Author Interview with David Kummer

• How long have you been writing?
• I have been writing since an early age. When I was younger, I would write fantasy novels that never got finished, and I’ve just recently picked up and now work on it. My first published work was in May of 2015, when my short story collection As Trees Turned Away finally got released. Since then, I’ve added a couple more works and have many in store.
• What is your favorite genre to write? Most of what I write is Horror and/or Psychological Thriller, but I’m also working on a Literary Fiction novel and a Fantasy, Lord of the Rings-type novel.
• Which genre have you never tried before, but would you like to try out? A week ago, I would have said Fantasy, but I’m trying that out now I guess. Um… I’ve never written any Comedy or any Detective Stories? Probably the detective ones. Sherlock Holmes is pretty inspiring in that regard.
• Please tell us about your book. My Abigail is a thrilling book that will disturb your conscience. There’s a twist about three-quarters of the way through that I know you won’t see coming. As of now, nobody I’ve talked to has predicted it. Good luck, though 😉 Anyways, the book is about a teenage boy who falls in love with a girl, only to find out she’s nothing like he expected. Sound pretty cliched? That’s where the unpredictable twist and the creepy little things I add come into play.
• Which character was your favorite, and why? Which character was your least favorite, and why? My favorite character was this little girl named Ayva, who’s got lots of quirks and little habits that are sure to creep you out. I liked her so much I wrote another short story, which I published under the title My Other Friends (it also has some of my author-friend’s stories as bonus material.) My least favorite character was the unnamed father in one of the flashback scenes. There’s no way to express how hard that chapter was write, which leads me to the next question…
• What was the hardest part about writing your book? About halfway through the book, there’s one chapter that explains everything and demystifies all the secrets. Writing those 7 or 8 pages brought me to tears and broke me down like no other piece of literature has done. Hopefully, it will have the same effect on you.
• What is your writing routine? Are there things you absolutely need to start writing? Well, I get home from school and work out. Then I shower and eat. I start writing around 7:30 (unless I’m answering interview questions like this), and stop about three hours later. To write, all I need is my laptop. Most of the time, I’ll play some music, but if I don’t have it I’m still fine.
• How long did it take you to write your book from start to finish? My Abigail is only 30,000 words long (half the size of a normal novel), so it took me about a month to write after the outline was set. The editing process took another two months, mainly because I was chasing reviews at the same time.
• Can you tell us about your editing process? My editing process consists of a few steps. First, I do a quick read-through and fix any mistakes I see, whether that be punctuation or word choice. My dad will then do his own review of the text. Once I apply his corrections, I’ll find a few other people to read it and then do one last scan myself before formatting it and getting it published.
• Is this book part of a series? If so, how many installments do you have planned? As I said, there is a short story add-on to this which centers around Ayva and her own story, although it does tie up some loose ends from the main book. Besides that, I have no other installments planned, but you never know. I refuse to close this door.
• Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Never give up, and never stop reading. Whether it’s lack of sales, lack of (good) reviews, or lack of inspiration, you will find plenty of challenges that stand between you and that final button to publish. There are a plethora of books on this subject, and I highly suggest Rayne Hall’s books on the various parts of publishing. Besides reading nonfiction books, though, you should also read in your genre and whatever you enjoy. If you’re not a reader, it’s hard to be a writer.
• Why should everyone read your book? I am very proud of every word I put into this book. While it’s nowhere near perfect (what book is, really?), the story line is unique, the book is easy to read, and the characters are some that you will never forget. And if you need yet another reason, it’ll take you maybe three hours to read at the most. This is like paying 99 cents to see an epic, emotional, three-hour movie, people!
• If you could meet three authors, dead or alive, which authors would you choose? K. Rowling, because her series (Harry Potter, if you somehow don’t know) has inspired me, shaped me, and been especially helpful in improving my dialogue. Second on my list, John Green just because he’s really cool and makes me laugh with his Crash Course World History videos (Youtube it). Lastly, I’d choose to meet Sir Arthur Conan Doyle just because I wanna see what Sherlock Holmes could decipher about me from just a glance.
• What inspired you to write your book? I’d been longing to write something beautiful, emotional, and never written before. When I got the idea for the plot twist, I decided there was only one way to make this as effective, and that was with teenage characters. Before long, I’d written the outline, filled out my character charts, and I was staring at the blank page, having no clue just how far the story would take me.
• Are you working on something at the moment? If so, can you tell us more about it? Of course I am! Right now, I’m working on a trio of horror novellas that I will publish in the summertime hopefully. I’m also editing the first book of my Literary Fiction series, and writing my Fantasy novel, so I’ve got a lot on my plate. Wish me luck everybody 😉 And have a fantastic day. If you have any questions, I can be reached at davidkummer7@gmail.com

About the Book

–A great thriller from the beginning … kept me reading until the end—Alysia on Goodreads

Links

Amaozn (My Abigail)

Amazon (My Other Friends)