CRAIG BRUMMER
- Guest Author -
G'day guys,
Welcome to the world of Craig Brummer. Craig has lived in many places, including Japan and Germany. Welcome, Craig ...
TELL
US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I
was born in Hollywood, FL and grew up in a time when we did not have all the
entertainment options we do today, so you either played outside or read books.
I did a lot of both and developed a love of the ocean and reading. I have lived
all over the United States, as well as several years in both Japan and Germany.
Today, I live in Atlanta with my wife and a house full of furry critters. Like
most authors, both indie and with the big 6 publishers, I have both a business
career and writing career. My day job is as a Vice President of Business
Development for a large service provider company, which requires a lot of
travelling and hectic work schedule. However, the time I have for writing is my
way of relaxing. Some people play golf; instead, I create stories and
characters in a new universe.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
Like most writers, I grew up with a love of reading.
My favourite authors as a young teenager where Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein,
and CJ Cherryh. I started writing about fifteen years ago and became active in
a writers’ group, Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Workshop, when I lived in that
area. Most writers are avid readers and most avid readers have thought of
writing. That’s how I became a writer. Stories that inspired me instilled in me
a desire to create my own universe and set of characters. I’ve completed several novels, but A New Beginning is my first novel I felt
worthy of publication.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
I love creating the story, the characters, the world
setting. To me, creating them is as enjoyable as watching a great movie. My
characters become friends, the world setting a place that I would be interested
in living. The process of writing a story is at times difficult, but always
enjoyable and rewarding as you finish each chapter. Of course, completing a
novel is always time for a little personal celebration.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
Currently I am working on the second novel set in
the Federation Universe. It is not a sequel to A New Beginning, but a standalone novel in the same setting. My
intention is to write a number of novels set in the Federation Universe (not to
be confused with the Star Trek universe). Some characters from one novel will
reappear in other novels but each novel will be a separate story.
WHAT
INSPIRES YOU?
The
potential of mankind. We live in a marvellous time with enormous capability
that can be used negatively or positively. We all know of the problems on our
lonely little planet and the struggles of everyday people. I write to show what
might be a potential future for us. I’d like to think that one day we will
colonize space and life as I write it will be an option for us.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
I write Science Fiction in the sub-genre Space
Opera. A New Beginning has some
battle elements, but the story is not military oriented. In A New Beginning, the spacers are
rebelling against Earth’s control of them and setting up their own government.
But the main story is about a young earth girl, Kristin Hayes, who was an indentured
corporate worker, a slave really. She is sold to the spacers, and the story is
about how that changes her life and her pursuit of happiness.
WHO
IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
My
favourite author is C.J. Cherryh and has been for ages, so of course she is a
major influence in my own writing. I think her novels Cyteen, Regenesis and
Downbelow Station were master works. I have 38 of her novels, which I think
is pretty much everything she’s written excluding short stories. I like her
writing style and her superb talent at creating new and exciting worlds. Her
characters are believable, as are the various worlds she creates.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE
PUBLICATION?
Yes. I think that’s critical for any book. Errors
cause the reader to “break” from the story. It disrupts their experience and
enjoyment of the story. As a writer, you simply cannot edit your own book.
You’ve read each paragraph many times and your mind knows what should be there,
so you don’t see the errors. We’ve all seen some of the indie authors who have
received poor reviews over the lack of editing in their books. As an avid
reader myself, I have to mention that lately I’ve read a couple books from one
of the big 6 publishers that were poorly edited, and now I’m avoiding that
imprint.
DO
YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
No,
not really. However, as a writer you do instil in characters certain of your
viewpoints, or either opposing viewpoints. As I develop characters, they may
have traits of people I’ve known or some mixing of traits and views of various
people I’ve known. Of course, there are other characters that are created
simply because they fit a certain role in the story. When I’m developing a
story I start with the lead character, the protagonist, and then build the
story around them. The other characters are all created to help or hinder the
protagonist, and that often drives what traits they possess.
DOES
THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
No,
not at all. I had a lot of exposure to agents and publishers when I was in the
DFW Writers Workshop. Also, my daughter was an agent with one of the New York
literary firms for about eight years. So I am pretty familiar with the traditional
publishing industry. What really excites me today is the potential that Amazon
brought to the world by opening the door to indie authors. Previously, the big
6 firms controlled what was available to read; today, that is not the case. For
instance, there was clearly a market for many more romance novels, especially
in certain sub-genres, that the big 6 were not meeting. That gap has been
filled by some very talented indie authors. I find the process of indie
publishing to be very exciting and enjoyable. As an indie author, I decide on
the artist for my cover and exactly what the cover will look like, who will
edit and format the book, and of course create my own marketing plan to let
readers know the book is available.
HOW MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
A book cover is
important. It’s the thing that attracts a reader to the book to see if they
might be interested in it. I think the cover should convey what’s inside; it
should hint at the story line. For A New
Beginning, I had a young German artist, Djamila Knopf, do the artwork. She
did a great job of capturing what I envisioned as Kristin Hayes right after she
has been sold to the spacers but before she really knows anything about them.
She is sitting staring out a window at the vastness of space, wondering what
the future holds for her which is the story. www.SGWdesign.com also
did a fantastic job on the cover layout and book formatting.
ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
Well, yes. I
would like to add where you can get a copy of A New Beginning.
It’s available
on Amazon in most countries viewBook.at/B00CG5X9FA
and at Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/Ztr1hl
and Smashwords http://bit.ly/15yujT2
The ereader
(Kindle & Nook) version were released April 20th, the print
version will be released May 2nd.
I am also in
discussions to have an audio version done, but that will not be out until late
June, possible early July. If someone wants to track the release dates or
additional information,my website is: http://www.CraigBrummer.com
I would also
like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to your audience and let them
know about my novel.
Clancy's comment: My pleasure. Agree with you about characters becoming friends. I guess that is because we spend so much time with them. Thanks for your time, Craig. Best of luck.
I'm ...
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