Tell us about your latest book.
Code Blood is a chilling and suspenseful novel which
has won a number of literary awards. It takes the reader into the connected
lives of a rookie fire paramedic, a Chinese medical research student, and an
obsessed killer who stalks her.
Colt Lewis, a
young
A Li is a
brilliant Chinese graduate student conducting stem cell research. She is
unhappy in Los Angeles , yearns for her home in
the highlands of Tibet Bombay
Markus, a
collector of body parts and rare blood, is after the elixir that flows in A
Li's veins. He will do anything to get it.
Emergency
medicine, the science of stem cell research, and the unsettling world of blood
fetishism and body parts come together in this edgy L.A. Noir thriller as Colt
uncovers one mystery after another. When he finally learns the identity of the
accident victim, the last of his illusions are shattered.
What advice do you have for other fiction writers?
You have work at it on a regular basis, and spend hours at
your computer with only your characters to keep you company. Much of what you
will write you will delete, and you will have doubts about what you are doing.
There will be days when you consider giving up and walking away. There will be
days when you ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?" You had better love writing, because the
process itself is the greatest reward, so be sure you enjoy the journey. You
may complete your novel and the N.Y.
Times Book Review (and a lot of other reviewers) may ignore it, but if you
enjoyed writing it and think you have done the best you could do, then that in
itself is the reward.
So, when you are sitting at your computer trying to get
started, take a sip of coffee and repeat three times, "I love writing, I
am having fun right now, and that's why I am sitting here." If you mean
it, you are on your way.
What's the best thing about being a writer?
I enjoy writing fiction. I like to imagine characters,
think of their personalities and personal quirks, and translate that into a
fictional life for them. Code Blood is full of such
characters, and I still have to laugh
when I go back and read about some of them. Sometimes when I am doing
something else, I think of one of my characters and have a conversation with
him/her.
I also like the
idea of leaving something permanent, a novel, which will remain in (electronic)
existence for some extended time.
Where can people find out more about you and your
writing?
I have a website
which describes all my books and awards. http://kurtkamm.com/ It also has some short blogs and some
great pictures.
I also have an
Amazon author’s page. http://amzn.to/2qsa5vi
Who is you favorite character in your book
and why?
Markus
may be my favorite character in all of the six books I have written. He’s
smart, but uses his intellect for bad ends. He’s selfish and blames everyone
but himself for his problems. His medical history as a child (he’s an albino)
has damaged him and twisted his personality. He is obsessive and
self-destructive. When he sets out to get a sample of the rarest blood type in
the world (Bombay Blood) he wreaks havoc on himself and those around him. He
sounds awful, but you have to love him.
How long did it take you to write your
book?
I
have written six books, each has taken about 24 – 30 months. There are four
phases: First - conception and research (8 months); Second – Initial struggle
with writing the story (12); Third – Rewriting, smoothing and polishing (6);
Fourth – Editing, editing, editing (6).
Who designed the cover?
One
of the characters in Code Blood, Audra, has a full body
tattoo. I am friends with a woman named Justice Howard, who is known around the
world for her pictures of women with tattoos. She provided me with the picture
of the woman on the cover. Here it is in the original, I hope it is not too shocking
for your readers. This lady spent approximately $30,000 for the tattoo and it
took over 3 years to complete.
My
publisher, Monkey C. Media developed the cover, blending in the flames that
appear on all of my other book covers.
Where can a reader purchase your book?
It’s
amazing to note that Amazon now sells about 70% of all books in the United
States
Code
Blood is available in paperback and Kindle through my website, http://kurtkamm.com/ or
on Amazon http://amzn.to/2q3sj5n
What are your thoughts on self-publishing
verses traditional publishing?
There
is good news and bad news about self-publishing. It has allowed many talented
people access to the public market and at a reasonable cost. The problem is that
many who self-publish are not very disciplined. Traditional publishing demands
editorial perfection, and any writer who makes it through the process produces
(with the help of his editor) a polished piece of work. Self-publishing
instills no discipline, and many authors print work which is badly written and
badly edited. My advice to those who would self-publish is to edit, edit, edit
your work, have it proofread by a professional, then have it worked over by an
editor. Only then should you self-publish.
When you’re not writing, how do you spend
your time?
I am an exercise freak. I was a competitive bicycle racer and still
spend 2-3 hours a day riding my bike.
Weight workouts are a must. I also (surprise!) read a lot.
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1 Comments
I read this book and had trouble putting it down. I didn't realize the author wrote 6 books so it seems I have a lot of catching up to do.
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