1. What is your book about?
The book is a humorous story, about two main competing supermarket chains, battling it out for sales and market supremacy the world over. Only problem, is that one side is resorting to unethical and inhumane actions, to obtain world domination instead. Harold Wannapus is the main protagonist, and he must combine forces with his old villian rival, in order to stop a new order from developing. With many near death experiences provoked by his new teammate, he is beginning to question his very own dynamic duo. He obtains special sheep powers from a top secret, experimental singing sheep, that he hopes can help him turn the tide of evil and bring the world back to the way he once knew it.
2. What inspired you to write this particular series?
I remembered how I made a classroom laugh with my readings from a few small essays I had created, and decided that perhaps it would be worth the while to see if I could obtain the same humorous depth with a novel. The self publishing craze also had given me an easy opportunity to see how it would work out.
3. Describe your writing in three words
Funny, fast, different.
4. Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?
If I remember correctly, the map evolves to get to a certain point, but building the road to get to the fictional ending is the hardest part for me. Maybe all authors think the same about the trek, but allot of different thinking about scenarios and events and how they transpire, move and stay depending on their compliance with what is going on in the book. Writers block can happen and does come and go at times. When this occurs, I walk away from the table. Sometimes writing for too long a period, creates mental fatigue, and you can tell the quality suffers. I too have to walk away after a maximum of 2 hours of writing, break, and maybe go at it again after a day or so.
5. Who gets to read your drafts before they are published?
I am the only one. They then go to the publisher, and from there, after the editing and such, a book is formed. I was thinking that perhaps I was taking a big chance like this, but if someone can influence your writing before you hand it into a publisher, is it really your writing in the end? It is an art work, and to have painted a landscape, with someone coming in and telling you to change the sky to a different color, what does it really mean deep down inside? I am all for artists directing their work, straight to the publisher.
6.Share the biggest hurdles in the marketing process.
Not sure really what works. I think you can create your own hurdles, and make them disappear by using social media. I think if a book is really good, the cover is appealing, and what not, it should eventually creep out of the woodwork and explode to the masses. No doubt, traditional publishers have the magic potion for selling books, something that the self publishing industry is still trying to work out.
7. Where can readers find your works online?
8. What project (s) are you working on now?
The Supermarket Guy IV is halfway done, but it is dependent on the success of this current novel, "The Supermarket Guy 3". I want to thank you for your time, and this oportunity to explore the world of interview blogging. Thanks so much, Catalina!
Dog Ear Publishing
4010 West 86th St - Ste H
Indianapolis, IN 46268
1-866-823-9613
 Growing up in the small village of Jacquet River, New Brunswick, Canada, there was always a fair share of comedy to share around. People had a certain connectivity by helping their fellow neighbour out. Then there was always someone trying to tease someone—or, to put it another way, trying to get someone’s goat—as happens everywhere. But it was usually done with taste, and it was just done to entertain and spark a little laughter.
Growing up, my main interest was art sketching, and I got plenty of inspiration for practice through the comic books I bought locally. I became a big fan of Marvel and Archie comics. Then there was the calmness and serenity that was only offered by small-village life, with the art of fishing and wading in its rivers in the hot summer months. Being a nature lover, sometimes a thirst came to just escape into the wild where the scent of pines and fir trees abounded in massive quantities. Then the yellow colors of birches, red maple leaves, and the fall rustle of leaves on the ground provided for myself a strange sort of reflection and admiration of the cycle of nature. The solace of winter and the fresh powder base allowed us to rush out again to enjoy cross-country skiing, sliding, and downhill skiing.
While I had lots of friends, I was pretty much always a loner and went my own direction, even in college. Having been influenced by the muscle movies of the eighties, I began intense weight training, and I continue to this day in moderation. Even with those bulging muscles, I enjoyed the odd game of chess. Ever since my teenage years, racket sports dominated my life—tennis in the summer and badminton in the winter. Becoming frustrated after too many crushing defeats, it came down to just wanting the exercise and admiring the faster players. Everyone mentioned that I was the quiet one, joking that those are the ones to watch.
After high school, I graduated from Power Engineering Technology in Saint John, New Brunswick. I worked at a few casual labour jobs before getting hired on with the local energy utility as an operator, where I stand now. I consider myself fortunate to have worked with people on shift and to be a part of the shift-work mentality. Most of my coworkers do have a good sense of humour during the long, gruelling twelve-hour shifts, even though some of them may not realize it.
In 1985, my father bought his first VCR, and like many kids around twelve years old and up, I still wondered if it was better than the beta machines. All kidding aside, it brought to our home some great entertainment; I became a great fan of the first few National Lampoon’s Vacation films with the ever-funny Chevy Chase, the first few Police Academy films, and Moving Violations. The incredible Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels film Dumb and Dumber came later. I became quite fascinated with comedy, and I wanted to try to make people laugh in the way those iconic films did. Thank you greatly for reading comedic fiction and showing that there is still a place out there for it. |
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