Wednesday 7 September 2011

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - ROBERT F DEBURGH



1.       What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?  My proper name is Robert Burroughs but I write under the pen name of Robert F. DeBurgh. I was born in Englewood, NJ, USA and currently reside in rural South Carolina.

2.       What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words  what would you say?  My latest novel is “Winds of Fate,” a tale of two people caught up in the furor of World War Two.

3.       Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?  My next book, “The Winds of Kunlun Shan” should be in publication by Christmas 2011. The novel is the third in the “Riders of the Wind” series, comprising “Riders of the Wind,”  “Winds of Fate,” and “The winds of Kunlun Shan.”

4.       How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write? I began by writing short stories and essays in my college days and was a newspaper contributor and columnist by the time I was nineteen. I suppose my high school literature teacher was the person who first inspired me to write.

5.       Do you gift books to readers to do reviews? Certainly; good reviews are essential to a writer making a name for him/herself and to increasing book sales.


6.       How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?  The title for “Riders of the Wind” was inspired by a poem and the “Wind” theme just followed in the other novels. It’s a very appropriate title theme for adventure books based on aviation.  I do the cover designs myself.  When “Riders of the Wind” was first published in paperback I let the publisher design the cover. This was a huge mistake as the cover they came up with was rather unattractive. Therefore I decided to do the e-book covers myself.

7.       Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to you? The main characters in my novels are based on my uncle, Charles A. Cross and my aunt, Doretta Cross. Charles was an airmail pilot in the 1920s and a pioneer airline pilot in the 30s. Doretta was a commercial pilot and flight instructor and championed the cause of women pilots in commercial aviation. They both served in the military during World War Two; Charles as a service pilot with Air Transport Command in India and China and Doretta with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Most stories in the books are based on actual historical events but many are based on my own experiences as a pilot.

8.       Is there a certain Author that influenced you in writing?  Hemingway had a great influence on my writing, as did Antoine De St. Xupery, Earnest Gann, and Richard Bach.

9.       Which format of book do you prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback? That depends on where I’m reading. I do read a lot of paperbacks but lately I’m favoring e-books.

10.   What is your favourite book and Why?  Have you read it more than once? My all time favorite is Antoine De St. Xupery’s “Brothers of the Line,” I’ve probably read it ten or more times. St. Xupery’s prose is so beautiful it flows like poetry.

11.   Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favourite/worst  book to movie transfer? That’s a good question. Many I’ve seen have historical or technical errors and were really quite terrible. One that stands out as one of the best was “The High and the Mighty.” Based on the book by Earnest Gann.

12.   What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it? What format is it?(ebook, hardback or paperback)  I’m currently reading Patti Robert’s novel “Paradox, The Angels are Here”  in ebook format and really enjoying it. Yes I have read that book and loved and Patti Roberts is a lovely lady

13.   Is there a book you know you will never read? Or one you tried to read but just couldn't finish?   I’ve tried several times to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” but never managed to wade through it more than half way.

14.   Are there any New Authors you are interested in for us to watch out for? and Why should we watch out for them? Leland Dirks who writes wonderful dog stories, Kristina Jackson for her short stories, Michelle Duff who writes touching stories of wolves, Patti Roberts for her treatment of such unique subject matter, and Greta Burroughs for her young adult fiction and her non-fiction book on autoimmune diseases.

15.   Is there anything in your book/books you would change now if you could and what would it be?   I don’t think so, except possibly the ending of “Winds of Fate.” It’s rather sad and I usually like to end a book on an upbeat note.

16.   What do you think about book trailers?  They’re a useful advertising tool but a bit expensive to make for a beginning writer.

17.   What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?  Probably the oldest piece of advice around. “Write about what you know.”

18.   Do you or would you ever use a pen name?  I do write under the pen name of Robert F. DeBurgh.

Where can readers follow you?

Your blog details?
Your web site ?   No website yet but I’m working on it.
Your facebook page?  On Facebook as Robert Burroughs or on Facebook Book Junkies group. 
(Author page)https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Robert-DeBurgh/101973229902246 
Your Goodreads author page?
Your Twitter details?
And any other information you wish to supply?
Riders of the Wind


Winds of Fate



Thank you for taking the time out from your writing schedule to do this interview allowing us all an insight into your world of writing.

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