Monday, August 31, 2009
Interview with C.A. Milson
What genre do you write and why?
Jo, right now I currently write horror. Now that was not the genre I just fell into from the beginning, as when I started experimenting with writing back in 1989, I wrote several genres, such as Sci-Fi, Thriller, and even a children’s book. It just so happened that the Horror genre was the one that fitted well for the time being.
Tell us a bit about your latest book.
My upcoming book is titled Bloodline Of Darkness. It is the second book in The Chosen series. It is the story of one man and the challenges he needs to overcome to fulfil an ancient prophecy. In book one titled Rise Of The Darkness, Alex Manning discovers what his purpose is in life, and the destiny he is ablogated to fulfil. However, that is anything but what he wants. Through a series of events, he manages to save the day, and win the girl… so to speak…. In Bloodline Of Darkness, it is set 10 years later, and all of his spiritual giftings are no more than a faded memory, and the dark forces that sought to destroy him have found a new doorway back into the world, and once again, he must face spiritual forces and stop them from committing genocide. Yet, in order to really know the nature of this force he will witness how it all began, and only by trying to save the past will he be able to save himself.
How did you research for this book?
I have always had a fascination for the unusual, and when I have down-time I tend to check out ghost stories and videos everywhere I can. Now we have all heard of ghost hauntings in one place or another, so basically try to image that, but on a wider scale 🙂
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration can come from any number of things. Sometimes I will get inspiration from dreams I have; Sometimes from places I see on my travels, or from little known urban legends, such as my short story, Ghosts Of Chapayevsk. Chapayevsk is a small town south of Samara, Russia, and going there is really like stepping into Silent Hill… Needless to say there are some urband legends of Chapayevsk, one of which I wrote about.
Who is your publisher and why did you choose them?
My publisher is Lulu.com. Lulu gave me the creative freedom to be able to market and publish my works the way I want. Without being bias, I do have to say that many publishers these days will expect the author to do alot (if not all) of the marketing and promotion themselves, and in return the author does not have the creative control over their work in often times. That is why I prefer Lulu. The creative process remains in my hands, and my works still get is the vast distribution channel through LS
What has been the hardest part of writing your novel and how did you over come it?
Honestly Jo, the hardest part of writing is finding the time. Now, people who do not know me will think that I am just a writer who may write books and promote them. But there is far much more to who I am than just writing. My day is filled with no less than 12 projects that need to be done at the same time. For instance, I am in talks with people to turn the first book into a game; There is the graphic novel coming out soon, which takes alot of involvement with the illustrator/script writer; There is the audiobook that is is pre-production, and screening voice talent…. And that is just the writing aspect of my life… Then I have my normal life, which is far more intense. For those who will know me from Facebook, I am an experimental film director, with 3 projects in pre-production. One is a travel video, another is an Indie Short based on how the world is seen through the eyes of an ordinary girl who is not so ordinary, and the third is a horror short that will be filmed in Zagorodny Park, Samara. And finally, as my background is in marketing, I am often called by businesses to put together a marketing plan or something else. Right now I work with 3 clients in the US and the UK, and add to this I will be the main speaker at a marketing seminar in Samara in late September, and I have been asked by a call center to train their staff, which could very well lead into training all of their staff throughout Europe. Yet, finding time to do all these things is not easy at the best of times, and although I like to delude myself into thinking I can do the impossible, I know that I cannot… Now some may say that I should put things in order of importance, and as great as that would be to do, all these things have the same level of importance as the other… But you know what Jo, I really would not have it any other way 🙂 … But the bottom line for me is, as good as these things are, nothing will take away from my writing. That is my first passion, and always will be. Will I find time to finish Bloodline? Absolutely! Bloodline will be released before you know it! 🙂
Where can people find out more about you and your writing?
People can find out more about me at: http://www.authorcamilson.com. I try to update my website every few days if something new is happening.
Anything else you’d like to add?
It was an absolute pleasure to be here today Jo. Thank you for taking the time to host me on your site. I had fun writing this 🙂
