Good afternoon readers!
Only 4 more sleeps until Christmas, but today I have a gift for you....
An interview with the author of The Ocean and the Hourglass, Dan O'Brien, and he has graciously offered up 2 copies, (1 hard copy and 1 kindle), to some lucky readers!
Dreams are not for the faint of heart, they are for the brave to follow. A Book, an Hourglass. Nicholas had always dreamt of faraway places, distant lands beyond imagination. Wandering into the library on a cold day, he finds an adventure that he had not been looking for. Transported to a distant world, Nicholas finds himself involved in sweeping adventures of a broken and lost kingdom. Filled with sea giants and ancient cities, the young man soon finds that the adventure was greater than he could have ever imagined.
When did you know you would be a writer?
The moment I first picked up a book, I knew that writing was the only thing that could sustain me for all of my days. The strength and depth that is afforded a writer is intoxicating. Building worlds, and living as someone else as you move through environments as a figment of your imagination, would seem the part of madness in anyone other than a writer.
How long did it take you to write your first novel?
My first novel was a learning experience. I wrote it for an English composition class in 11th grade in the late nineties. I remember printing each word of the novel on lined paper in notebook after notebook – this was the pre-computer days for me. It took me an entire semester to fill two notebooks. I remember very clearly the teacher telling me that I would never be a writer; it was an important moment in my life.
What is the hardest part of writing for you?
I find that allocating the time I want, versus the time I have to spend, on writing is the hardest part. I would write every second of the day if life and graduate school were not interfering, in the best possible way of course
Do you have any writing rituals?
I always pick the name of my novel first. I can’t even begin to think about the story until I know what I am going to call it. Next, I have to write the ending. From there, I work from the beginning, creating chapter-by-chapter analyses of how I think each of the sections will come together. The final piece is writing it, which is the best part, in my opinion.
Have you written anything else?
I have written 4 other complete novels, as well as finishing up an additional four. Three of the four novels are part of a series I released many years ago, which then subsequently went out of print. The other book is the first in a high fantasy series. I update my website, www.thedanobrienproject.com, with updates about what is coming, as well as my blog, http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com/.
Any advice to aspiring writers?
Write because you love writing. If you are hoping to make lots of money, I hope you do, but that is not the reality of writing. The creation of vast stories built and predicated upon the characters created from the ether of the mind is rewarding enough. Getting paid to do it is just icing on the cake. Pick a genre you love and read everything you can get your hands on. Get a feel for what the pulse of the writing community is and find your place in it. Just write.
Who are your favorite Authors?
That is a long list, but it would certainly include: Isaac Asimov, Jane Austen, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemmingway, John Steinbeck, H.P Lovecraft, Douglas Adams, Robert Jordan, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert Heinlein, Phillip K. Dick, Larry McMurtry, and Cormac McCarthy.
What are you currently reading?
A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin
How do readers find out more about you?
They can visit my blog, head over to my website, or find me on Facebook.
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY...
Fill in the Rafflecopter form to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Only 4 more sleeps until Christmas, but today I have a gift for you....
Dreams are not for the faint of heart, they are for the brave to follow. A Book, an Hourglass. Nicholas had always dreamt of faraway places, distant lands beyond imagination. Wandering into the library on a cold day, he finds an adventure that he had not been looking for. Transported to a distant world, Nicholas finds himself involved in sweeping adventures of a broken and lost kingdom. Filled with sea giants and ancient cities, the young man soon finds that the adventure was greater than he could have ever imagined.
When did you know you would be a writer?
The moment I first picked up a book, I knew that writing was the only thing that could sustain me for all of my days. The strength and depth that is afforded a writer is intoxicating. Building worlds, and living as someone else as you move through environments as a figment of your imagination, would seem the part of madness in anyone other than a writer.
How long did it take you to write your first novel?
My first novel was a learning experience. I wrote it for an English composition class in 11th grade in the late nineties. I remember printing each word of the novel on lined paper in notebook after notebook – this was the pre-computer days for me. It took me an entire semester to fill two notebooks. I remember very clearly the teacher telling me that I would never be a writer; it was an important moment in my life.
What is the hardest part of writing for you?
I find that allocating the time I want, versus the time I have to spend, on writing is the hardest part. I would write every second of the day if life and graduate school were not interfering, in the best possible way of course
Do you have any writing rituals?
I always pick the name of my novel first. I can’t even begin to think about the story until I know what I am going to call it. Next, I have to write the ending. From there, I work from the beginning, creating chapter-by-chapter analyses of how I think each of the sections will come together. The final piece is writing it, which is the best part, in my opinion.
Have you written anything else?
I have written 4 other complete novels, as well as finishing up an additional four. Three of the four novels are part of a series I released many years ago, which then subsequently went out of print. The other book is the first in a high fantasy series. I update my website, www.thedanobrienproject.com, with updates about what is coming, as well as my blog, http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com/.
Any advice to aspiring writers?
Write because you love writing. If you are hoping to make lots of money, I hope you do, but that is not the reality of writing. The creation of vast stories built and predicated upon the characters created from the ether of the mind is rewarding enough. Getting paid to do it is just icing on the cake. Pick a genre you love and read everything you can get your hands on. Get a feel for what the pulse of the writing community is and find your place in it. Just write.
Who are your favorite Authors?
That is a long list, but it would certainly include: Isaac Asimov, Jane Austen, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemmingway, John Steinbeck, H.P Lovecraft, Douglas Adams, Robert Jordan, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert Heinlein, Phillip K. Dick, Larry McMurtry, and Cormac McCarthy.
What are you currently reading?
A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin
How do readers find out more about you?
They can visit my blog, head over to my website, or find me on Facebook.
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY...
Fill in the Rafflecopter form to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteDid that English Composition teacher compel you to succeed even more, or does that comment of hers still tend to niggle in the back of your mind to haunt you? There are times that I wish I could reach out and smack those educators that are there who are supposed to encourage and support us!! Do they not know how many times they squash the dreams of potential greatness?! Argh!
Anyway, I am so glad you have gotten past that, and thank you for having this generous giveaway. look forward to seeing great and wonderful things from you for a long time in the future!
Gena Robertson
robertsongena@hotmail.com
Mary DeBorde [M.A.D.]
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with Dan on the importance of first choosing the right title before writing! At least for me, it helps to marshall my thoughts and provides the mental image from which I'll then proceed. I dunno, lol - hard to explain but anyway, wonderful interview, Dan comes across as a very honest & intelligent individual.
PLUS anybody who's a fan of H.P. Lovecraft rocks in my book ;D
Hi, you say you write the ending first, once you have written the rest of the story do you find you need to change the ending?
ReplyDeleteCheers!!
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
How do you come up with ideas of what to write? Which part of the writing process is the hardest for you: writing the first draft or editing and revising?
ReplyDeletenancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I love to try new book and new author.
ReplyDelete