Interview With Pamela Blake on the David T. Isaak Book Collection

 

 

David T. Isaak (1954-2021) was an American author of both fiction and nonfiction. His five books are being published posthumously; three have been released this past year. His widow, Pamela Isaak, sat for an interview about his books.

 

1.      What inspired you to write this book?

David always wanted to be a writer. In the early 2000’s, we were able to give him the opportunity to cut back his consulting work and focus on writing. He had many ideas for novels. Even though he hadn’t been actively writing, he was always mulling over topics and plots for novels. The first book he worked on became Tomorrowville. He completed four other books: A Map of the Edge, Things Unseen, Earthly Vessels, and Smite the Waters.

 

2.      What exactly is it about and who is it written for?

Tomorrowville tells the story of Toby Simmons. Toby has a silly, self-induced, accident in 2008. He dies, is frozen, then is unfrozen, repaired, and brought to life in 2088. The book extrapolates trends of the early 2000’s--social, economic, and environmental—to a mostly dystopian future. The future Toby finds himself in, while dystopian, is not apocalyptic. No catastrophe forced the US to its state of politics and ways of life, but the relentless progression caused by bad decisions and passive acceptance. The book will appeal to people who like to postulate how our past and current decisions and ways of life will lead to a future that we may not want, and who enjoy satirical humor.

 

3.      What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?

I hope readers will find David’s work engaging, thought-provoking, and a place to escape to – with a few laughs thrown in.

 

4.      How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?

The titles of the 5 books all reflect something significant about the content and themes. David chose the book titles. One advantage to being a self-published author is that there’s no editorial staff asking for changes! For the covers, I engaged a respected, professional artist, who was recommended to me by one of my writing coaches, Ramy Vance. The artist is Jeff Brown. He is super-intuitive. We had an intro session for each book, during which I described the book and he grokked what was happening and began sketching a candidate design during that session. He refined the design, did some back-and-forth sessions with me, and completed the design over a couple of weeks.

 

5.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

Ha ha! You can’t run from the stuff in your head! Get it out there. Admire it in the light of day, commune with it in the dark of night. Refine it until its hair is combed and its teeth are brushed– and then let it loose on the world!

 

6.      What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?

So much has changed since my husband, David, wrote his novels in the early 2000’s. Self-publishing was a nascent industry then – mostly a not-respected elephant graveyard where bad books went to die. That has changed soooo much. I wish David had lived to see this change – and to be able to see his books published, and loved, and doing well. I think the trend towards more and more self-publishing will continue. It’s still hard to have a million copy best seller without a major publisher, though. I’m most curious to see if tools and tactics emerge to sell millions of copies as a self-published author. Having the right marketing is certainly key.

 

7.      Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?

David was concerned about social justice and government taking advantage of people--just because they could. (He spent some time tossed about in the juvenile justice system as a young teenager.) Also, he had a PhD in geography, focusing on resource systems and global energy. Both these foundations came together in Tomorrowville. David projected social trends and environmental trends 80 years into the future and examined – humorously – what the future might look like.

 

8.      How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?

Readers have compared the wit and satire of David’s writing to the works of Carl Hiaasen and Christopher Moore, the storytelling to Robert Sheckley and Stephen King, the atmospheric ambiance to David Guterson and Neil Gaiman, and the intelligence and technical detail to Cory Doctorow and Graham Greene.

 

9.      What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?

David had a highly successful consultancy in global energy. The real challenge was carving out time to write. We were able to structure our life so that he could take time off and do what he’d always wanted to do—to write novels. I’m glad we were able to do that, and forever grateful to have these five novels that are his legacy. The hardest thing for me, his wife, is that there are only five.

 

10.  If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

Through David’s writing, readers will be able to explore the complex boundary between the known and the unknown, and enjoy his humor, his wit, and his beautiful, original writing.

 

About The Author: David T. Isaak (1954-2021) was an American author of both fiction and nonfiction. Dr. Isaak held a BA in Physics and MA and PhD degrees in resource systems. His professional work spanned the globe, taking him to over forty countries. He co-authored three technical, nonfiction books on oil and international politics, and wrote numerous papers, monographs, and multiclient studies. David passed away in April 2021, leaving behind five novels, which are as diverse as his life and span a spectrum of genres:  Tomorrowville (dystopian sci-fi), A Map of the Edge (coming-of-age, historical fiction), Things Unseen (a murder mystery with metaphysical elements), Earthly Vessels (magical realism), and Smite the Waters (a political thriller, with a twist). His novels are infused with his trademark humor and insights, and shine with his love of style. These novels comprise The Isaak Collection. His works have been published posthumously by his wife, Pamela Blake. For more information, please see: https://utamatzi.com.

 

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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.