TTC: Bruce Blake! Author Interview! (25/08)
This week has been a very hectic week for me as I release Lumen, and then I had to answer questions for my part of the TTC blog tour, and then I had to write some for Bruce... and although that doesn't seem like a lot, for a procrastinator like me that's almost a year's worth a work there. HA!
Getting to know you...
So you’re totally new to my blog. You haven’t been here before, why not tell my followers a little bit about yourself, something that’s not going to be in your bio.
I'm 6'2”, bald and devilishly good-looking. The tattoo on my right shoulder blade is of Animal from the Muppet Show because I used to play drums in classic rock/heavy metal bands during my youth. During a string of gigs in northern Ontario, I lived entirely on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week. None of that has anything to do with writing, but you won't find it in my bio. And we know you a little bit more already!
How did you get into writing then?
I started writing in grade school and enjoyed it, so dabbled and wrote on and off for years. It was about 10 years ago that I decided to try my hand at a novel, and it turned out I actually liked it better than the short stories I'd been writing. Turns out I've got more to say than I thought.
In fact, a better question, how did you get into self-publishing?
Probably for the same reason most self-published authors do: I got tired of form-letter rejections. When you get enough of them, you start to get the sense that no one is actually looking at the manuscript you submitted. Like so many others, I stumbled onto J.A. Konrath's blog, read about what was going on, and decided to give it a go. It sure seemed better than wallpapering another room with rejections. Yes, I think anyone who decides that they want to self-publish has been on his blog.
Looking at your Smashwords page, you’ve been publishing since 2010! How’s that been? (Around the same time it all kicked off.)
It's been great. My first foray into self-publishing was entirely with short stories. I put eight of them up on Smashwords for free (in fact, I recently re-published all of them there, and they're all back to free!). Those stories have been downloaded over 7000 times on Smashwords alone, plus tens of thousands of times on other sites. My first novel, On Unfaithful Wings, went up in Dec., 2011 and has been downloaded close to 30000 times between paid and free. I haven't replaced my day-job income by any means, but I can certainly call myself a professional writer. Oh, whoa! That's awesome! It's also reassuring for me as I'm about to start publishing some short stories of my own.
I know everyone is going to be asking this question, but if you could give people who are new to writing / publishing, what advice would you give them?
Tough to answer that without sounding like a cliché. I guess it would be to make sure you're putting out the best material you can. I recently sent my next book to my editor and she informed me she had time to look at it because the author she had scheduled to do next hadn't finished the manuscript yet. What?!? The manuscript I was sending was the tenth version. Write, edit, rewrite, edit, edit, rewrite. Did I mention edit? If you're not a little bit sick of the words you wrote by the time you're planning to turn your novel loose, then do some more editing. Oh o, in the early stages I do love to edit... but when I feel that I'm frustrating myself, that's when I stop. You can't be on top form if you don't feel it.
Tell us a little bit about On Unfaithful Wings.
On Unfaithful Wings begins the story of Icarus Fell, a poor, thirty-something fella who had a hard life that gets even worse after two muggers kill him. The archangel Michael wants him to help souls on their way to Heaven but things go seriously awry for Icarus, just like they did in life. People seem to really like the character and the story. Several reviews have called Icarus their new favourite anti-hero; one said the book wasn't just their favourite book of the year, but one of their favourite books ever. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I write.
Think about this, one of your books or short stories is picked up to be a motion picture. Who plays the main character?
Believe it or not, I've never put a moment's thought to this, though I know it's a favourite game of many authors. I think my books would make great movies, I tend to think cinematically when I write. Maybe someone like Colin Farrell as Icarus, or Josh Hartnett, if he was a couple years older.
Are you a coffee person?
An expensive coffee person. I write almost exclusively in a coffee shop with a mocha no more than three inches from my right hand. Yes, that does classify as expensive!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time (in your writing career)?
I was just thinking about this earlier today. I think I can put out 2-3 novels/year at my current pace, which means 15 + available by the time 5 years rolls around. My goal is to be supporting myself (oh, and my family, too) by the time we get to 2017. Lofty goals, but if others can do it, why can't I? That's awesome! Dream big or don't dream at all! Hehe.
If there’s anything else you’d like to share, or talk about, go ahead!
Maybe I'll just fill everyone in on what I've got going on. The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost, was released in mid-July, and I'm currently in the planning stage for the third novel. I expect there to be at least three more Icarus books after that before I'm done with the series, maybe more. The one I've just gotten back from the editor is part of an epic fantasy, Khirro's Journey. The first two books will be out before the end of the year, then the final two by the middle of 2013.
Other than that, I 'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to get to know me a little better. Extra special thanks if you've read any of my books or short stories. And remember, if you enjoyed them, please let other readers know by leaving a review.
Peace, love, Led Zeppelin.
Biography
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.
Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.
Bruce has been writing since grade school but it wasn't until five years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, "Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod and his first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published to Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, “All Who Wander Are Lost”, was released in July, 2012, with the first book in the four-part “Khirro's Journey” epic fantasy coming soon after. He has plans for at least three more Icarus novels, several stand alones, and a possible YA fantasy co-written with his eleven-year-old daughter.
www.on-unfaithful-wings.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/bruce.blake.585
Twitter: @bruceablake
Kindle: http://amzn.to/GKi7mq
bruceblake@hotmail.ca
Joseph Eastwood
Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Comment. Follow. Share.
Getting to know you...
So you’re totally new to my blog. You haven’t been here before, why not tell my followers a little bit about yourself, something that’s not going to be in your bio.
I'm 6'2”, bald and devilishly good-looking. The tattoo on my right shoulder blade is of Animal from the Muppet Show because I used to play drums in classic rock/heavy metal bands during my youth. During a string of gigs in northern Ontario, I lived entirely on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week. None of that has anything to do with writing, but you won't find it in my bio. And we know you a little bit more already!
How did you get into writing then?
I started writing in grade school and enjoyed it, so dabbled and wrote on and off for years. It was about 10 years ago that I decided to try my hand at a novel, and it turned out I actually liked it better than the short stories I'd been writing. Turns out I've got more to say than I thought.
In fact, a better question, how did you get into self-publishing?
Probably for the same reason most self-published authors do: I got tired of form-letter rejections. When you get enough of them, you start to get the sense that no one is actually looking at the manuscript you submitted. Like so many others, I stumbled onto J.A. Konrath's blog, read about what was going on, and decided to give it a go. It sure seemed better than wallpapering another room with rejections. Yes, I think anyone who decides that they want to self-publish has been on his blog.
Looking at your Smashwords page, you’ve been publishing since 2010! How’s that been? (Around the same time it all kicked off.)
It's been great. My first foray into self-publishing was entirely with short stories. I put eight of them up on Smashwords for free (in fact, I recently re-published all of them there, and they're all back to free!). Those stories have been downloaded over 7000 times on Smashwords alone, plus tens of thousands of times on other sites. My first novel, On Unfaithful Wings, went up in Dec., 2011 and has been downloaded close to 30000 times between paid and free. I haven't replaced my day-job income by any means, but I can certainly call myself a professional writer. Oh, whoa! That's awesome! It's also reassuring for me as I'm about to start publishing some short stories of my own.
I know everyone is going to be asking this question, but if you could give people who are new to writing / publishing, what advice would you give them?
Tough to answer that without sounding like a cliché. I guess it would be to make sure you're putting out the best material you can. I recently sent my next book to my editor and she informed me she had time to look at it because the author she had scheduled to do next hadn't finished the manuscript yet. What?!? The manuscript I was sending was the tenth version. Write, edit, rewrite, edit, edit, rewrite. Did I mention edit? If you're not a little bit sick of the words you wrote by the time you're planning to turn your novel loose, then do some more editing. Oh o, in the early stages I do love to edit... but when I feel that I'm frustrating myself, that's when I stop. You can't be on top form if you don't feel it.
Tell us a little bit about On Unfaithful Wings.
On Unfaithful Wings begins the story of Icarus Fell, a poor, thirty-something fella who had a hard life that gets even worse after two muggers kill him. The archangel Michael wants him to help souls on their way to Heaven but things go seriously awry for Icarus, just like they did in life. People seem to really like the character and the story. Several reviews have called Icarus their new favourite anti-hero; one said the book wasn't just their favourite book of the year, but one of their favourite books ever. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I write.
Think about this, one of your books or short stories is picked up to be a motion picture. Who plays the main character?
Believe it or not, I've never put a moment's thought to this, though I know it's a favourite game of many authors. I think my books would make great movies, I tend to think cinematically when I write. Maybe someone like Colin Farrell as Icarus, or Josh Hartnett, if he was a couple years older.
Are you a coffee person?
An expensive coffee person. I write almost exclusively in a coffee shop with a mocha no more than three inches from my right hand. Yes, that does classify as expensive!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time (in your writing career)?
I was just thinking about this earlier today. I think I can put out 2-3 novels/year at my current pace, which means 15 + available by the time 5 years rolls around. My goal is to be supporting myself (oh, and my family, too) by the time we get to 2017. Lofty goals, but if others can do it, why can't I? That's awesome! Dream big or don't dream at all! Hehe.
If there’s anything else you’d like to share, or talk about, go ahead!
Maybe I'll just fill everyone in on what I've got going on. The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost, was released in mid-July, and I'm currently in the planning stage for the third novel. I expect there to be at least three more Icarus books after that before I'm done with the series, maybe more. The one I've just gotten back from the editor is part of an epic fantasy, Khirro's Journey. The first two books will be out before the end of the year, then the final two by the middle of 2013.
Other than that, I 'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to get to know me a little better. Extra special thanks if you've read any of my books or short stories. And remember, if you enjoyed them, please let other readers know by leaving a review.
Peace, love, Led Zeppelin.
Biography
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.
Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.
Bruce has been writing since grade school but it wasn't until five years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, "Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod and his first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published to Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, “All Who Wander Are Lost”, was released in July, 2012, with the first book in the four-part “Khirro's Journey” epic fantasy coming soon after. He has plans for at least three more Icarus novels, several stand alones, and a possible YA fantasy co-written with his eleven-year-old daughter.
www.on-unfaithful-wings.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/bruce.blake.585
Twitter: @bruceablake
Kindle: http://amzn.to/GKi7mq
bruceblake@hotmail.ca
Joseph Eastwood
Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Comment. Follow. Share.
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