Pump Up Your Book Chats with Women Fiction Author David Richards

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D.W. Richards is a member of the Canadian Authors Association and beyond being a novelist he is also a script-doctor and freelance writer. An excerpt from Pairs will appear in the October 2010 issue of the international literary PDF quarterly Cantarville as a standalone fiction piece. In addition to creative writing, D.W. Richards has a Bachelor Degree in Psychology from Carleton University and is a Certified General Accountant. He divides his time between Venice, Italy and Ottawa, Canada.

Visit his website at www.pairsthenovel.com or connect with him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DW_Richards.

You can purchase a paperback copy of Pairs online by clicking here or order the Kindle edition by clicking here.

On Pairs

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

Pairs began to germinate conceptually late in 2006. I was finishing up with my first novel, The Fifth Pillar, and being faced with the impending vacuum of having nothing to obsess over, had begun to sketch out ideas for a new story. The working title at the time was An Early Frost. There are a few frost references in the novel and ‘early frost’ is actually mentioned in the dialogue on page 276: “The entire neighbourhood is praying for an early frost.”

This working title, as well as the initial premise, was pulled from a short story that I had written over twenty years ago with the intention of getting it published in a now long since defunct small Ottawa magazine, the name of which escapes me. That story had an entirely different tone than Pairs. While not disconsolate, the narrative was definitely not a pick-me-up read. The original short was based on the experience of a woman I knew.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

Putting forth Kayley’s motivation behind helping Alexandra, given the adversity, in a believable manner, was by far the most difficult element in telling the story of Pairs, particularly because that is the hook on which the entire narrative hangs.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

My opinion is that the goal of a fiction novel should be first and foremost to entertain, as opposed to pitching a message. And that was my approach. The entertainment in Pairs is rooted in how preconceptions are dealt with. Specifically, the story examines the definitions of gender roles, love, and to a lesser and admittedly ambiguous extent, existence. If there is a piggybacking message it would be to keep an open mind.

On Books in General

Q: What was one of your favorite books as a child?

I really didn’t start reading novels for pleasure until my early teens. My first serious novel during that period of was “The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov.

As a young child, I enjoyed anything Winnie the Pooh, in short spurts, and I vaguely remember trying to become interested in a series that featured various small woodland creatures dressed in 19^th Century garb, each living in a rustic, yet gracious, Tutor-style tree trunks, warrens, and the like.

Between Winnie the Pooh and the “End of Eternity” the years were filled with Mad Magazine.

Q: What is your favorite book as an adult?

“The Waste Land” by T.S. Elliot.

Q: What are you reading now?

Currently I am reading two books, a fiction novel entitled The Razor’s Edge by W Somerset Maugham and non-fiction book by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow called The Grand Design

On Writing

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

Actually, I don’t. I can tell you that by my early twenties I enjoyed the thought of being a writer. It took about a decade after that until I really began to enjoy the act.

Q: Besides books, what else do you write? Do you write for publications?

I’ve written some short fiction for online magazines. I also did a series of travel pieces for (Cult)ure Magazine and recently I was engaged as a script-doctor on graphic novel being produced by Ucreate Media.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

Something that I didn’t find mentioned in the books which I read on the topic of writing a novel was to build a focus group on which to unveil early drafts. The feedback can be invaluable. I am fortunate to know several well-read individuals with strong personalities who are very supportive and yet have not the slightest compunction sharing their opinion. They have never met each other as a group and I have never had cause to gather them all in one room, you may have guessed as to the reason why.

On Family and Home:

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

Primarily I live in Ottawa, Canada but I do alternate with Venice, Italy. In both homes, thanks to my partner, there are more plants than could be supported by the average rainforest but we don’t do pets.

The picture is of me standing in the courtyard at our place in Venice during high water (aqua alta).

We also have a small place in Sarasota, Florida that invites comparison to the movie the “Truman Show”: the pre-realization part while Jim Carrie’s character is still blissfully biking around and waving to overly content people. If our neighborhood wasn’t so gosh darn adorable, it would be eerily terrifying.

I have a daughter who has reached a transitional stage in her life where if she doesn’t get touch with me, then things are going well. We are friends on Facebook and periodically she’ll message me to ask where I am in the world, which is a valid question. We meet for dinners as schedules, primarily hers, allow.

The second picture is of my daughter. We are in a water-taxi in Venice after picking her up at the airport.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

While in Ottawa I alternate between the main floor study, which is currently rather sparse in its décor, and the living room couch which overlooks the front yard through the foliage of the privacy jungle that we use as a decorative treatment for an immense palladian window. In Venice I generally work at a 16^th Century Chinese scholar’s desk situated by two giant palms in an airy room that is located at the back of our Palazzo but on occasion I move to the breakfast nook in the music room. From either spot I look out over our garden, a rare treat in Venice.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

As of late, it all hinges on my laptop. It is very easy to travel within Europe, and we do so with reasonable frequency. The otherwise extraordinarily fuzzy line that establishes whether I’m getting away from it all or simply traveling is solely established by the presence or absence of my laptop. Our last fun excursion within Europe was to Croatia, which is a three hour ferry ride from Venice. We stayed in Pula for a few days and then chartered a boat to take us along the coast to Rovinj. The picture is taken from the charter during our arrival to Rovinj.

On Childhood:

Q: Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

Not remotely. From the very start of my academic life I was the class clown. This went on until my last year of high school.

Q: Can you remember your favorite book?

No title leaps to mind, but anything Winnie the Pooh related was always a hit with me. Also, any of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia, as it relates to my daughter’s childhood and my time with her.

Q: Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

I didn’t start writing for pleasure until my late teens. Interspersed amongst fiction stories, were story boards for comics, and poetry.

On Book Promotion:

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

My initial course of action was to make everyone I knew aware of the availability of Pairs. Actually, in a similar manner, I did a lot of pre-release marketing.

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

Yes, I contracted a woman in Ottawa to help with the management of my writer specific social-network accounts. As a marketing tool I see them more effective in establishing a ‘brand’ as opposed to generating interest in a specific product during a specific timeframe. My social-network accounts are named after me, the ‘brand’, whereas in other media I emphasize my book.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

The Internet has had a huge impact on book promotion. A global reach can be achieved through affiliate marketing, social media and blogs to name just a few channels. Additionally, ‘indie’ book awards are becoming very prevalent and attracting media ‘buzz’, which can’t help but to promote winning entrants.

On Book Publishing

Q: What is the most frustrating part of being an author?

Like nothing else, typos in my own published work.

Q: What is the most rewarding?

Having people talk to me enthusiastically about something I’ve written. I particularly love it when people become wrapped up emotionally. It is very rewarding.

Q: How do you think book publishing has changed over the years?

It is difficult to know where to begin my reply. As with book promotion the short answer is: in every way. The Internet has made it possible to deal with editors, graphic designers and printers without ever meeting face-to-face. The advent of ebooks, the use of print-on-demand technology and the ease of access to global distribution channels through portals such as Amazon have chipped away at the economies-of-scale advantage that the large publishing houses possess.

On Other Fun Stuff:

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

I have been rather fortunate, and I am very grateful and pleased. At the risk of coming across as sappy my wish would be to continue in the direction that my life is going.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

Our next big jaunt, I hope, will be to either Argentina or Turkey. Either would do.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

Robert Wilk and Jacqueline Richards: each has been very supportive and each has contributed toward the success of Pairs in ways that are different yet equally important.

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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