ABA AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH DAVID M. BROWN

Kiki: What is your favorite genre to read in, and what is it about that genre that attracts you to it? If you like a specific mix of genres, please state that particular combination.

David: The same as I write in: fantasy. Any work of fiction offers some degree of escapism but fantasy is the ultimate destination. My imagination isn’t more invigorated than with a dose of fantasy, being able to visit a completely different world and immerse myself fully in the lives of its weird and wonderful inhabitants.

Kiki: What is your favorite author to read in that genre, and why? Also, please tell me a little about the best book by that author you have read.

David: Terry Pratchett runs him a close second but JRR Tolkien is, for me, the master of the fantasy genre, having set a benchmark with his works in the world of Middle Earth. The Lord of the Rings is a literary work of art, its characters and in particular that incredible world is etched into your mind as you read. Not the easiest of books to get through, The Lord of the Rings is still one of the most rewarding.

Kiki: Do you have a Favorite Book of All Time? Of course, please tell us what about that book makes it your favorite.

David: The Lord of the Rings was my favourite novel until my brother handed me two small books – one red, one green – that made up Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood. I must have read the novel at least three times and each time the experience is one I never want to end. It makes me nostalgic for my university days though thankfully I didn’t find myself in the midst of a love triangle as the novel’s protagonist Toru Watanabe does!

Kiki: What is the best book you read last month, and would you recommend it to a friend?

David: I recently finished Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth which at 1000+ pages is a monster of a book. With the main plot being about the building of a cathedral you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s not an exciting read but ignore this at your peril. Once you get involved in the characters’ lives it’s very hard to put it down. Highly recommended to friends and family alike.

Kiki: What are your reading habits like? For example, how many books do you read on average in a week, what format do you prefer to read in, what time of day do you read, and what setting is ideal for you to get lost in that book?

David: I snatch unusual moments to read and the Kindle my wife bought me for Christmas has certainly facilitated this. While our six cats are feasting twice a day I’ll usually stand in the kitchen reading an ebook and have a chapter of my latest book. I even use the Kindle when I’m on the exercise bike, which is more straightforward than it sounds. If I’m not too tired there’s also a paperback on the bedside table just in case. I‘m currently reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea on the Kindle and Slaughterhouse 5 in paperback. 

Kiki: If pressed, could you chose a favorite from the books you have written? Why is it your favorite?

David: With Fezariu’s Epiphany being my debut novel I don’t have many to choose from save the four books I wrote that are now obsolete. Fezariu’s Epiphany is easily the best thing I’ve written but I have high hopes for my next novel, A World Apart, which will be a very different story but still one with a lot of emotional depth.

Kiki: How do you become inspired to write?

David: I do a lot of planning and note taking in the run up to starting new projects. If I’m walking alone somewhere I’ll always be mulling over stories and novel plans, trying to piece events together and always cursing myself due to not having a pen and paper at the very moment inspiration hits me. By the time I do come to write something my notes usually give me the impetus for the words to flow. Blog posts tend to come to me quite naturally and only require a brief amount of thought before I’m up and running with them. Prior to building the world of Elenchera I often turned to our own world history for inspiration but now Elenchera is pretty much complete I’m fortunate that there are always many tales to be told.

Kiki: What part of the story do you think is your strength to write?

David: Although I aim for my stories to have plenty of emotional substance to them I think my strengths are in my depictions of battles. The conflicts in Fezariu’s Epiphany were among the most enjoyable aspects of the book for me and it was a pleasure writing them. I usually imagine how such moments would look on the big screen and that often helps the battles play out smoothly on the pages.

Kiki: Please share with ABA readers something I did not think to ask you about.

David: I find it sad that some people still look down on self-publishing because I’ve realized that I couldn’t possibly have connected as much with readers if I hadn’t chosen this path. It’s made me appreciate that ultimately it’s the opinion of the readers that is key and that readers need to be able to feed back to authors easily and honestly. I think in future I’ll seriously consider staying with the self-publishing route so I can keep that connection.

  

Fezariu’s Epiphany Blurb:

The White Oak, Clarendon's oldest brothel, lured and destroyed men by the thousands. Fezariu was different. He had never been drawn by the White Oak's vices but the brothel had still ruined him when he was just a boy. Salvation came in the form of the Merelax Mercenaries - Elenchera's most prestigious hired hands. They gave Fezariu the chance to escape from his past. Immersed in the world of dangerous assignments in the colonies Fezariu longed to forget everything about his childhood but only in facing the past would he ever be free of it.

Review comment: “If you love fantasy, come visit the land of Elenchera and the city of Clarendon. Meet Fezariu and live his life with him. You become the characters. You will feel hopelessness, happiness, sadness and grow with Fezariu.” D Callaway

Click Here To Purchase at Amazon in Paperback

http://www.amazon.com/Fezarius-Epiphany-David-Brown/dp/1456500597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306976466&sr=8-1 

Click Here To Purchase at Amazon in Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Fezarius-Epiphany-ebook/dp/B00515BM9W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1306976466&sr=8-2 

Author Bio: 

"David Brown was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and first conceived the idea of the Elencheran Chronicles at college in 1999. He spent ten years compiling the history of Elenchera, resulting in 47,000+ years of events, 500+ maps, 2000+ pages, several short stories and many much-needed acquaintances with Jack Daniels.

David also has a blog, The World According to Dave (http://www.elenchera.com/blog), which features reviews, stories and dramatic tales of the horrors of owning cats.

David now lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with his wife, Donna, and their six cats.

Fezariu's Epiphany is his first novel."

David's Twitter profile: http://www.twitter.com/elenchera

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4878327.David_M_Brown

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgcNNLMBvY

The Elencheran Chronicles: http://elenchera.com

The World According to Dave: http://blog.elenchera.com

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/elenchera