Interview With Author Terrence Pershall

 

 

1.What inspired you to write this book? I have always loved good quality soap, so I let my imagination run and pictured a man in France who made soap. The story developed from there. I liked the idea of smuggling messages in bars of soap durning WWII.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? It is about a boy of 13 who lives on a small family farm in France at the start of WWII. His “Papy” or grandfather, is the soap maker and is involved with the resistance. It's a story of loss, tragedy, love, perseverance, faith and eventual success and triumph. The story moves from the So of France, to the liberation of Paris, to the high fashion industry of New York in the 50’s, to the wine country of Sonoma, Calif. It is written for anyone who loves adventure, history, romance,  and overcoming adversity and evil. Anyone from their teens to their 90’s.  

3. What do you hope your readers will get out of reading your book? I hope they will be entertained and feel the love that is woven throughout the story. I had a woman call me after reading the book and tell me she loved it and it made her cry twice.  

4.How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? It was obvious and simple. I had help with the cover design from two of my very talented artist friends.  

5.What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Persistence is omnipotent. Always keep you sense of humor. I believe critics are those people who don’t have the courage to put it out there themselves so they prey on the work of others.  

6.What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? While there is something visceral and comforting about holding a book in your hands, I believe that the publishing industry will be going the way of newspapers. We will be trending toward e-books and audio books.  

7.Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? No similar experiences, however I have always loved France and plan to move there in the next year or two. I really enjoyed writing this story and living it vicariously.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I would say it's a mix of styles. I have been influenced by James Lee Burke, Wilbur Smith and Nicholas Sparks and in a commercial sense, by Clive Cussler. I believe in pace and believable characters that one can relate to.  

9.What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The challenge was when to stop. It’s always hard to come up with a satisfying ending that does justice to all of the characters.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?  This book covers many bases and many locations. There is love, evil, loss and tragedy, action and adventure, humor, revenge and triumph. It is a very satisfying read. 

About The Author I have lived in California all my life. I grew up in So Calif when you could still smell orange blossoms and now live in Carmel Valley on the central coast. My first real sense of writing came when I was a junior in high school, from my English teacher Jun Feldner. She had a way of talking about writing that made me want to pursue it. I was a media major in college but worked in the restaurant industry then went into the title and real estate business. My writing has taken a back seat until ten years ago when I decided to get serious and publish my first book. It became a trilogy then I went on to write the Soap Maker and several others that are currently unpublished.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

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.