When did you become a writer?
The first time I tried to write professionally was in 2003 when I wrote a screenplay. I showed it to some friends and was encouraged to try writing a novel.
What genre do you write and why?
I have always liked young adult books, now as much as when I was a kid. Even though it has been out of print for years, my favorite book of all time is “Three Without Fear” by Robert Dusoe. I feel that by writing material that will appeal to kids you are accomplishing an important goal, even if the material is fictional. When you read, you exercise your brain. This will hopefully increase a child’s reading skills that will help them with their retention when reading text books.
Tell us a bit about your latest book
“Flight on Fire Mountain ” is a young adult book about a teen boy who is trapped on a mountain top by a forest fire. He is unable to escape by car or foot so he is forced to use a paraglider to flee the fire. One librarian stated the book reminder her of “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen My book has been described as a “high low” novel. By that I mean it is of high interest to older kids, but is written at a relatively low reading level. Teachers have stated that it is appealing to challenged readers since it is relatively short (just under a 100 pages). The feeling being that slower readers are often intimated by longer novels. .
As a former pediatric nurse, I had a secondary goal in writing the book I have seen the effects of brain damage that might have been prevented by safety helmets. In the first chapter there is a rather graphic description of a child with brain damage that might have been prevented if the child had been wearing a helmet. At the very least I wanted to warn readers of the possible consequences of not wearing their helmets when riding bikes, skateboards or any other sport that requires protective head gear.
How did you research for this book? Are you a paraglider?
I use to fly paragliders in the early to mid 1990’s. I got back in the sport briefly in 2003. When I stopped flying in the 90’s, I tried to imagine what circumstance might force someone into flying a paraglider when left with no other options. I thought of the fact paragliders are relatively small when folded. It can easily be carried on your back or in the backseat of a car. It would not inconvincible to have one available if trapped by fire.
How do you market your book?
Since my book is of the young adult genre I called the schools in my area to see if I could do presentations for the students. I bring a paraglider to these presentations to hopefully add interest for the students. I also joined http://www.author-promotion.com/. It is a relatively inexpensive website to join and I have found it to be very informative on different ways to market my work. One thing they suggested was to make a video to post on YouTube and other websites. At first I thought this was beyond my capabilities since I have never made a video, but with their direction I found it not only do able but a fun project. If you want to see my video, just go to YouTube and put Flight on Fire Mountain in their search engine.
Do you have any tips for other writers?
http://www.goodreads.com is an almost unlimited source of discussion groups for writers and people who just love to read.
Where can people find out more about you and your work?
My website is http://www.flightonfiremountain.com/. If you are in the southern California area, I am also available to do presentations for the book.
Anything else you'd like to add?
My philosophy is even if there is only a small chance to write a best seller, there is no chance at all if you don’t try.
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