Name: Larry Enright
Name of book: Four Years from Home
Book genre: mystery
Date Published: 10/2010
Publisher: Self
What is your day job? I do research at a university.
What is your book about (in a few sentences)? It is the story of the eldest child in an Irish Catholic family and his search to find his brother. During the journey, this thoroughly unlikable young man must come to grips with his own failings and the truth about himself and his brother in an inexorable journey of discovery and self-discovery.
Most challenging part of the writing process: I am not very good at rewrites and proofing. If I could leave that for my manservant, that would be outstanding, but it’s a one guy show here.
What motivates you to write? I enjoy the crafting of stories and working the nuances of characters, and it gives me great satisfaction to know that someone likes what I have done. The art itself is the primary motivation; the validation doesn’t hurt.
Did you experience writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome it? I do experience writer’s block. When I am unable to continue, I stop, as I’ve never been a big torture fan, and trying to fight through a block would be the water boarding of writing. Tending the garden, pulling the weeds, who could ask for more? That’s the ticket.
How long did it take you to write this book? I do not write full time but it took four years start to finish.
Why did you decide to self-publish this book? I wasn’t particularly interested in what an agent or publisher thought. I was more interested in getting my story to readers and letting them be the judge. After all, they are the audience.
What is the biggest misconception about writing a book? That, I’m not sure of, especially since I might be hanging onto to one or two myself. As a fiction writer, I make so many things up that I can never be sure anymore what is real and what is concocted.
What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? Four Years from Home was a character study of an unlikable person in the guise of a mystery. How does one present a story of a guy who nobody likes (including the reader)? That did it for me. The negative reviews it received were from people who either couldn’t deal with the bully cum laude protagonist or wanted a story that “moved along” more in the style of a plodder.
What tools/methods have you employed to promote your book? It’s been all social media – Facebook, blogs, and Twitter. I’ve spent about $60 on advertising.
What advice would you give to writers regarding promotion? Set up an author Facebook page (or book page as I did), get free face time on as many blogs as you can, tweet regularly, join author communities like the Kindleboards, participate, and help others as best you can.
I’m a writer – if I stop writing, I am nothing. Wilbur Smith. Is this true? It may have been true for him, but not for me. I would be a jittering pile of unwritten words craving expression on the page. That’s something, isn’t it?
Inspiration is the act of drawing up a chair to the writing desk. Anon. How do you feel about this statement? That is not usually the time when I am inspired on a grand scale. My most creative ideas come away from the writing desk. However, I do think it is true that my most creative turns of phrase come at the computer.
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