Tweep Tattler: Trever Bierschbach

INTRODUCING

TREVER BEIRSCHBACH

Hi Trever!

You like to create chain mail.

Where did you first learn to do that?

My wife is a jewelry designer and crafter and I help with a lot of her events, and she's had some requests for more masculine pieces over the years. Originally I was making beaded necklaces with a more masculine style but I've always loved chainmail. The first thing I learned to do was a half-persian bracelet from a YouTube video. From there I branched out into other designs but I've found YouTube is a great place to get started.

Some of Trever's creations

Gorgeous work!

OK, question #2:

Many authors discover world building with 

Dungeons and Dragons. Do you think your 

love of writing stemmed

from D&D, or vice-versa?

Thank you

And absolutely, I think the creative aspect of 

Dungeons and Dragons, and to an extent 

video games, has had a huge impact on people's 

creativity. For me D&D came well before any 

serious attempt at writing, though I think it 

immediately sparked by desire to tell stories. 

I was a Dungeon Master almost right away, 

having drawn the first map of what would be 

come the world of Thelos after my very first 

session. Populating that world with people, 

cultures, deities, and such wasn't enough. 

I had to give them all a reason to exist, so 

that's where the stories came from. At first 

those were stories in the form of adventures 

for other players of the game. Eventually Thelos 

evolved away from any specific game and 

became more unique. I think that's an important 

distinction, and the double-edged sword of 

RPGs inspiring writers. There's a lot of D&D 

clones out there. It's not a bad thing, there's 

a lot of good stuff that we would call 

Tolkeinesque, or D&D clones, but it is the 

vanilla ice cream of fantasy and readers are 

eager for something different. Writers need 

to find ways to make their worlds unique, get 

away from the typical fantasy tropes, create 

new cultures and things that are genuinely 

their own, and that can be hard. It took me 

a lot of years to get Thelos out of that box.

It's amazing how many years it takes some of us 

to work through our creations.

OK, last question:

What is your day job?

I'm a project manager at a software company 

in the support and analytics department.

Do you ever see your writing creep into your work?

Is that even possible?

Not the fiction aspect, but certainly the technical 

side. I do a lot of documentation writing, technical 

writing, and our primary communication is email. 

Quite a bit of what I've learned has helped there.

Cool!

Thanks so much for doing the interview!

Sure thing, thanks for the opportunity.

STANDARD TWEEP TATTLER INTERVIEW:

1) Where do you live?

Pekin Illinois

2) What is the first thing you remember writing?

I wrote a Christmas story for my grandmother when I was 9 or 10. I think I illustrated it as well but all I can remember is a drawing of Santa. I wrote it on a little notepad that they had, and stapled the cardboard backing to it as a cover.

3) Why do you write?

I like telling stories, and when I started playing Dungeons and Dragons I found a love for worldbuilding. After my first game I went home and taped a bunch of printer paper together into a big sheet and drew my first map. I love creating worlds and stories for the people who live in them, and I like sharing those stories with other people.

4) Have you published any of your work?

I've published short stories and poems in the past, in various local and indie presses, but my first serious publication was Embers of Liberty last October. In January I published the short story collection, When Heroes Rise.

5) What are you currently writing?

The first novel set in my fantasy world of Thelos. Embers is set in the real world, and was more of an experiment in thought. My real passion is writing fantasy. This novel is about a young woman who escapes the killing of all children in her society to be raised in secret. It's prophesied that she will destroy her society, but she escapes the death squads to travel across the world of Thelos to find new faith to save her people.

6) Are you currently querying?

No, not at that stage yet.

7) Finish this sentence (three lines or less):
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT…

and I could see, through the second story window, that the town was empty, there was no one left but me. He was out there, but there was no one left to find. That's when I heard the scream, there wasn't supposed to be anyone left.

8) Which activities do you like to participate in, in the Twitter writing community (VSS365, etc.)?

I haven't really participated in anything yet.

9) Do you have any formal training/education for writing?

A creative writing class in High School, and some writing workshops at GenCon is about it.

10) Do the people in your life know that you write?

Absolutely.

11) Tell me about the people in your life. Family? Pets?

I'm married to my wonderful wife of almost 22 years, without whom all this wouldn't be possible. Our son will be 21 this December. We have a rescue beagle/rat terrier mix named Astinus.

12) Where do you wish your writing to take you?

Honestly I'd just like to be able to do this full time. Getting the big movie deal, or hitting the bestseller list are dreams that I have, but realistically I'd just be happy waking up every day to spend my time telling stories.

13) What did you expect when you joined the Twitter writing community? Did it turn out as expected?

Not sure I expected anything. I started using the hashtag to get more eyes on my material and it did help find a couple of reviewers.

14) Where do you write?

Mostly at the kitchen table in the morning. The house is quiet and I'm not tired after a long day at work. I write over my lunch break and sometimes in the evening on the couch.

15) How much time do you dedicate to writing, weekly?

Specifically set aside for writing? Probably about 8-10 hours but I try to get in more if I'm able.

16) Do you have other talents?

I'm pretty good with my hands, carpentry and woodworking. I have a lot of hobbies, like making chain mail, that require talent I suppose.

17) CHOOSE ONE:
A. I do not mind when other writers ask for advice. I don't mind at all, but people have to be realistic and open about their expectations.

B. I’d rather keep to myself!

Trever has been writing since he was very young. He is a fiction writer, and poet, avid reader, gamer, and has countless hobbies with an amazing wife that tolerates all of it. He writes because the stories and ideas have to go somewhere, even if no one else reads them.