B.T. Keaton was born and raised in the U.S.A, and he still feels at home whenever he visits east Tennessee. He is a citizen of beautiful Aotearoa, and has called its capital city of Wellington home for over ten years.
His career highlights include slaving in retail, advertising, and craft beer brewing. He loves music and animals, and finds throwing trash from the windows of moving vehicles oddly satisfying, and yet, he passionately despises litterbugs. Transference is his debut novel.
Where did the inspiration for TRANSFERENCE come from, and how long would you say from start to finish did it take for the novel to come into existence?
You got an hour? (laughs) Well, the book had a rocky sort of start dating all the way back to 2010. Originally, I had it in my heart and mind to write a sci-fi movie script to honour my late father’s memory. He was a sci-fi fan, and my love of the genre largely came from him. At some point, I must’ve yanked my head out of the clouds realizing I had zero connections in Hollywood, and I set the script aside for about two years. When I picked it up again, I turned it into a full-length novel. Then I sought out Pat LoBrutto in the hope that he’d become my editor. He agreed, and after about six months of going back and forth with him, the book was probably 98% finished in 2013. Then, I dropped the whole project out of (what I think might’ve been) some misplaced sense of fear and failure. I wrote other stories in the years after that, and was inspired in 2019 to knock the dust off of Transference. I made some minor adjustments at that time that felt very organic, and those changes really broadened the whole big picture of where the plot was heading. For me, everything started to slot into place and feel “right,” which it hadn’t quite felt like before. So, really, I guess you could say the whole thing took almost ten years. Man, let me tell you, I really hope the sequel doesn’t take even half that long! (laughs)
What is the one take away that you hope readers will take away from your writing?
To be honest, Transference is pretty grim the more I think about it. However, there is a permeating sense of hope throughout the entire thing. For me, personally, the book is about family more than anything else. And if my writing is remotely good, I blame my editors and all the wonderful teachers I had growing up. If the writing is even remotely interesting, it’s because I was exposed to good stories through comic books and my dad’s home library. I would also add to that—if you’ve got stories in your head, and you’re afraid you can’t get your work out there, or whatever it is that’s holding you back—trust me, you can do it. Just reach out, because there’s a lot of indie authors out there who are happy to help. Robert J. Sawyer gave me the most wonderful pull quote for the back cover of Transference, and you know, he didn’t have to do that… but he did. And that’s what I mean, there’s a huge community of people who want you to succeed. I want everyone to succeed. So, for my part, I’m pretty much willing to pay it forward until the end of time. (laughs)
The cover design is amazing, what was the thought process behind it coming into fruition?
Thank you so much. I’m glad you like it. The cover was recently awarded 1st place in a contest on Instagram held by Samantha Goodwin of WildMind Creative. I’m still reeling from that because there were so many amazing covers! But, to answer the question, I know that sci-fi/speculative fiction isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I knew I had to make people do a double-take. I had to catch the attention of a potential buyer and make them go, hmm, what on Earth is this is about? I sure hope I pulled off! (laughs) If you wanted to probe a little deeper, one of the themes in the book revolves around duality, and there’s undeniably a spiritual element to the whole thing too. So, I wanted the cover to reflect that. And, you know, I’ve got to give major props for the incredible design work, which was done by a New Zealand based company called Damonza. Chrissy is the superstar there, and she made the process so enjoyable.
What was the experience like moving from Tennessee to New Zealand and where did the vision start to write TRANSFERENCE, was it here in the states or in your new home overseas?
My family moved every couple of years when I was a kid, so I always joke that I’ve got gypsy blood in me because of that. We went from North Carolina to Texas to Tennessee within the span of about seven years. Dad finally settled us a bit in Athens, Tennessee in 1992. I was a teenager then so I remember it vividly, and I’m very thankful for that time in my life. I left Tennessee in 1998 and moved around a few times after that. My father and I were having a heart to heart in 2005, and it was he that planted the seed in my mind to maybe travel, to see the world a bit. So, I worked and saved for about a year, and moved to New Zealand in 2006. I’ve come back to the States a few times since then in an attempt to re-integrate, but I think something changed inside me… New Zealand truly feels like my home now. It’s such a unique place, and the people are wonderful. But I suppose you could say my past in Tennessee and my present in New Zealand both inspired the book.
Bonus Question:
You’ve had a varied working career, including working at a craft beer brewery. When you finished writing TRANSFERENCE what was your favourite beer that you kicked back with to celebrate?
My go-to beer is Guinness, but only if it’s on tap. I recently celebrated getting a Bookbub deal by cracking open a 2018 bottle of barrel-aged stout called “Night Spirit” by Kererú Brewing. They are based out of Upper Hutt, right here in New Zealand, and every beer they make is fantastic. And I’m not just saying that because I used to work with them! (laughs)
For More Press Inquires with B.T. Keaton Contact Michael Beas at [email protected] or Contact Him at 704-771-4865
