Why did you feel you had to tell this story?
I was born a writer but because of my “day job”/career it has been some ten-plus years since I wrote anything at all. I was actually feeling very bad about it because I have this talent (I wrote this 400 page book in 90 days!) that I wasn’t using and this had to stop. This particular story just wouldn’t let me go until I finally sat down and wrote it – it’s so entertaining, provocative and unique.
Where do you get your ideas?
I have long noticed that in futuristic movies there are no Christians, Jews, Hindu, or any other religion as if to suggest that humankind “evolves” past that “stuff.” I always felt that to be ridiculous, no offense to all my atheist friends. Lastly, I wanted to create a dramatic series that made the reader feel that they really were transported into the future in terms of the technology, politics and culture.
Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you overcome it?
Never had this problem. I have the reverse “problem” – the ideas flow and I have to race to capture it all on the page.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers on the writing and publishing process?
Quite a bit since this is my first published work with many more to follow. As a writer you need to realize that the writing process, your reason for being, is actually often the shortest part of the book’s overall life. Especially, if you are self-publishing, you must realize upfront that you will need to be publisher, marketer, publicist, social media guru, and many more things. Bottom line is to do your homework – never stop reading and researching, read other author blogs, go to writers conferences, build a network of writer friends and colleagues. There are many roads to get to the “successful writer” destination, but you just need to find out what is the best road for you.
How do you market your work? Have you found some avenues to be more successful than others?
That’s where I’m focused on right now since the print versions of my book release May 1st. The main decision I had to make is whether to do it myself (with help) or pay someone else to do it. I picked the former as I actually am a natural salesperson for my work and I want to know everything about successful marketing as I am writing what could be potentially be a very lucrative series of seven books. I believe that writers have so many great tools out there, especially now with the rise of ebooks and social media. Social media is king and every writer has to become good at it, even if you don’t want to. Also, really connect with sites where your customers (the readers!) go and make your presence known. Of course, I skipped the most important step in the entire process – you must write a damn good book because there are 10,000 people out there daily do the same thing you are doing. You must have a great book to market and publicize because that is what will build a loyal readership and fan-base that will snatch up your work once they find out it’s available.
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Synopsis
"Thy Kingdom Fall" is the provocative, debut thriller of author A. Dragon—a dramatic mix of politics, religion, and intrigue—set over 75 years in the future. In 2089, the Washington DC investigation of the daylight murder of the most powerful political king-maker in the nation is the start of a chain of events leading to the outbreak of World War III. It is the first in the epic After Eden series.
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About the AuthorAustin Dragon's After Eden Series includes "Thy Kingdom Fall" (Book #1) and soon to be released "Stars & Scorpions" (Book #2) of the seven book series. He is native New Yorker but has called Los Angeles, California home for the last twenty years. Words to describe him, in no particular order: U.S. Army; English teacher; resident of Paris, France; political junkie; movie buff; campaign manager and staffer on presidential and gubernatorial campaigns; Fortune 500 corporate recruiter. Yes, Christian too.
He is busy at work on books three and four of the series. Visit the author's website at www.afteredenbooks.com with links to blog, Facebook and Twitter.
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FOR MORE INFO
Website: http://www.afteredenbooks.com/
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/Zx7E6P
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dragon_Scribe
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BUY THE BOOK
Kindle: http://amzn.to/Y1IsU0