Interview With Author Daniel C.A. Christianson

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? I wrote the first draft of my book in seven months during the global covid pandemic between April 2nd-October 31st 2020. I had only previously written short stories but I set myself a goal of completing a full manuscript within that year to see if I had what it took to be a real writer and creator.  

2. What exactly is it about- and who is it written for? It is about the journey I made crossing Russia along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok-Moscow in May-June 2019. The narration follows the protagonist D on his physical journey but then the psychological journey begins along with a spiritual transformation. It is dedicated to N, the great love of the Protagonist's life. She gave rise to the birth of those words.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope readers of my book when reading my words will feel they are travelling along that journey across Russia with the Protagonist and will be immersed into such tranquil and raw landscapes. I hope they will connect with the lone traveller who sets out without any goal other than just living in the moment and experiencing the wild and rugged nature of our planet. I hope they might feel the pain of the Protagonist in pining for his lost love as love is a universal theme of human connectivity.   

4. How did you decide on your book's title and cover design? The very first Trans-Siberian Railway journey began from Vladivostok Station in the Far East and so I decided to begin my journey there and called it East to West. For the book's cover I wanted a silhouette of the protagonist situated outside of the train but immersed into the natural landscapes of Siberia. If the readers will gaze their eyes to the top of the billowing smoke they will catch the faint image of a human face. This image is the protagonist's lost love and he is looking over and across the landscape for her.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers- other than run? I encourage writers if they truly believe that they wish to dedicate their lives to being a writer then they must put their art at the core of their lives and every other facet of their lives must form around their life as a writer. They must read and write every day without fail. It must be a true and honest undertaking of a life that is solitary, introspective, challenging but filled with desire and passion. 

6. What trends in the book world do you see- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I see more and more people listening to audiobooks with a very busy work and social life. I also see a return to the Short Story as a reader can get through multiple stories in one sitting even with such a busy life. 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Yes, because I went on that journey across Russia I knew what it felt like to gaze upon the largest, oldest and deepest lake in the world at Lake Baikal. I got to experience the magnificence of Siberia and was able to tap into such memories and feelings when writing my narrative. I understand what it feels like to lose the Great Love of one's life and so I used such suffering to weave my narrative into such a universal theme of broken love. 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I do not think that I have a particular style of writing as yet because this was just my first completed book. I am beginning my apprenticeship as a writer and I feel that it will take about ten completed books before I will know what my particular style is. My first book is based on a Non-Fictional journey but with fictional narratives interspersed throughout as my goal was to write a piece of art through literature. The writers that I am most enamoured with are the Russian Writers of the 19th century and specifically those of Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Lev Tolstoy. I also feel deeply connected to the writings of Franz Kafka, Gustave Flaubert, Marcel Proust, Simone De Beauvoir, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jack London, Kahlil Gibran, Rene Rilke, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, John McGahern, F.Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Nikolai Gogol. I am enjoying this early stage of experimenting with characters and narratives. I will try different styles and then hopefully I will find the one style that encapsulates my persona.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? I wrote my entire manuscript in longhand and when it came to typing it onto my computer I did lose a significant portion of my writing and so I had to write a few scenes from scratch that tested my resolve and patience. Following the completion of my book Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th 2022 and I deliberately delayed sending my manuscript to publishers as I thought that readers would not be interested in a title set fully in Russia.   

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? My book is in paper, e-book and audiobook format so it gives readers a wide choice if they decide to choose my book. My book, although bleak and pessimistic at some moments, is also a book with a very positive and universal appeal. It challenges the reader to focus on their own lives by delving inwards and finding the core of who they are and what they should be doing to live a more authentic life.  I plan on writing four books in a series that will tell the backstory to East to West so if the readers were to choose my book then they will in the future have four further books to choose to read as a backstory to the train journey across Russia. 

About The Author: He is a man of solitude. His world is that of the quiet and distilled. Each night, he sits at his desk as the clock strikes midnight. He journeys inward to that bottomless pit of conflict, prompted by memory, in search of an image fused by the imagination in order to reveal truth through character and the creative narrative process. The words become sentences and they are formed. And so it all begins. This was his first attempt and successful completion of a full-length book. His name is Daniel C.A. Christianson. For more info, please see: www.danielcachristianson.ampbk.com 

 

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About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity 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.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, 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. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

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.

 

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.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum