Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a lifelong Dallas/Fort Worth resident. Back in the 90s a high school buddy (Greg Neeley) and I were budding songwriters with dreams of making it in Nashville. Life, as it is wont to do, had other plans. Instead of Nashville, we each became husbands and fathers and that became the priority. Enter the dog days of Covid, with the children now young adults. Our creative juices again began flowing. Soon we had a really cool (or so we believe) twist on time travel, and work began on our debut novel, Then the Night Got Weird. We are happy to share it with the masses.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Then the Night Got Weird is an 80s sci-fi romp, filled with both heart and humor. Greg and I are both 80s kids, and we loved the adventures of that era. The Goonies was a clear inspiration for Weird, though ours has accidental time travel instead of treasure hunts.
Weird is also targeted more toward adults. There is a, shall we say, a healthy amount of salty language. Though I think high school readers would enjoy the story, some parents might object to the language.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Since writing duos are still anomalies, that probably qualifies as unusual. I have also read that many of my favorite writers—Stephen King, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, etc—like to write by the seat of their pants. Meaning they know the beginning and end of the story, but let everything in between work itself out as they go along. Other writers do a full outline.
Greg and I have a hybrid approach. We storyboard ahead several chapters at a time. So we know the bones of those chapters, but you really never know the guts of those chapters until you sit down and start typing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
See the above. Stephen King is the Man. Even when he doesn’t hit a home run, there are always things to admire in his stories. And he still has his fastball. In recent years, I have loved The Institute and The Outsider. He is an influence for sure. Connelly and Sandford are also favorites of mine. The pacing and dialogue in Sandford books are always a delight.
I should also give a shout out to Dean Koontz. I was a voracious reader as a child. However, that changed in high school and I thought I would be content to never read another book. At 20, out of town for a funeral and with nothing to do, I picked up a copy of Watchers by Dean Koontz. I finished the book the book two days later and have been reading every since.
What are you working on now?
We are about halfway finished with book 2 now. It is a psychological horror story called The Tunnel. It will require a trigger warning because it deals with the parents of a teenage boy, that are left to pick up the pieces after his suicide at the age of 15. Hounded by guilt, grief, and desperation, the parents attend a session at a local spiritual church. Things seemingly go great, leading them to having a number of one of one sessions. Eventually the lies and manipulation orchestrated by this “pyschic mafia” are found out, and unspeakable violence follows. The Tunnel is loosely based on my own personal experience with a devastating family loss.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
www.rtgnbooks.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write. Then write some more. I promise you, if you are the creative sort, you will get better as you go. Don’t be afraid to use software like Grammarly or ProWriting Aid. No matter how smart you are, those programs will catch things that you might not notice for months, or even years.
Be mindful of empty words. Words like really, just, some, etc, are often used as a crutch. Both in real life and on the page. It’s not that these words can’t serve a purpose, because they absolutely can. But oftentimes they are a crutch.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
At a class at DFW Con a couple of years ago, an instructor told us to be mindful of overusing adverbs in dialogue tags. The reason being, it is better to “show” the emotion rather than tell the reader.
What are you reading now?
Those We Do Not See by Angie Gallion
What’s next for you as a writer?
After we finish The Tunnel, we will move on to an untitled YA horror about a lonely high school girl who comes across a mystical object at her part-time job and it changes her life in ways she never could have imagined.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I really loved S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders as a kid. Then as mentioned earlier, Watchers played a very important role early on as well.
As an adult, I have loved many. I’m not sure I actually have a favorite. I will cheat and name two that resonated with me in a big way. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, and The Bone Tree by Greg Iles.
Author Websites and Profiles
Reggie Tennison Website
Reggie Tennison Amazon Profile
Reggie Tennison’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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