Interview with Doug Molitor

Author of Memoirs of a Time Traveler

 

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Altadena. I’ve lived in Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood, Altadena again, Monterey Hills and now Covina.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

Well, I meant to wind up in Malibu, but somehow I got the directions backwards. Crossing my fingers on this novel series, though.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I created a TV show about David and Ariyl. Then I expanded it into a screenplay. And when neither of those sold, a screenwriter friend who’s now a novelist told me she had turned a couple of scripts into successful novels. Now, it takes more than twice as many words than I need to write a screenplay, but I had so many story ideas from the TV show pitch, I decided I could add plot twists, and backstory, and evocative descriptions, and droll narration, and interior monologues, and all that fun stuff there’s not really time for in a 100-page script. I’m still mining those episode ideas for the Time Amazon novel series, which will eventually span six books.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

“They contain sex and violence. You little kids should really start with ‘Goodnight, Moon.'”

Oh, wait…you mean first-time readers of me? Ah, sorry, in that case:

“A wild, amazonian tourist from 2109 A.D. drags a young archaeologist of today on a chase through time, from ancient Atlantis to a nightmare future, from the American Revolution to Golden Age Hollywood, tracking down the psychopath who’s rewriting history.

Sci-fi meets romantic comedy…with sword-swinging adventure!”

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

People who love sci-fi, history, romantic comedy, political satire, epic battles, world-shaking disasters, classic Hollywood stars, crazy time paradoxes, and a brawny beauty who tosses grown men around like toys. On the other hand, anyone who thinks climate change is a hoax from China, or that someone who says so is fit to be president, is guaranteed to loathe these books. Caveat emptor.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

My emphasis is on being entertaining and funny, but I do deal with serious themes. While most of my reviews are lovely, about one in ten slams me for being political. I expected that. What I did not expect was this July, a review by a reader in Australia who said the rollicking adventures of my two time travelers had found him at the darkest place in his life – his adult daughter had just died of cancer – and they helped lead him back to the light. I cried when I read that. I’m crying while I’m typing this now. It’s like the end of “Sullivan’s Travels”, where the comedy director who wanted to make movies with Important Dramatic Stories learns that “There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh.”

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

I would have told myself to try this ten years earlier. I’ve written over 200 produced animation scripts, a dozen live action teleplays, and three dozen unsold original screenplays, pilots and specs. But if you love world-building – without interference from executives and money people – there’s nothing like writing a novel. Unless you happen to be dictator of a large nation.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

A million. That’s a nice round number. Especially if I could get one dollar per reader. But I wouldn’t kick a billion readers out of bed for eating crackers.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Getting the books published. When I finished the first one in 2009, I was on a BBS for Writers Guild members with the late, great comedy genius Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H, Tootsie, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). I asked Larry to vet the Hollywood 1945 chapters, since he lived there as a working writer at age 17. He asked me to send the whole book instead. He loved it. And then he gave me this wonderful blurb: “You couldn’t ask for a finer guide to the future – or the past – than Doug Molitor.” Armed with that, I found a book agent…and promptly wasted a year while the agent stopped communicating. I finally fired him, but I couldn’t find another agent. I also couldn’t get more than three writers out of sixty I found in the Herman Guide to Writers Markets to even read it. After three maddening years of this, I decided to self-publish. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be an author.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Writing. I did b) and c) at first, but thank God, I found a publisher who’s much better than I am at publishing and marketing.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Marketing. I’m not a salesman. Please buy my books anyway. (See?)

When do you think you will write your next book?

I’m writing it right now, and aiming for July 2020 publication.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I began by self-publishing. I made a mid-four-figure income thanks to some good promotions, but self-publishing is a lot of work. It’s time-consuming enough just researching and writing the books. So I signed with a publisher who I hoped would do better. They did worse. Zero promotion. They had an option on the sequel they did not exercise, and I found my current publisher Third Street Press, who has done far better by me.