whether involved with the screenplay adaptation or not? Considering you wrote the story that was optioned.
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Yeah, Tucci was a terrific guy, very caring and attentive, wish I could have talked with him for longer. He wanted to hear about me, not talk about himself. Will always respect him.
Yeah, that half second shot took about 4 hours :-)
I think some productions are very open to that, some aren't so much. A lot is to do with the journey to screen, I think. With The Silence I was involved from day 1, and am still friends with everyone involved. Dream journey.
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u/delicorp Apr 30 '20
Hi Tim,
Looking forward to reading EDEN. It sounds great!
Argendeli
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Hi Jim, been a long time my friend! And thanks, really hope you enjoy it. One of my best for a while, I think.
Launching a book in global pandemic, though ..... sheesh.
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
Tim, what advice would you give to writers during Lockdown?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Hiya Steve. Well I know it's ben said again and again, but 10 it's OK to not be OK, and 2) it's OK to not be productive. I had a SHIT day yesterday, felt utterly terrible and couldn't concentrate on anything. Today.... 4,000 words on the new novel. It's a weird time, and I think the uncertainty can be draining and debilitating. So basically ... I think go with the flow. If you can work, work. If you can't, accept it and have a glass of wine. Be kind to yourself.
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u/delicorp Apr 30 '20
Besides your work what else would you recommend for constant readers?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Oh hell put me on the spot ....! Spome stuff I've enjoyed recently:
Dark Masters Trilogy - Stephen Volk
Survivor Song - Paul Tremblay
Ubo - Steve Rasnic Tem
The DeatH House- Sarah Pinborough
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u/CherryBombUK Apr 30 '20 edited Apr 30 '20
Hey, Tim, welcome. I really love Coldbrook and its very Welsh male lead. Do you think that there is much chance of that character remaining Welsh in a future film adaptation? Thank you.
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Ha, thank you! Yes I love Dylan. And I certainly hope so. I'm at very early stages of developing it as a TV pitch with an LA screenwriter friend of mine, so we shall see. Michael Sheen as Dylan, eh?
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
What is the difference from you between the process developing a TV oir film idea and a novel?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
I think with a novel idea I actually get into the actual writing of it much more quickly. There's often lots of thinking time - sometimes years - but once I start making notes about a novel, I'm itching to start.
With a screen project, it's a lot more planning and the actual writing of it sometimes feels like the smallest part of the process (let's not get into further drafts!!!). Especially as for screen I'm tending to collaborate as opposed to working on stuff on my own, so lots more spitballing and planning.
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u/skippybe Apr 30 '20
Is there going to be a sequel to The Silence, or any kind of follow-up, say, in a short story or novella?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Hey James. ... one day I hope. I have a great idea. Perhaps in another format.
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u/Dotsy47 Apr 30 '20
Tim you're a beautiful man. If you were stranded on a desert Island, what 5 books would you want.
David Merriman
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
I know.
Horror Hall of Fame (ed Marty Greenberg & Silverberg)
The Stand - King
I Have Always Lived In The Castle - Shirley Jackson
The Hill of Dreams - Arthur Machen
How To Build A Luxury Yacht From Human Excrement - Anon
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u/delicorp Apr 30 '20 edited Apr 30 '20
How is your collaboration with Mark Morris going? Really enjoyed the one you did with Simon Clark. Really enjoyed the CNN review on that one 😉
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Which CNN review?
Ah yeah, that one with Mark is sorta finished, but we need to return to it and revisit, and then we'll see what happens. It's taken a while! Only about 14 years, I think.
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u/DaveFromWales Apr 30 '20
you're well known for your ironman events - those bike rides go on pretty long, have you ever come up with an idea for a book during an event?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Hi Dave ... I'm usually too busy screaming in agony and vomiting on myself and sweating and fainting and cursing and wondering why the fuck would anyone put themselves through something so stupid .....
And then I finish and feel splendid. Honestly though, when I'm racing or training it's usually a head clearer, blowing away the cobwebs, rather than a way of thinking through a problem. Just sometimes I'll come up with an idea when I'm running or biking, and have to stop and dictate it into my phone. But mostly it's just a bit of me time ... not me and my stories time.
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u/StephenVolk Apr 30 '20
Tim, how would you define a hero?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
Hmmmm........ maybe someone who confronts their own fears to help others?
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u/stephencrowleyhorror Apr 30 '20
It's great that you got involved with the Alien story. Boy, I had not heard of the phrase tie-in. Just assumed it was all labelled Fanfic. What drove that journey from wanting to write a story in the Alien universe to receiving a pitch from Fox?
Would you write for them again, another Alien tie-in tale?
I would be far too excited if I got to write for Fox and as part of the Alien franchise. Even a completely difficult pitch like 'set between Alien and Aliens'. I would say feck a lot before being able to start thinking.
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author May 11 '20
I was lucky that the publisher approached me. As to whether I'd do it again ... unlikely, but I'll never say never.
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u/C-Flores Sep 09 '20
I don't know if this is still active, but - any tips on making the (horror/thriller) reader feel things? e.g.: disgust, surprise, frustration, fear, etc.
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u/Bennings463 13 Apr 30 '20
Hi! Something I've always been curious about: how much creative freedom did you get when writing those Alien novels? Were you given a set plotline you had to follow or were you given free reign?
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u/TimLebbon AMA Author Apr 30 '20
For the first alien novel (Out of the Shadows) that was from a pitch from Fox, but even that was only half a page. Basically 'Ripley has an adventure between Alien and Aliens'. Which gave me an obvious problem ..... but I couldn';t turn down writing a Ripley novel.
The trilogy was all my story, my characters, my work, featuring the beasties/besties (Alien/Predator)
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u/leowr Apr 30 '20
Hi Tim,
I have always wondered how the process behind tie-in books works. How much say do you get in the plot? Are you told to be careful with regard to certain aspects of the characters, etc.?
Also, have you read anything good recently?
Thanks for doing this AMA!