Thursday, October 12, 2023

Interview With Author Douglas T. Bradshaw

 


1. What inspired you to write this book?  I wrote the series of books to showcase the stories that I've written for the players that have taken the trip to my game world in our D&D games.  As I mentioned, I've been playing D&D for over 40 years and I thoroughly enjoy playing as well as serving as the Dungeon Master.  I very much enjoy writing these stories and campaigns for the players because I feel that it enhances everyone's enjoyment of the game as it was meant to be played,  I was inspired to write the first of the trilogy, A Time of Magick as an introduction to my game world and to introduce the only protagonist who appears in all three works, Thaddeus Brimstone.  From there, the other two works are continuations of the trilogy, culminating in The Battle for Terra, featuring the ultimate battle of good vs. evil.     

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for?  These books are about the adventures of Thaddeus Brimstone, the single overarching character that appears in all three books.  While his mortal coil expires at the end of the first book, his story is not over as he ascended to the side of a Goddess and is charged with watching over The Continent, a land which he has come to know and love.  When the Continent is threatened by evil, he recruits a young boy from our modern world at the second book to fight against it and later a simple farmer in the third book, who will face the ultimate evil.  These books are written for those who play or have played Dungeons and Dragons, for anyone who enjoys a story that features romance, adventure, suspense and the allure of a good story.   

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?  I hope that readers of my books will enjoy the story and perhaps be inspired to add a bit of what they read to their everyday lives.   

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?  The first books' title, A Time of Magick, was dictated by the story, as Thaddeus brought a different kind of Magick to The Continent, which it had never seen before.  Imagine if someone like that just happened to come to our modern-day world?  The second book title, Return to the Continent, sees us returning to the Continent to witness the struggles of the young boy from our modern world against evil and to see him growing up to become a man.  Of course, there is a healthy amount of romance in all the books because let’s face it, life is full of romance, regardless of time or place, but there is also a healthy amount of adventure and combat that the protagonists are involved in.  Insofar as the cover design, I relied on my publisher to help bring my thoughts to life as an artist, I am not.  In all my books, I wanted to give the reader a snapshot of what was inside, without giving away the story.     

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?  Be passionate about your works and watch for scams, because they are EVERYWHERE! 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  I think book publishing is declining as online publishers become more prevalent and accessible to authors like myself.  Traditional publishers seem very much closed off to authors and the process of getting their attention is beyond the means of most.   

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  No, not really, as these stories were pulled from various excerpts from over 40 years of D&D gaming.   

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?  My writing style...not sure how to answer that, but I think my writing style is more detailed and I like to give the reader some indication as to what the character is thinking, and what is happening around them as I tell the story.  I want my characters to seem like real people, with real foibles and idiosyncrasies all their own.  I took inspiration from other great writers like JRR Tolkein and Stephen King in writing these books, but I'd say that the style is all my own.   

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?  Mostly life getting in the way, but I found the time to keep at it because I enjoyed writing them and I am still writing.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?  If someone likes a good story, set in a magical land, then I would certainly recommend my books to them.  The first book isn't too serious and is definitely the most romance-heavy of the trilogy.  The second book witnesses a young boy from our modern-day world growing up in the world of the story while learning magic and fighting evil at every turn, while still finding the time to become a man who chooses a rather strange bride.  The third book tells the story of a simple and humble farmer, who is thrust into the spotlight by a great evil that attacked his village and once again plunges the Continent to the very brink of destruction.   

About The Author: I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for over 40 years and these stories are the result of many campaigns all across my game world, centering on a magickal place called The Continent.  It is my hope that those that read these stories enjoy the narrative and the depth and breadth of the unique sorts of folks that inhabit The Continent.  

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on LinkedIn. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.4 million pageviews. With 4,600+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.  

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