Welcome David, thanks for stopping by and answering some questions about you and your book.
1. How did you come up with the story idea?
I daydreamed the opening scene. Well, I say daydreamed, but actually I was lying in bed waiting for sleep to come, when the scene played clearly in my mind. It was as immediate as watching a movie. It's a short scene featuring Saul the Bastard, a fallen angel who works as a bounty hunter. It imprinted itself in my mind because I felt his private agony.
No way was I going to sleep with this vivid scene playing over and over in my head, so I propped myself up on one elbow and watched the night sky through my bedroom window while the story unfolded some more.
Next came Rebecca. She's a modern-day demon princess whose family pretty much runs her city, but more importantly she is a successful fraud investigator and a self-sufficient woman. Which is why she's very pissed off when dangerous events force her family to hire Saul to protect her against people who mean her harm.
I dropped off at some point, but Saul and Rebecca continued to argue and glare at each other in my dreams. Next morning, I opened a new file and started writing their story.
2. When you write, do the events in your story affect you, and in what way?
Yes, they do, in that the events affect my characters, who are close to the surface of my mind while I'm writing them. It works in the opposite direction, too. While I was writing Beauty and the Bastard last summer, my wife was very ill. She was very ill for fifteen months, actually, but those summer months were the worst time. She's well on the mend now, sufficiently so for me to admit that back then I thought I was going to lose her. I was tortured and very afraid. And I poured all my emotions into the story.
3. Why do you write within your genre? Have you always enjoyed reading and writing within that field?
I've always been a romantic. Most sailors are, whatever they tell you. I think every one of my favourite novels and movies has contained a great romance - although many wouldn't be labeled "romance" - and it was natural for me to write what I love reading. I've always been drawn to tales of people finding a light in the dangerous darkness, from classic gothic novels through film noir to modern urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
4. What makes your writing unique? What is your trademark?
Goodness! I don't think I'm qualified to answer this question. :)
I'll tell you how I try to be unique: through my voice. I'm aware that in my best material, my voice is dark, foreboding, sharp, sensuous, and passionate. That natural voice is my guide.
5. Have you ever taken any formal writing courses? If yes, do you think they helped you in your pursuit of publication?
No, I haven't.
6. Why did you select your publisher?
My publisher selected me! :D
In honesty, I knew while I was writing Beauty and the Bastard that it was the best thing I'd ever written. My crit partner knew it too. We rode it like a wave and just knew it would be my breakthrough story. I also knew, before I even started writing, that it would be a paranormal romance novella best-suited for epublication. When it was ready for submission, I sent it to the four houses I considered to be the best in their field. Liquid Silver Books wasn't the only epub interested, but their acquisitions editor's vision for Beauty and the Bastard seemed most similar to mine.
7. What is your next project and how different will it be from this novella?
I'm writing another paranormal romance novella, set in the same world as Beauty and the Bastard but featuring a new cast of characters and some very unpleasant demon mobsters.
8. Do you have a five year plan for your career? NY? Movie based on one of your books?
I'm not aiming for NY or London. Everything about epublishing suits me perfectly. I've found my niche and I'm loving it.
Having said that, I would love it if someone made movies of my stories. Yes, please.
9. What tips would you share with other authors interested in following their dreams of publishing?
Keep writing. When it seems as if the road goes on forever without a destination in sight, keep writing. There are lots of related activities out there, and some of them can be valuable, but only writing itself moves us along the road.
10. Do you have a preference for the format of your book? If so, why?
I've loved books since I was a small child, and these days I love ebooks just as much as I love printed books. I buy and read about 50/50 epub and print. That's because, for me, the story's the thing.
Bio:
David Bridger and his wife settled with their three daughters and two monstrous hounds in England's West Country after twenty years of ocean-based fun, during which he worked at various times as a lifeguard, a sailor, an intelligence gatherer and an investigator. He writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy.
Blurb:
Saul the Bastard is a fallen angel who works as a bounty hunter for powerful urban demon families. Rebecca Drake, a modern day demon princess, is being hunted by dangerous desert demons. When Rebecca's family hires Saul to protect her, they are both unhappy with the arrangement, but before long sparks fly as they try to resist their strong mutual attraction. For the first time in living memory, Saul has someone to love; someone he is scared of losing; someone the desert demons have marked to be their next sacrifice.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/DavidBridger1
My site: http://www.davidbridger.com
My blog: http://david-bridger.livejournal.com/
http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/beautyandthebastard.htm
I daydreamed the opening scene. Well, I say daydreamed, but actually I was lying in bed waiting for sleep to come, when the scene played clearly in my mind. It was as immediate as watching a movie. It's a short scene featuring Saul the Bastard, a fallen angel who works as a bounty hunter. It imprinted itself in my mind because I felt his private agony.
No way was I going to sleep with this vivid scene playing over and over in my head, so I propped myself up on one elbow and watched the night sky through my bedroom window while the story unfolded some more.
Next came Rebecca. She's a modern-day demon princess whose family pretty much runs her city, but more importantly she is a successful fraud investigator and a self-sufficient woman. Which is why she's very pissed off when dangerous events force her family to hire Saul to protect her against people who mean her harm.
I dropped off at some point, but Saul and Rebecca continued to argue and glare at each other in my dreams. Next morning, I opened a new file and started writing their story.
2. When you write, do the events in your story affect you, and in what way?
Yes, they do, in that the events affect my characters, who are close to the surface of my mind while I'm writing them. It works in the opposite direction, too. While I was writing Beauty and the Bastard last summer, my wife was very ill. She was very ill for fifteen months, actually, but those summer months were the worst time. She's well on the mend now, sufficiently so for me to admit that back then I thought I was going to lose her. I was tortured and very afraid. And I poured all my emotions into the story.
3. Why do you write within your genre? Have you always enjoyed reading and writing within that field?
I've always been a romantic. Most sailors are, whatever they tell you. I think every one of my favourite novels and movies has contained a great romance - although many wouldn't be labeled "romance" - and it was natural for me to write what I love reading. I've always been drawn to tales of people finding a light in the dangerous darkness, from classic gothic novels through film noir to modern urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
4. What makes your writing unique? What is your trademark?
Goodness! I don't think I'm qualified to answer this question. :)
I'll tell you how I try to be unique: through my voice. I'm aware that in my best material, my voice is dark, foreboding, sharp, sensuous, and passionate. That natural voice is my guide.
5. Have you ever taken any formal writing courses? If yes, do you think they helped you in your pursuit of publication?
No, I haven't.
6. Why did you select your publisher?
My publisher selected me! :D
In honesty, I knew while I was writing Beauty and the Bastard that it was the best thing I'd ever written. My crit partner knew it too. We rode it like a wave and just knew it would be my breakthrough story. I also knew, before I even started writing, that it would be a paranormal romance novella best-suited for epublication. When it was ready for submission, I sent it to the four houses I considered to be the best in their field. Liquid Silver Books wasn't the only epub interested, but their acquisitions editor's vision for Beauty and the Bastard seemed most similar to mine.
7. What is your next project and how different will it be from this novella?
I'm writing another paranormal romance novella, set in the same world as Beauty and the Bastard but featuring a new cast of characters and some very unpleasant demon mobsters.
8. Do you have a five year plan for your career? NY? Movie based on one of your books?
I'm not aiming for NY or London. Everything about epublishing suits me perfectly. I've found my niche and I'm loving it.
Having said that, I would love it if someone made movies of my stories. Yes, please.
9. What tips would you share with other authors interested in following their dreams of publishing?
Keep writing. When it seems as if the road goes on forever without a destination in sight, keep writing. There are lots of related activities out there, and some of them can be valuable, but only writing itself moves us along the road.
10. Do you have a preference for the format of your book? If so, why?
I've loved books since I was a small child, and these days I love ebooks just as much as I love printed books. I buy and read about 50/50 epub and print. That's because, for me, the story's the thing.
Bio:
David Bridger and his wife settled with their three daughters and two monstrous hounds in England's West Country after twenty years of ocean-based fun, during which he worked at various times as a lifeguard, a sailor, an intelligence gatherer and an investigator. He writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy.
Blurb:
Saul the Bastard is a fallen angel who works as a bounty hunter for powerful urban demon families. Rebecca Drake, a modern day demon princess, is being hunted by dangerous desert demons. When Rebecca's family hires Saul to protect her, they are both unhappy with the arrangement, but before long sparks fly as they try to resist their strong mutual attraction. For the first time in living memory, Saul has someone to love; someone he is scared of losing; someone the desert demons have marked to be their next sacrifice.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/DavidBridger1
My site: http://www.davidbridger.com
My blog: http://david-bridger.livejournal.com/
Comments
Good insight into your writing.
Sue (Monteiro)
Well, I daydreamed the opening scene and deliberately-daydreamed the second one. :)