Jeffrey J Hoy

My first specific memory of writing anything goes back to Junior High in English class. We were told to choose a picture on the wall and write a short story about it. I chose what can only be described as a wealthy man’s library in a Victorian mansion, complete with high-backed chairs, a rolling ladder along a wall full of books, and a large globe of the Earth. I titled it “The Last Room on Earth,” and wrote something about aliens destroying the Earth . . . except for this last remnant. Unfortunately, even though my mom saved way too much stuff from my youth, I never found this story when she passed on. My real influence started when I read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien right after high school. Some little conceited part of my brain said: “I can write something like this.” Not as impressive or comprehensive, of course, but similar. Except I decided there would be no hobbits or elves or dwarves or talking dragons.

When I first started writing, I had an IBM Selectric II typewriter, and I used several different kinds of paper (whatever I could get my hands on, especially free). It had a correcting ribbon, but I also used a lot of Wite-Out. I only had a couple of friends over the years who cared to read the first book in what would become my sword and sorcery trilogy, so there it sat in a 3-ring binder collecting dust for over forty years. In the meantime, life intruded; a wife, a career, two kids, and a bunch of dogs. I wrote some short stories that never got published, though one came in 9th out of about 200 entries. Then I took a short story called “Permanent Vacation” about some friends who go to an isolated cabin and do not realize the outside world has ended in a nuclear war. This became the basis for The Long and Winding Road, which I published through a vanity press that cost quite a bit of money. But at least I could finally hold an actual book that I created in my hands! Several more novels—and several more dollars—and I eventually discovered Amazon and Kindle Direct Printing. That eventually led to the completion of my S&S trilogy, Tales of Another World, as well as other titles.

As for the varied genres I write, my S&S is my overall favorite. It’s what began my writing journey, and gives my mind the challenge of creating a completely unique world from top to bottom. My post-nuclear war survival novel, which now has a second book that begins and ends the story, gave me a chance to test several characters in a devastated, dog-eat-dog world. The Walking Dead TV series piqued part of my mind that said I should try my hand at that genre. (Along with SF/F/H, I believe there should also be Z since zombies deserve their own letter.) So far, all of my novels have been what one creative writing teacher called ‘buddy travelogues.’ The main characters start at A and end up at Z, even though the letters in between don’t always go in order. But it’s pretty much a straight line from beginning to end. And as much as I love S&S, F, H, and Z, my overall reading favorite is Science Fiction. So, recently I decided to challenge myself with a near future sci-fi with multiple characters in multiple plot lines that weave in and out of the overall story. I had to go from panster (which until recently I had never heard) to plotter.

I have always believed, when creating characters, that there must be some conflict between them. In my sword and sorcery, it’s an old, crotchety wizard who must put up with a young, brash warrior who, unbeknownst to him (typical fantasy trope alert) has the potential to be a wizard himself. In my zombie novels, I began with a young, street-experienced Black man who is saddled with an old white guy new to surviving out in the wider apocalyptic world. (Black vs White / Young vs Old) In the second Z novel I put a middle-aged Black woman with the old white dude. (Black vs White / Male vs. Female) [FYI, these two out-of-print novels are soon to be republished in 2025] In Zombie Highway Retribution, I pit a street-wise Black woman bodyguard against another sister who is rather lacking in surviving in a zombie world. (Woman vs Woman / Experienced vs Inexperienced)

My major influences across the years have been JRR Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Arther C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, Ben Bova, and Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead TV series. (I never read the graphic novels, and must apologize to the original fans. Everyone says they’re superior to the show.) There’s a ton of others, of course, but these were the big ones.

Before I retired, a built a small 5’x6’ room in the corner of my garage. I would get up an hour before I had to get up for work and write uninterrupted by dogs or kids or phones. I would put on my headphones and become one with the computer. I now have several sets of songs that range from ethereal space moods to SF-type movie soundtracks to ‘old timey’ songs that elicit feelings of ancient times. I put my earbuds in and let the music in my mind flow down and through my tippy-tapping fingers to the monitor. Once the music comes on, my mind knows what its mission is. As for being motivated if I hit the dreaded ‘writer’s block?’ I just switch to some other project and let part of my mind work on my current project by its lonesome. I have no doubt that it will get back to me—in the middle of the night!

My one non-fiction work, Grandpa’s Work Stories, started out, well, at work. Over many years my coworkers and I helped train at least fifty or sixty new hospital engineers, and at break time we would all be telling stories about each other regarding something stupid—or dangerous—we had done. Someone would say: Hey, Jeff, tell that story about the time you and Bob yada yada yada. So, one day I wrote down some of the more, shall we say, humorous happenings I could tell each new hire, and that began my work memoir. I originally wrote it so my grandkids could someday get to know me better when I finally go to that comfy lounge chair in the sky. I guess I could have written about my whole life, but this just seemed more in tune with who I am as I try to see the humor in most situations. After a few people read it, they said I had to publish it, and even though most of it takes place in a hospital, anyone who ever had a job can see the similarities with work situations, fellow coworkers, and bad bosses.

I’ve never really thought too much about the world-building aspect of my S&S novels, although I did make a map early on. I drew it on the back of a 1965 LOTR poster that integrated the front covers of the three novels. At that time, (1973 or so) it was not valuable. I have now seen where some posters in pristine condition go for upwards of $2,000. As I wrote my trilogy, some of the places did not match up with the map, so I cut it into pieces! As for overall world-building, I, as I have often told people, just make shit up.

I’ve never been one for putting hidden messages or lessons or morals in my writing. I just create scenarios and shove my characters into them to see how they react. I guess my one overarching lesson in my zombie novels is that other survivors are much more dangerous than zombies. To me, zombies are like sharks; they just wander around and attack people because that is their nature. They don’t plan, they don’t think, they don’t lie. They just are. Survivors, however, can be depraved and immoral by choice. I write first for myself, since I figure if I satisfy me, there must be at least a few others out there just as weird.

As for future projects, I’m working on my fourth of ‘I’m only going to write one zombie novel ever.’ Since my first three Z novels start a handful of years after the apocalypse, and you only see the beginning of the catastrophe in flashbacks, I decided to try my hand (there goes that weird little part of my brain again) at how it all began. So, Zombie Highway Beginnings follows six different sets of characters as the Z Virus spreads its devastation across the globe. It will be a mixture of panstering and plotting on my part. After that, I will try my hand at writing a near future sci-fi spy thriller. Again, my mind has decided that I must try something different. I guess I could just keep writing Z and S&S or nuclear apocalypse tales, but that’s a fallback in case I ever get bored. Which, so far, I have not. There’s also the possibility of short stories. I’ve written about twenty, of which only three or four are decent. I really admire those who can string so few words together and make them successful.

I encourage anyone who might think about writing to just do it. As Stephen King says, if you want to be a writer, read a lot, and write a lot. I know people who have spent much of their lives thinking about writing a novel someday. Even if your first attempt is, shall we say, barely readable, you’ve already surpassed the vast majority of people. Having written something at all will get you on the road to writing more and more. Hopefully, every attempt will be an approvement. Go for it.

I am not very savvy in the realm of marketing in all its different permutations, and I have to admit I have not used AllAuthor’s promotions to the best effect. I really should follow and engage with other authors more often, but even being retired, my time is not endless. My wife and I travel a lot and keep active with family and friends and in our retirement community. I really should try harder, but I really just want to write. My fantasy would be to have a clone do all the hard work while I just sit back and create.