Friday 5 July 2013

Author Interview-Robert L. Beck

Today, we have Robert L. Beck talking to us about Dawn of the Knight.


Tell us about your book.
My current release is actually my first book titled, “Dawn of the Knight.” It is a fast-paced, young adult, action/romance novel. It ‘s  the story of a fatherless Canadian high school boy, Lance Rock, who has been homeschooled and trained by the United States government’s former top operative. For his senior year, Lance decides to travel down to California via a student exchange program in the hope of finding a girlfriend as well as freedom from his regimented life. Once there, he inadvertently ends up in the home of a mother and her two teenage daughters—the oldest, Shannon, being the prettiest girl in the school! Lance is forced to use his skills to defend them and himself from the woman’s ex-husband—a crime-lord who has been terrorizing the family for over a decade! That is the basic plot. However, there are many sub-plots going on throughout the story
                                                                                                                              

Can you tell us about the journey that led you to writing?
I never, ever, thought I’d be a writer. I never had any desire for it. I actually had a desire to be an artist/illustrator, but my life didn’t turn out the way I thought it would. My oldest son was a communications major in college. I thought that he would be the one to take up writing. I did an Amazon.com search and bought three of the most highly recommended books on how to write fiction that I could find, and then gave them to him. He chose not to pursue writing, however. Three years ago I became extremely discouraged with my job and my life. I decided I would try to write a story as a means of escaping the boredom. But first, I read the three books I had purchased for him. They were so helpful that I’ve actually credited them in the acknowledgment section of my book! I’m a huge fan of operative type characters having grown up watching James Bond, Derek Flint, The Wild, Wild West, etc. When I was younger, I had read a 1960’s young adult teen spy series titled, “Chris Cool/Teen Agent,” by Jack Lancer, and I loved it. That series only lasted six books and I decided that if I would ever write a book series it would involve an operative type teenage character. I’m originally from Canada so I made the protagonist Canadian as well. I also knew I didn’t want him working for a government agency. I thought, what would happen if you put a teenage boy with operative type skills in a high school setting? The result is this story.

Do you have a musical playlist you listen to while writing? If so, what kind of music?
I don’t listen to music while I write. I prefer complete silence in order to properly focus my thoughts. However, I do love music and in particular, movie music scores. I collect them. When I listen to them, I often envision specific scenes from my book. I also love soft rock/pop music—especially from the eighties. There are certain songs will make me think of specific characters and scenes in the story as well.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure if this is a quirk, but I actually never learned how to type! I “finger pecked” my way through an 85,000 word novel! I don’t recommend this for anyone else, however. I’m constantly making typos and having to go back and correct them. *laughs heartily*

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Three of my favorite authors are John Norman, Harry Harrison, and Daniel Defoe. All three have written action stories using a first person POV and this influenced me greatly to write from that perspective as well.


Do you have anything else to say?

I read fiction to escape the world I live in with all its ups and downs and to be entertained. I think “entertaining” should be the most important quality a fiction book possesses. I can honestly say that my story, “Dawn of the Knight” is highly entertaining, if nothing else.

Robert's blog is here and you can obtain Dawn of the Knight for free on Smashwords.  

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Thanks for taking time to read this!
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Nina xxx

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