From Kathryn’s desk…
“Monsters hunt through people’s dreams. They’re called phantoms, and they’re nearly unstoppable. They slip into realities between night and morning when their victims are most vulnerable. The dream runners once fought them and protected humanity. Now Mike Carpenter is the last dream runner. He is alone. But he doesn’t stop hunting the phantoms. He’s lost everything he loves and refuses to yield even as the phantoms grow stronger and begin to show signs of intelligence.” (Quote from Dream Runner by Jennifer Tess AKA Jeremy Trimble)
Jeremy Trimble is somewhat of a dream runner himself – he is running toward his dreams at quite a fast pace with all the enthusiasm and determination you see in his fiction characters. As a new and upcoming author he is benefitting greatly from the recent explosion of e-book sales. He writes for young adults, who have a large appetite for fast paced fantasy. The combination is putting Jeremy on the reader charts at #62. Not bad for a post secondary English instructor who dabbles in the stock market.
Royalties are turning his head from recent publications including: Dream Runner, published by Malachite Quills Publishing 2011, Poisoned Star, published by Rebel Ink Press 2011, Impulse Control, published by Malachite Quills Publishing 2011, and Infinite, published by Black Rose Writing 2010.
I read Jeremy’s two latest books and found them quite the page-turners. Geared for middle and high school students, the best thing about Jeremy’s work isn’t the fast-paced and imaginative plotting, but the good role modeling. Girls are leaders and hold power right along with the boys – who are always gentlemen, unless evil villains of course. Even then genders are equally picked on.
Romance and wanting to save the world are presented as exciting and admirable pursuits – as well they should be in the minds of young adults. All is never right with the world, but those who truly care take on their quests with serious enthusiasm driven by a desire to make a difference.
“When Mike chases a phantom through three different dreams, he stumbles into the last person he expected. Cora. He found his way into her dream. Except this time something impossible happens. She remembers him. For the first time, he is confronted by the chance that he might not have to fight alone.” (Quote from Dream Runner by Jennifer Tess AKA Jeremy Trimble)
Jeremy has an impressive list of accomplishments, especially when you consider he is just getting started. He holds an MA in English from Sac State and a BA in both English and Spanish from the same institution. Jeremy is a member of 4 honor societies including International English and Spanish. He has won 7 writing awards for short fiction, expository prose, and essay, and has spoken at 5 writing related conferences. He was an editor for Calaveras Station, a proofreader in both English and Spanish for The National Shopping Service and has taught multiple courses on the subjects of English, literature and writing. You might say the entire subject of literacy defines him.
I asked Jeremy some questions recently about his drive to be a post secondary English instructor, author of fantasy for young adults and part-time dabbler in the stock market.
Why do you use a pseudonym and what was the thought process behind the names you chose – especially since one is female?
I use multiple pseudonyms for two reasons. First, I like to keep my life as a writer separate from everything else. That’s why I use a pen name in the first place. But I have multiple pseudonyms to work within different genres. My writing tends to jump around. My first three books were all romantic in some ways, but the level of violence and intended audience shift around quite a bit as well. And if I’m completely honest, it’s fun coming up with pen names.
Dream Runner (Jeremy Trimble)
“Treya Third has a simple life. She pilots a Poisoned Star, one of the Foundation’s most powerful warships. She lives in space alone where her only companion is her ship’s mind. When the Foundation orders her to kill, she does. When they order her to murder whole colonies, she obeys. Anything else would mean torture and death for her kind.”
“When the human race sends in a fleet to retake one of their systems, Traya’s Poisoned Star is dispatched to destroy them. In every other fight, her warship has triumphed. But Treya learns the humans have a new plan of attack this time when someone sneaks onboard her ship.” (Quote from Poisoned Star by Josh Tremino AKA Jeremy Trimble)
When did you realize that you wanted to be an author and did you choose the genres you write in or did they choose you?
I first became interested in writing way back in 4th grade. My teacher had us do a daily journal assignment at the beginning of each class, and I really enjoyed them. By the time I hit 7th grade, I knew I wanted to be a professional writer.
In terms of genre, I’ve always been something of a geek. I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5, and Deep Space 9. Then in college I spent a shocking amount of time playing Dungeons and Dragons. Altogether, this made sci-fi and fantasy a natural fit for me.
“But the stowaway doesn’t try to sabotage or destroy the Poisoned Star. As the hours pass and Treya continues her hunt, she begins to learn more about her life before the Foundation kidnapped and reprogrammed her. Surrounded by enemies, questioned by allies and running out of time, Treya must choose between a mysterious past and an uncertain future.” (Quote from Poisoned Star by Josh Tremino AKA Jeremy Trimble)
Where do you go from here in the way of publishing? Do you want to continue to produce the same type of books?
The last few months have been something of a shock in terms of writing and my finances. Through most of my life, I spent hours of each week writing and made very little. Now the royalties are starting to build up, which does make me wonder where I’m going to go from here. Right now I’m considering becoming a full-time author. At some point, I would like to score a best-selling novel, but for now I’m happy to tinker on with my different projects.
I know you teach English and literature at the college level. Is this as much for the pleasure of it as for the income? What motivates you to teach, in other words, and what inspires you about your students?
I absolutely love teaching. I believe that education is the foundation to a solid democracy and that our republic cannot survive without a well-educated populace. On a purely pragmatic level, I do teach to pay my bills, but at the same time, I like to think I am contributing something to our culture. My students inspire me when they really engage with the material and come up with points I never would have considered.
What frustrates you most about your students?
Many of my colleagues and I have sat around and discussed this question at one point or another. Overall, I think the most frustrating thing about some of my students is the sense of entitlement. From time to time, I get a few students who come into class with the assumptions that education is unimportant because they already know everything. At the same time, I think there’s a parallel belief that has seeped into our culture that all forms of knowledge are equally valid or legitimate. Students seem to be reluctant to say that a piece of information is wrong or to evaluate its potential weaknesses. Fortunately, these are generally minor issues since the majority of my students are willing to try and stretch themselves to learn new concepts and points of view.
I know you like to dabble in the Stock Market. Why and how did this interest develop?
In college, I had a desk job, which required very little effort. This meant there would be whole days where I was stuck in my cubicle with pretty much nothing to do but wander around online. I took to reading a lot of news articles, which in turn led me to the business section. More and more, I started to read how companies were doing, and I started to make predictions. After a while, it didn’t seem so hard, so I opened a trading account and started to buy and sell positions. I’ve been doing it for the last three years now. I enjoy the critical thinking that goes into the stock market to determine what a company is worth and—more importantly—how the company and its price will react to the world as it changes.
If you make you fortune anytime soon in the stock market, or on royalties from your publications, can you see yourself retiring at an early age?
I don’t know if I could ever retire entirely. Since getting my MA, I’ve been teaching about 6 classes per quarter, which makes for a pretty stressful schedule. In time, I think I might settle down a bit. For now though, I enjoy being something of a workaholic.
You can purchase Jeremy’s books through Barnes and Noble bookstores or Amazon, either as e-books or in print.
