Author Interview with Sara Furlong Burr: Enigma Black


Enigma Black, by Sara Furlong Burr

Synopsis:
When she was just seventeen, the course of Celaine Stevens' life was permanently altered with the murders of her father, mother, and brother in one of a series of mysterious and violent explosions occurring across the country. Struggling with picking up the pieces, she's haunted by the memory of that day and her promise of retribution against those responsible for her misery. But just as she seems to be getting her life back on track, an encounter with a mysterious stranger promises her the vengeance she desires, ultimately turning the former target into the assassin.

However, as she soon learns, all choices come with consequences. And the consequence of her choice threatens to destroy the very fabric of her being.

A conversation with Sara Furlong Burr

What time of day do you write?
It’s safe to say that I’m no morning person.  In fact, I’m pretty much worthless until the evening when my night owl genes kick in.  My productivity as far as writing is concerned usually begins at about nine at night, which is strangely when my husband and kids go to bed.  Coincidence, I think not.  After I begin writing, I’m usually awake typing away anywhere from midnight to two or three in the morning, depending on what I have going on the next day or how much of a rhythm I’m in.

If you were a superhero or villain, what would your power be?            
This is a very fitting question considering Enigma Black is rife with both.  However, instead of the super strength and speed my characters possess, I’d probably have to go with the old standby and choose flight.  This would be especially interesting in my case as I’m deathly afraid of heights, ensuring either one of two things: Either I’d learn to suck it up and face my fear or plummet from the sky, resulting in the end of my short-lived superhero tenure.

What would you like your readers to know about this book or you in general?
Enigma Black is meant to be fun.  I write to entertain my readers without compromising their intelligence.  I like complicated, original plots, not cookie cutter, dime a dozen ones where the reader can guess the final outcome in the first ten pages. Being the first in a trilogy set in a dystopian environment, Enigma Black takes the reader into a world where fear dominates the weak and empowers the corrupt and vigilantes are the only hope for the restoration of democracy and peace.

If your book was made into a movie, who do you picture playing each part?
Oh, how I’ve dreamed of this happening, so much so that this is probably the easiest question to answer.  When I write, I envision the words replaying in my head as though I were watching a movie.  If, when I’m reading a scene, I can’t “watch” a fluid movie in my head, I know major edits are needed.

Enigma Black has quite a few characters in it, however, there are six major characters that immediately jump out of my mind (and of whom I’ve put the cart before the horse and cast).  For the main protagonist, Celaine Stevens, I envisioned a Natalie Portman type when I was writing the character.  For Chase Matthews, Josh Radnor (Ted from How I Met Your Mother) would be my first choice.  A Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler type would be perfect for Blake Cohen, while Edward Norton, John Cusack and Robert Pattinson would be perfect for Victor, President Brooks and Ian Grant.  Hey, a person can dream.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
I think my biggest word of wisdom to any aspiring writer is not to give up.  Writing is difficult.  And this fact is only appreciated by fellow writers.  It takes copious amounts of time, energy, research, blood, sweat, and tears to do what we do with what little gratitude we get.  Not all projects will be a success.  You will experience numerous failures and rejections; it’s how you handle them that makes all the difference.  Learn from your mistakes, grow from them.  It may take a while, but with persistence and a positive attitude, your hard work will eventually pay off. 

I’d like to also add that writing should be done out of love, not money.  If you’re writing strictly because you think you’re going to get rich, you’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.

Author Bio
Sara “Furlong” Burr resides in Michigan and is an Army wife, paralegal and mother to two beautiful children.  Her passion for reading turned into a love of writing and the release of her debut novel Enigma Black, the first novel in a planned trilogy.  Currently, she’s working on the sequel to Enigma Black, Vendetta Nation in conjunction with a romantic comedy.  When she’s not writing, Sara enjoys camping, gardening, watching movies, blogging and watching Hoarders.  She can be found on Twitter regularly and enjoys meeting other writers and avid readers.


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