Interview With Author Randall Flores

  

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? My unique experience was the primary motivator. I arrived in China when most people wore blue or grey and left when almost every neighborhood in Shanghai had a humongous Louis Vuitton store. I also spent years in Taiwan and Hong Kong. My stories informed, shocked, and entertained folks. The response was always, “You should write these down.” So I did. I also wanted to leave a historical account of the massive changes from my front-row seat, similar to the books written by foreigners who visited the Middle Kingdom a hundred years or more before me. Finally, I aimed to detail the pain and hardship that an end-stage renal failure patient goes through. I don’t recommend it.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? My memoir describes my two decades living overseas and working on the supply chain. I targeted the book to anyone with or without China experience. If you want to learn about life in China through the eyes of an American, this book is for you. If you want to understand how a Westerner lives in China, this book is for you. Finally, if you visited China and want to reminisce about your time there, this book is for you.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope readers will gain a better knowledge of the region, which is in the news daily. In addition, I aim to show what it takes to fill the stores here and the perils of heavy drinking. We all think we can overcome health issues when we are young, but life catches up fast.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The title describes the result of my hard living. I had it in my head long before I wrote the book. It fits well. For the cover, I used a picture from a back street in Shanghai, my home for twenty years. The bluish tint implies a dreariness of life with an impaired health system. The blood-red title represents my kidney issues, and the enlarged font grabs the reader’s attention. 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? My advice to fellow memoir writers would be to get as much on paper first. If writing over a long period, it is good to create a timeline so the stories fall into place. Finally, edit, edit, and then put the book away for at least a month before editing it again. Do not accept that a paid editor has done everything for you so you can go to production. Companies are now giving the editing work to apps, which are roughly 80-90% accurate in my experience. They will get better, but they can never replace your voice. Writing a book can seem daunting at times. Hang in there. 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? With self-publishing, vanity, hybrid, and traditional publishers, it is a crowded market. It is harder for books to break through the noise. POD also allows anyone to print a book without carrying expensive inventory. All this makes publishing more inclusive but makes it harder to sell books. Print books will continue to find audiences, but the numbers are shrinking. There are too many forms of media fighting for the same attention.  

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Since this is a memoir about my life, everything from my past was useful. My organizational skills and weekly expense reports helped me to complete a timeline of my travels. My collection of passports assisted. The focus of any memoir should be accuracy, and my preparation in the past helped me accomplish that.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I wanted to put people in my shoes so they could experience what I went through. My style is descriptive and clear with confidence. Writers that have inspired me have been Charles Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, Henry Miller, and Jack Kerouac. Each has influenced me in different ways. 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The biggest challenge I faced was writing while dealing with a life-threatening illness. I was often suffering from fatigue and pain, which made working difficult. It’s hard to type when you keep falling asleep. Surprisingly, my memory was clear, and I can still picture the events as if they happened not too long ago.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? It’s a story like no other.  

About The Author: Randall Flores is an author from Chicago who studied Mandarin in 1987 at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. He continued his studies at the University of Rochester and Peking University in China. After earning degrees in Chinese and economics, he embarked on a twenty-five-year journey through Asia. His first memoir, How I Lost My Kidneys In China, details his life overseas. The book has earned a spot as a finalist in the 2023 Global Book competition and has attracted interest from movie studios. Currently, he spends his days staying updated on world events, reading books, and writing a second memoir about a trip to Spain for the running of the bulls. He lives in Southern California with his wife and kids. for ore info, please see: www.howilostmykidneysinchina.com.

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Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. 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 3.6 million pageviews. With 4,800+ 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 director of publicity positions 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 hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, 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. His first published book was The Florida homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.