As I was telling him about MLA and describing our little community here, I told him that "we celebrate the past, but look toward the future." As we're now looking forward to 2011, he graciously agreed to answer a few questions for us...
(My questions are in black and his answers are in blue.)
Hey, Trevor, Happy New Year -- and thanks so much for doing this.
This has been a pretty good year for you, with "Angel of Vengeance" finally being published and due out in February, and a new television project in development with Sony... hopefully, it's just the beginning with more good things to follow in 2011.
You've increased your public exposure a bit, with more of a presence on Twitter and Facebook. Has this helped you get the word out about "Angel of Vengeance"? Is there any other sort of social media publicity in the works -- perhaps, for example, advertising with a slick promotional video on YouTube as we're starting to see for some novels?
Yes, I've been trying to get the word out about the novel myself. Still waiting to hear what the publisher is planning in terms of publicity, but thought I'd get a jump on it. The Youtube video is a good idea. I hadn't heard about those. I'll have to do a search and see if I can find any to see what you're talking about.
Is there anything your Moonlight fans can do to help? I mean, besides each buying a dozen copies?
As for what "Moonlight" fans can do (aside from buying twelve copies a piece as you said
) it would be incredibly helpful if everyone would help spread the word however possible. Retweeting the title of the book to their followers on Twitter, and embedding the Amazon link or the Barnes and Noble link on their Facebook pages will be very helpful in helping to raise awareness. I can also use help by having people get friends and family do the same, as well as go to the Amazon and Barnes and Noble links and click the "like" buttons on those pages. Basically, anything that spreads the word to the uninitiated outside the general "Moonlight" fandom and raise awareness about the book will be a huge help.Can you tell us where things stand with the new television project? I know you and Scott were tossing some names around -- has anything stuck? Do you have a script done or is that still in the works?
As for the new project, seems like most people like 'insight' best. But we're still tossing ideas around. If nothing else comes along that we like better, and if the studio agrees, we'll probably go with that.
We handed a draft in just before the holidays, and will probably be getting notes on it after the first of the year. At this point those who have read it seem to think it's in pretty good shape, but we'll know more after the big notes call. If the studio agrees, we'll start looking for a network... if they don't, we'll start re-writing like crazy...
I remember you once mentioning that you had a young Mickey Rourke in mind when you were writing about Mick Angel. Did you have any actors in mind as you were developing the main characters of this new show? And if so, does that make it harder in the long run to find the right match? When it goes to pilot, will you have any input in the casting process?
As a writer I rarely write anything for a specific actor. If you do, and write in their particular cadence, then you're hamstrung when you inevitably cannot get them to star in your project. However, I sometimes like to think of a "type" and then write with that in mind. For example, rather than think of George Clooney, I'll imagine Danny Ocean and the character traits that make him so smooth and cool in order to inform my character. It's just something to hold onto while you write that is sometimes helpful. That said, Scott and I didn't really imagine any specific actors or characters for this project. We have a tough, take-charge late twenties woman and a fifteen year-old boy as our leads, so finding the right actors to bring them to life will be very important. However, we have discussed that we like Katie Sackoff from Battlestar Galactica as a template for the female lead.
If we get to make a pilot as executive producer I will be heavily involved in casting, as will Scott, the showrunner, whoever he or she may be, the director, and our producer at Original Content... Once we make some choices, we take them to the studio and if they agree we move on to the network. Pretty much everyone gets to weigh in... Which is why casting can be such a long and difficult process sometimes.
Aside from your writing, do you have any New Year's resolutions? Is there anything new -- maybe something you've never done before, or have always wanted to do -- that you'd like to try this coming year?
As for New Years resolutions- aside from hiking more and eating better, I haven't really made any. I would love to get away and travel to some new countries this year if schedule and finances allow. But at the moment, that doesn't look to be in the cards. If the pilot gets picked up, I'll have the money, but not the time. And if it doesn't, I'll have the time and not the money. Ain't that always the way it goes...?
Sad but true. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to chat -- and Happy New Year! And please keep us posted with any new developments!
Thanks for the questions. Let me know if you have any more. All best in the New Year!
Hugs, Trevor.
As a follow-up, I sent Trevor a couple of links to YouTube book promos and he said he's going to check them out. If anyone has any, please post them and I'll forward them to him.
Also, he is still very much open to suggestions for a show title. If you have any sudden inspirations, feel free to post them here or on his FB page.
(After the holidays are over, I'll be moving this into the writers' forum so that it doesn't get archived.)
Thank you so much for getting in touch with Trevor, and sharing your conversation with all of us. And thank you so much to Trevor for his thoughtful and interesting responses. I can't wait to see what happens with his new show, and I've already got a few copies of AoV pre-ordered. I will definitely do the things Trevor asked Moonlight fans to do to spread the word, too. 
I'm not confused -- I completely agree! 
