Author Interview: Psychological Thriller Author Simon Dillon #PhantomAudition







The spirit of Simon Dillon took human form in 1975, in accordance with The Prophecy. He kept a low profile during his formative years, living the first twenty or so of them in Oxford, before attending University in Southampton, and shortly afterwards hiding undercover in a television job. In the intervening years, he honed his writing skills and has now been unleashed on the world, deploying various short stories and novels to deliberately and ruthlessly entertain his readers. He presently lives in the South-West of England with his wife and two children, busily brainwashing the latter with the books he loved growing up.

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As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books.  Can you tell us how you got the idea to write your book?

There were two main sources of inspiration for Phantom Audition. Firstly, the idea of an actor taking advice on roles from a medium comes from the late, great Peter Sellers, who did exactly that in real life. In the novel, protagonist Mia Yardley’s late husband Steven, a famous actor, took a film role playing famous abstract artist Edward Bingley, who like Steven committed suicide in mysterious circumstances. When Mia discovers Steven took this role on the advice of a medium, she comes to suspect her husband may have buried himself in the role a little too much, to the point where supernatural forces were involved.

The second source of inspiration for Phantom Audition is A Fantastic Woman. This Chilean film, which won Best Foreign Film at the 2018 Oscars, might at first appear an odd choice as an influence on Phantom Audition. Nonetheless, it actually provided the initial spark that launched the idea for the novel. The story concerns a transgender woman dealing with the death of her partner, finding herself isolated and ostracised by his family. The film has a dreamlike, magical realist quality to it, and even at times becomes a bit like a thriller (there’s a mysterious key which her partner left, for example). Moreover, there is something of a descent into the underworld/death and rebirth metaphor in the film, a story arc which is very much echoed in my novel. One image particularly leapt out at me – that of a ghostly vision of the dead partner staring out at her from a crowded nightclub dance floor amid strobe lights. It’s an image I actually nicked, sorry, “paid homage” to.

Can you tell us a little about the main characters of your book?

Mia is a woman isolated by grief, surrounded by hostile staff and relatives (including Steven’s sister Jemima). They look down their nose at her, thinking her unworthy of inheriting the Yardley ancestral Jacobean mansion. The house intimidates and unnerves Mia, and she is desperately trying to rediscover who she is, to escape her late husband’s shadow.

In flashbacks, Steven is introduced. He appears charming at first, but did his later behaviour (mirroring that of Edward Bingley) reveal his true character, or was something more sinister responsible for his descent into drug addicted hedonism?

Other key characters include Mia’s loyal best friend Bronwyn, who helps investigate Steven’s suicide, the enigmatic Etta Amble, the medium Steven consulted, and Verity, a member of Mia’s staff who may just have a few dark secrets of her own. Lurking behind the main story is the past relationship between Edward Bingley and his fellow artist Horace Bailey. Were they the best of friends, as everyone thought? Or was Bailey secretly jealous of Bingley’s immense success?

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would that be?

Stop wasting time going out to night clubs because you’re worried about being thought of as unsociable. Instead, save your money, read more books, watch more films, and learn not to give an airborne fornication about what anyone else thinks.

What would you say is one of your interesting writing quirks?

I suppose despite being promiscuous with genres, thematically there are certain ideas I explore again and again - abuse of power and religious oppression being two prime examples.

Do you hear from your readers?  What do they say?

Most of the feedback I get from readers is very enthusiastic and encouraging. I’ve had a few bad reviews, but most of these are actually good reviews in disguise - ie people who found my books too disturbing or upsetting. At least they weren’t bored!

What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

When I wrote my second novel, a person who beta-read it advised me to “put it through the shredder”. My first three novels will rightly never see the light of day.

What has been your best accomplishment?

In literary terms? Probably getting published by a traditional publisher. Dragon Soul Press have released three of my gothic mysteries - Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, and Phantom Audition.

Do you Google yourself?

Of course. Anyone who says they don’t is lying.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Not counting the afore-mentioned first three novels, I have ten unpublished novels sitting in various states of disrepair. Nothing is half-finished, but some are only at first draft stage. I’ve got one dystopian future shock satire, five fantasy tales, one very dark children’s fairy tale, one detective/horror hybrid, one thriller, and one contemporary satire. I’ve also got three other short stories (sci-fi romance, horror, and noir satire), and one novella (horror/sci-fi) lurking in my unreleased archives. Some of these might never be released, but who knows?

Next year I’m writing another gothic mystery, which I’m very excited about. I’ve got a killer ending which I am bursting to tell you, but obviously I’ll restrain myself.

Fun question – if you were princess or prince, what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?

I’d make using phones in cinemas a criminal offence. Seriously, all those pesky light-polluting screens drive me insane and completely break the spell of the film. Show some proper consideration and turn it off!

Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to your readers?

Thank you very much for reading my novels. I hope you enjoy Phantom Audition as much as the other gothic mysteries I’ve written. Also please leave reviews! This isn’t because I’m terribly insecure and require constant affirmation. It’s because reviews make those algorithms on Amazon show my work to more people. Reviews are bread and butter to relative unknowns like yours truly, and they really help. They don’t have to be long or eloquent; a simple “I enjoyed it” is fine. Thank you to everyone who has left reviews. I really appreciate every single one.








Small-time actress Mia Yardley, recently widowed wife of renowned actor Steven Yardley, discovers her late husband’s secret acting diary. The diary details appointments made with a psychic medium, who advised Steven on which roles to take. It also raises questions about his mysterious and inexplicable suicide. Seeking answers, Mia speaks to the medium, but in doing so is drawn into an ever- deepening mystery about what happened to her husband during the final days of his life. Eventually, she is forced to ask the terrible question: was Steven Yardley murdered by a vengeful evil from beyond the grave?

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