Interview With Author Jack Barton

  

1. What inspired you to write this book? My good answer that bears a majority of truth and a just little hyperbole is that I've always loved stories in all their forms and simply wanted to create my own. From watching films like Star Wars, TV in Bones and Supernatural, reading books such as Harry Potter or Andy McNab's army stories, playing games like Fallout - I've always enjoyed throwing myself into other worlds. And by immersing myself from a young age, I developed a hyper imagination, producing little films in my mind, all of my own creations, a form of entertainment to escape to away from the mundane day-to-day life. 

A slightly more honest answer is that I was bored during the Lockdown for the Coronavirus and devised writing as a hobby and because my partner and I worked out that each of us holding down decent paying, honest jobs simply was not enough to afford to buy a home in London, so finding a side hustle of some kind seemed essential, and so I decided to pick very tough one.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? It's the first book in a series of dystopian future, sci-fi books based around the aftermath of a catastrophic event known as the Capital Collapse whereby the shining beacon of hope, the Capital City of one of the new colonies of humanity to have escaped Earth after the world's fall into apocalyptic, bloody chaos, suddenly closes itself off under an impenetrable dome, trapping thousands inside and resigning them  to a worse fate than those ordinary people who survived the ordeal who found themselves blamed for the calamity. It follows the story of a rogue worker, someone outside the corporate society, as she strives to unlock the secret at the heart of the disaster, the real cause of the Collapse, and the chilling figure she turns to for help, the once Elite Commander of the policing forces within the city, turned hateful and murderous in the wake of losing his family in the madness of the event.  

It's a story written for late teens and adults, containing details of killing, torture and includes some sexual references. It's a story for those seeking a grittier, harder story about people setting out to try to do the right thing in a world of bad. And it's a story for those looking for something else in a main character, for while the rebel is the hero of the story, igniting hope and pushing through obstacles in her path to reach the truth that would set the people free, the other main character, her companion, is a villian of the story. Twisted, cruel and yet with a past that he uses to justify his actions that the hero tries to help him understand and overcome, their connection is a core element of the story.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope readers will get some entertainment and enjoyment from reading my book. I really hope they enjoy the characters for their individuality and quirks, each bringing different perspectives on the journey the story takes. I hope those who enjoy action like the fight scenes and battlegrounds. I hope those who look more for rich dialogue and world-building are impressed. And I hope that readers looking for stories where people connect with one another, relating their pasts and coming together to achieve the impossible are rewarded for picking up my book.  

4. How did you decide on the book's title and cover design? Well, firstly, I don't like the title anymore. My original idea was to go with the trend of blending in the main character's name into all of the book titles, (Nathan Winter, hence Winter's Return). But for all the research and extensive use of Google I deployed in writing the book, I failed to look up my idea for a title because if I had, I would have seen there was already a series of books, all named in that style, after a character called Winter. The idea of Winter's Return was that this character's return to the fold from his self-imposed exile was the crucial turning point between a crushing, fascist corporate regime and revolution. What would I change it to if given a second chance? Honestly the naming of the book came last and it took me ages to come up with what I did. So I don't know. Maybe 'The Capital Collapse'.  

The cover design was a difficult process as I only had interaction with the publisher by email and that leads to a process where creating a personal design is difficult and there's an immense feeling of your own creation being out of your hands. Not to have a go at anyone or anything as remote communication does work, but in creative aspects like designing the cover, it felt extremely difficult. But I passed on that I wanted Cait, the rogue of the story, to be on the cover and to be holding an eyeball (as that's the trophy of choice for the Elite Commander turned serial killer), and that I wanted some imagery in the background to display the Capital City. I wanted to give people who picked up the book a brief but somewhat understanding glimpse into the story without being too exhaustive in detail.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers - other than run!?  Get Redbull and drink coffee. For me, I could barely string my sentences together to describe the scenes in my head without an introduction of energy, the 500ml cans of Redbull to be precise, on every sitting. And eat. Food and energy. Absolutely essential. And if you have a full time job as I do while trying to write, don't get frustrated with a day where you're too tired to make the whole writing thing work or the words just aren't coming together if you do try. Getting frustrated is the opposite of enjoying what ought to be quite an exciting delve into your own story so take a breath, take a break, and if that break should be a week or even two, then that's ok.  

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? This is only my first book so my views on the whole book world are extremely narrow and not well informed. But what I can see is that books are not going away. There will always be a demand for good storytelling with books, e-books, audiobooks and books being made into tv and films being more and more widespread.  

I think the book publishing industry is a hard place to get into. Getting my own book over the line was difficult. Some publishers I couldn't find how to send them a script and others outwardly said they weren't looking to receive new scripts at all so it was hard. But I got lucky with my one, Austin Macauley are good, the process was simple.  

But I did originally publish my book by making it all from scratch myself using a service from Amazon. It's like DIY for publishing a book which I liked and would've stuck with but there's something to be said about having a publisher create a real and proper book but maybe that's a product that will grow. Giving a chance to people like how I was who can't get their foot in the door with a publisher. 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Yes and no. No, because at 28 there is still a lot about the world I don't know. That's a big part of the reason why I chose the sci-fi genre because if you don't know something like politics or medical issues or physics - you can just make it up.  

But yes in the character of the Elite Commander, Nathan Winter. I went through some counselling and therapy during my teenage years, with dark thoughts and things like that, and I blew up some of those to what Nathan does and thinks. The arrogance of anger. The inward hate that fear can bring. Counselling allowed me to learn where my feelings came from and how to manage them and the thoughts they influenced. This helped me better describe Nathan's thoughts and actions, the kind of things where I said no and he says yes.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? The word I kept coming back to while writing this book was 'cinematic'. I pushed my writing style to be descriptive but also entertaining and I do think I succeeded. I wanted the reader to visualize the story using the building blocks I provided so that they could have as much fun with the story and events in it as I did imagining it and writing it. I wanted them to experience it as though watching it in a cinema inside my mind. 

The actual format of the book I leaned more toward JK Rowling. The breaking down of the paragraphs, the choice to describe who was speaking in group settings and the idea to push multiple, highly individual characters all at once in richly entertaining story lines. And above all I wanted to emulate some of that world building. I wanted the reader to feel like jumping into the scene rather than being a bystander, a spectator.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The main challenge was time. I started the book during the covid lockdown so to begin with time wasn't much of a problem as I was one of the few jobs still going to work. But as life returned to normal with full work weeks, then I got married and now I'm expecting a daughter in the summer, it's hard to find the time to devote to writing. Then there's family obligations, other distracting interests and simple tiredness, and it all gets a bit frustrating. But as I said earlier, you can't let the frustration win. So I wrote when I could and when I couldn't because I was too tired to form the book at the standard I wanted then I didn't let that loss of time get to me. I didn't let frustration tarnish a chapter.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Because we have an abundance of stories about heroes, and this is one about a villain. I really do believe that all my characters are interesting and follow intriguing paths but the main character of Nathan Winter stands out from them all. A figure of authority before a disaster in which he lost everything. He's trained. He's experienced. And now he's motivated and not held back by anything. Nathan, I feel, is the arguably more realistic challenger to the kind of threat that an oppressive regime might produce. Not a starry eyed, hopeful, inexperienced youth. But someone who was already battle-worn and wisened, held in check by a good path forward only to be off-footed by a colossal event that essentially unleashed his true and devastating nature. So he's not the hero who protects the weak and fights the bad. He's the evil who hunts the bad because they taste better than the good. And every villain is a hero in their own story.

About The Author: I live just outside London in England, working in the building materials industry in the transport department and taking every chance I get to write in my free time while being a husband, an expectant father, a cat Dad and a season ticket holder for Brentford Football Club in London. At the time of writing, I am 28 years old and I used my restless, overactive imagination to get me into becoming an author, taking inspiration from my great interest in stories such as Star Wars and to finally solidify a means of forming the stories in my own mind into linear, coherent storytelling. For more info, please see: https://www.facebook.com/jack.barton.102/ 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Interview With Author Erika Nelson

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? When my son was in high school, he took a class on American politics and government. We had a conversation about what it would be like to write a book about a political process in a way that little children would understand. I thought that writing a book about presidential elections, not a dry book about the procedures, but an engaging book about the culture and the passions of the electoral process, would be very interesting. It needs to be done in a sincere, non-partisan way to be truly educational, so this is what I tried to accomplish.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for?  What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? The book is written for young children and their parents, and it is designed to appeal to both. At the most basic level, the young readers should learn terms like “candidate”, “campaign”, “secret ballot” and understand the concepts behind them. This would serve as the prelude to their future understanding of the electoral process. Besides that, there are many important themes, such as: how to succeed in the face of adversity, how to temper your anger when dealing with criticism, whose advice is trustworthy and how to win a debate! There is a bit of subtle humor and sarcasm built into the book to entertain the parents. Above all, this book provides a way to start a conversation between parents and children about an important topic they otherwise would probably not discuss. A fable is the perfect teaching tool to introduce a complex topic to young children, as our ancestors did for thousands of years. Unfortunately, there is no “ancient wisdom” about presidential elections because it is such a new phenomenon, so we need to create modern fables of our own.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I did my own illustrations for the whole book, including the cover design. In the foreground, there are two chimpanzees, who are thinking very hard about the title “How to become president.” The birds are not thinking, they are pulling at the sign, as if trying to steal the election. The baby chimp is just swinging in the trees and having fun, just like little kids like to do on the playground.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? People begin to write because they feel they have something to say. If you write fiction, be prepared to craft each character as an individual being, walk in his shoes, feel what he feels. You need this even for the negative characters and episodic characters. The process of getting into character is very much like what an actor does when he prepares to play a role. This will make your characters believable and compelling for the readers. Also, in children’s books, the pictures tell at least half of the story, so work very closely with the illustrator to make sure that your story is presented the way you intend to. I was so concerned about the quality of the images and the visual story line, that I did the illustrations myself.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Many books are published in a digital format because it is more convenient to the readers. However, there still demand for cookbooks and children’s books in paper form. People are willing to invest in them because they intend to read them over and over again.  

7.  Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? I worked as a contractor for the Federal government in Washington, D.C., so I spent a lot of time interacting with politicians. I observed how they behave when they are out of sight of the public and how they present their ideas when they want to get a point across, but without leaving any possibility of an adverse interpretation of their political position. Their verbal acrobatics can be quite spectacular. I was very impressed with how clever and strategic politicians really are and by how hard they work. Every 15 minutes of their day is scheduled and accounted for; and their assistants work even harder. It takes a lot of ambition and a mighty amount of willpower to achieve succeed in government. Their networking skills are absolutely phenomenal.  

8.       How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I was inspired by African folk tales and indigenous American fables. I used to love reading fables to my children when they were little. Fables are full of wisdom and humor. They teach children to think for themselves.  

9.       What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The writing came easily. I was so inspired that I wrote the whole book in one night. (I did end up finishing it at four o’clock in the morning.) Perfecting the illustrations took a few months. I used to draw a lot when I was young, but I hadn’t drawn much for twenty years until I wrote this book, so my skills were very rusty. The illustrations required a lot of research: all animals and flowers are styled after real animals and plants in Africa. I have gotten a lot better lately, because I have learned to paint and improved my precision of my hand by practicing calligraphy.  

10.     If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? With the elections coming up, a lot of people feel wound-up and little kids don’t understand what all the fuss is about. We try to shield them from the social passions around us, but maybe we should at least try to acquaint them with the basics, because they will grow up to be voters one day. Some of them will even become politicians, God help us! So, we might as well start talking to them about politics in some nice and friendly form, while they are still willing to listen to us.  

About The Author: Erika Nielsen is a writer and illustrator of children’s books, with experience in children’s education. She lives with her husband in New York. They have two children. Erika Nielsen is a pen name. (I am omitting the mention of any additional professional credentials, because I am writing under a pen name). For more info, please see: erikanielsenbooks.com   

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Why Does Anyone Want To Buy Your Book?

 

 

Authors are so married to their words and willfully blind to their competition that they ignore the need to distinguish their book and distill their branding message down to a singular reason someone should read it.

Here’s my question: Why would someone read your book? What does it offer readers?

What is the answer?

If you stumble and bumble on this, your book is dead. Just walk away from it.

Let’s try this exercise in reverse. Try to answer why you do what you do and make the choices that you make. For instance, you will likely have dinner tonight. What will you choose to eat? Why?

You probably go through a checklist that starts with whom you will eat with and thus, you must consider their needs and wants. Then you decide if it is to be home cooking, ordering in, or going out. You query yourself on costs, convenience, timing, and preferences vs choice availability. You may also have dietary and food allergy considerations weighing in. You think about how hungry you are, what you had for lunch today or dinner yesterday, and what would make you feel good. You go through all of this because you don’t want to invest time, money, or mindshare on a bad option. You don’t want to be disappointed. In the end, one thing above all others weighs on you and inspires or forces a selection upon you.

Well, book-reading decisions are much harder than that. Everyone has the option of selecting a book from the tens of millions of choices out there — and the average American only reads a few books a year. Compare that to choosing from a few dozen food options 365 times a year.

My food choices usually involve coffee or chocolate. They taste great and make me feel good. Most other things lose to them. For others, when it comes to books, they may have defined parameters as well. Their buying decision can be based on one or more factors, including these:

* Price
* Length
* Genre
* Author
* Publisher
* Format
* Needs
* Wants

* Mood
* Reviews
* Friend Recommendations

It may just come down to one’s mood. Do they need a comedy? A thriller? Romance?  A history lesson?

An author must know why one could be potentially interested in their book. Then, they must make the case that their book offers what they want in a way that is better/cheaper/more convenient than competing books or other forms of content — movies/television/theatre/music etc.

So, what is so special about your book? Prioritize what the most appealing aspects are and then string them together in one all-consuming, compelling sentence that blows people away.

Here, look at dating sites as an example. You may see photos of hundreds of women. You thin out the herd just based on their looks. And based on their appearances you look at specific facial features and body parts. You look at their smile, their clothes, and many data points, trying to decide whom you desire. Then you filter out things in their profiles, making snap judgments without even speaking to them. Somehow, out of so many choices you zeroed in on a handful to pursue. Books are looked at in a similar way, from their looks (cover) to their profiles (descriptive back-cover copy).

So, what does your book offer — that people want or need and that gets delivered better than others books? You need to answer that question now.

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Do Authors Need A Preacher Or A Plumber? Yes

 

Authors seeking to market themselves need all kinds of help to get their books discovered. Should they hire a plumber or consult a preacher? Probably both.

A plumber is one who has training in a skilled profession, and has experience in fixing all kinds of pipe and water problems. You hire this whiz and expect to see clearly defined results. In book industry parlance, that would be a book publicist. Also called a promoter.

A preacher uses the power of words to speak to you in a way that leads you to see things differently, to feel supported, motivated, and inspired. This person educates and enlightens, showing you a way to go about living your life. This can extend to someone beyond church, such as a therapist, coach, and teacher. In the book world, this is a book marketing consultant.

Which one do you need? Notice the question is not: Do you need either one? You clearly need, and would benefit from, help. To deny that is to lie to yourself, or it would be so indicative of how uninformed or out of touch you are.

It takes a village to get an author branded and a book sold. Too much competition is out there. Random discovery moments are rare and not a reliable foundation for an author to build success upon.

If you can be shown how to do things, you would be more successful. If you can be aware of what could possibly be done in the macro to market your book, and then shown what you should actually do in the micro, that is priceless. You will not only save time and money in the process of retaining a preacher, but you will feel empowered and better positioned to find your readers.

But information and ideas are not enough. You need skills, time, and mindshare to execute what you have been taught. Or, you may divide and conquer, and split up tasks into things you will do, and things that you will outsource.

Enter the plumber.

This guy has a tool belt, supplies, and a vision. He gets tasked with a mission and executes. In the book world, that is your book publicist. He can be tasked with seeking out book reviews, securing your media coverage, being your social media surrogate, set up speaking engagements, run an ad campaign, design your web site, and many other things.

All authors would benefit from utilizing at least one of them. Most authors would benefit from hiring both the preacher and the plumber. It is a matter of money, preference, needs, and time as to whom you hire, but you need help from someone.

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Interview With Inventive Children's Book Author David Armitage

  

 

 

1.       What inspired you to write this book? The story evolved from a rather sad time in my son’s life, and through a simple comment one lockdown evening.  My son and I had enjoyed many a story together as I had read to him almost every bedtime since he was born.  One night, the little one stated that he didn’t want a story, his books were boring, and he just wanted to go to sleep, before turning and began staring at the wall.  I was heartbroken and knew I had to do something.  Through our love of stories, I suggested that perhaps I try to write a story, just for the two of us, with his name as one of the characters. This is where it all started.  With a pen and paper, I began to create some ideas but also wanted to try and discretely incorporate some of the things he liked into the story.  As he liked ‘The Avengers,’ I wanted to have a superhero theme. He also loved our dog, so a four-legged friend got included in the mix of ingredients which I then tried to put together to create an imaginative tale. It turned out that he really liked what I started writing so I carried on and slowly, my son began to smile again.

 

 2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? An adventure of a cornflake who was thrown out for being different but, it turns out he was special.  Saved by a walking stick wielding, ninja granny, he is introduced to a team of other special cereals who must battle adversity to overcome ‘Colonel Cereal’s’ evil plan, and his crispy robot army, to save children from a world of boring breakfast. As the story was originally written to try and bring a smile to my own child, it is written for children to either enjoy reading themselves or, as I did at the time, have read to them over a few days due to its short, action packed, chapters.

 

3.       What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? Quite simply, I hope the story will bring a smile to another child’s face. 

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? Due to the nature of how I started to write the story, I wanted to make a character with the name of my child in it.  As such, I began trying to associate the name ‘Connor’ with something.  The character was where the whole story derived from and, as he had cereal for breakfast every day, ‘Connor the Cornflake’ had a ring to it and was something that I felt I could get creative with. As for the front cover.  I wanted it to be bold, to stand out, and try to present a fun snapshot of the story between the covers which is why it contains the ‘Mighty Variety’ team, the flying cereal box powered by sugar cubes, ‘Colonel Cereal’ and, ‘Softie’ the dog.  The hope was that it would draw the curiosity of both children, and adults alike. 

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

As someone who never intended to write a story for the world to see, the advice is simple. Whatever prompts you to write something, believe in yourself, let your imagination flow; if you feel it, roll with it.  You never know who you might inspire. 

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  In a world speeding towards a reliance on AI, I fear this could lead to the prevention of future generations from fully utilizing their imagination, and stories becoming less humanized as a result.  Children have the best imaginations; they can create a whole world of play through the simplest of things, they need to be nurtured and encouraged to express themselves, not funneled down a path of relying on processes designed to minimize human effort. 

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  ‘Connor the Cornflake’ was a culmination of experiences.  The first being that I knew something was wrong with my child but, I had no idea as to how to help him.  Through a mutual love of stories, I began thinking of what he enjoyed doing.  He liked ‘The Avengers,’ LEGO, playing with toy soldiers, his dog, football (soccer), and numerous other things.  How many of these could I include in the story so that when I read it to him, he would be able to connect with it? As I was going to read it to him, I also had to think of how I could make it something that I, as an adult, would find engaging.  My challenge was to try and aid my child through his troubles, so I had to give it everything I had.  If I was not able to get into it, how could I expect him to?  This led me down a road of thinking of things that are enjoyed by both children, and adults.  ‘Toy Story’ sprung to mind, something that children like but, also contains enough, subtle, adult humour that captivate even the biggest of kids.

All these things came together to try and make a story I hoped, would bring a smile to child’s face.

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? Now this is an interesting question. Before writing the book, the last story I wrote would probably have been when I was at school. I had no creative writing experience, knowledge of the publishing world or, any idea as to where to start.  As I do not take myself too seriously, I would have to put my writing style into the category of amateur, and that of a child. I mean the child element as a positive as my aim was to write something a child could understand and create a world of imagination therefore, I had to put myself in a child’s shoes (not literally of course). I think it would be disingenuous of me to associate myself with the writing styles of far superior children’s author’s, I am just a simple dad who tried to do something to help his child through a difficult time. 

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The biggest challenge I had was myself. Having told my child I would write a story to try and cheer him up, I knew I had to get over the realization that I had no idea what I was doing or, where to start.  I just had to open my mind, use my imagination, and start writing.  Like many things in life, the more I wrote, the more confident I became. When I was ready to read my initial ramblings to my son one bedtime, I was even able to take criticism for the overuse of a name, or phrase, which was something he had learnt at school. I had to chuckle but, it was true. The result, however, was that he was totally engaged, immersed in the story, and by the time it was complete, thought it was the best story he had ever heard which of course, is a very biased opinion but the reward was the smile on his face.  Good, bad, or indifferent I had completed what I had set out to achieve and in fact, there was a bonus in that it inspired him to start writing stories of his own. The first of his original creations, ‘The Adventures of Connor and Sparky,’ is due to be published on 26^th April, 2024.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

Who wouldn’t be curious to know how a group of cereal ‘Avengers,’ led by a walking stick wielding, ‘Granny Granola,’ who fly around in a sugar cube powered cereal box, overcome a crispy robot army, and save children from a world of boring breakfast? A fast paced, action-packed adventure, that has brought a smile to at least one child’s face.

 

About The Author: Having read to his son at bedtime virtually every day, David Armitage wrote ‘Connor the Cornflake’ to try and help the child through a difficult time in his life following the loss of his grandmother, and COVID lockdown’s.  A volunteer football (soccer) coach who enjoys dog walks, eating ice-cream, building LEGO, bike rides, and one day wants to tour the U.S. in a camper, David is simply a father who wants to have as many adventures as possible with his son before the day comes when it is no longer cool to hang out with dad.

For more info, please see: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552922877508 and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B0CSG2NDLB

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Interview With Author Brenda Helton

 

 

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? Since my book is based on my mother's family, she, along with my siblings, inspired me to write my book.  Ever since I was a young girl, my mother would tell us stories of her family and childhood.  The stories were eye-opening.  She raised my sisters and I completely different than the way she was raised.  She often told us that was purposeful.  She never wanted us to grow up in a household like hers.  She strived to do things differently (following traditions, importance of education, and general household atmosphere) than how she was raised. In 2010, I traveled to different cities in the U.S. to interview my mother's siblings.  Of the six children, four were still living. I recorded each interview.  At the time, I was in the second year of my Master's program, still had three teenage daughters at home, and was teaching full time.  Consequently, the book got put off for several years.  I kept promising that I would begin writing the book when I retired. However, when I retired in 2014, my first grandchild was born.  Again, I put off writing my book.  I went from teaching high school, to babysitting grandchildren for the next seven years. My mother, my aunts and uncles, and my siblings were a constant reminder that I needed to move forward with the book based on their family.  They had a strong conviction that the story of my grandmother Grace, and God's Grace that covered the family, needed to be broadcast for the world to read, and be encouraged. 

 

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? If It Hadn't Been For Grace, is a novel with a key.  In other words, it's a novel based on a true story with a fiction overlay.  It's a historical novel, covering 40 years (1918-1958), of an Italian family living in the Midwest.  Grace is a young, timid, girl of fifteen working in her parent's boarding house.  One summer, an Italian immigrant, Gio Rivia, arrives at her family's boarding house to rent a room.  Grace and Gio fall in love, and marriage quickly follows.  Gio is a strong-willed, visionary type of man.  He's bold, knows what he wants, and aggressively moves forward to reach his goal.  Not much stops him. Initially, all of these strong, confident, characteristics attract Grace to Gio.  She loved that he was everything she was not. Until, she matures, and his boldness overwhelms her.  Grace becomes ill.  She can no longer take care of the house, and children as Gio demands.  Without Grace's consent, Gio moves his widowed sister into the house to help out with cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children.  Sophia is as bold and demanding as her brother.  Together, they rule the household.  Grace, nor the grown children, have any input.  Sophia's indiscretions complicate the already scrambled family.  Twists and turns in the household occur as Grace becomes more and more ill, and ultimately bedridden. As she listens and watches her family falling apart from her upstairs bedroom, all she has the power to do is pray that God's grace covers her children into their adult years.  This book is written for adults.

     

3.  What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope readers will walk away feeling encouraged that God's grace will cover you in times of difficulty.  Prayer is important, and powerful.  Continue to pray in the good times and the bad times.  God is listening, even when you don't think He is. 

      

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I decided on the book's title because Grace was the name of my grandmother, and the book is about God's grace that covered her children when all she could do was pray for them while up in her bedroom, bedridden. I chose a cover design with a reflection of the word GRACE to emphasize the double meaning of the word Grace.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? My advice is to keep going.  Try and try again.  You are never too old to try something new.  If it's your passion, go for it.  Let it lead and motivate you.  Make it happen.  If you are stuck, or confused about a direction for your book, take a twenty-four-hour break, and come back to it.  You'll see a difference when you return to your writing.  

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  I see more and more people reading electronically.  However, there are still "paper-turners" out there that like to dog-ear pages, and use a book mark too. I think both realms will continue.  Afterall, publishers need to satisfy all the various types of readers.

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  Yes.  All the years I listened to my mother's stories of her life growing up with a bedridden mother, and an indiscreet aunt in her home all came in handy when painting the picture and tone of my book. 

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? My writing style includes focusing on a character, or a family, and following them through decades of their lives building a true bond between the character/family and the reader.  I often hear responses from my book's readers saying that they didn't want the book to end.  They wanted more time with the character/family. They felt the bond that I was trying to capture.

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The biggest challenge in writing this book was changing the real names to fake names.  The whole set of names, places, cities, states, schools, and colleges had to be changed three times.  It's a long story, but in doing that, typos in the draft were made. Fourteen to be exact.  The original edited draft was fine, but once all the name changes came about, other words became incorrect.  I am glad my second book had no names to be changed.  The editing process was much easier.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

People should buy my book because it's a true story.  True stories are a gem on the bookshelf.  It's real information that someone somewhere lived and survived.  It's an interesting read when you read it with the idea in your mind that what you're reading really happened.

 

About The Author: Brenda Helton is an author of encouraging Christian fiction generated from personal life experiences of love, loss, and lessons learned.  Born and raised in the Midwest, Brenda is a retired school teacher that dedicated thirty-five years of service in the public-school setting.  She started writing books ten years after she retired.   For more info, please see: http://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=if-it-hadn't-been-for-grace

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.