Let welcome to our latest and newest member to our list of authors. Let welcome Gabriel Valjan to Nighttime Reading Center. He here on a book tour. He is stopping by here on October 19, 2016 - December 7, 2016. I work with
+Laura Fabiani iRead Book Tours and I happy learn about her book and giveaway.
I got the chance to read her books "The Murders at Astaire Castle". I enjoy both books. I would suggest that you read my review for "
Corporate Citizen", "
Turning to Stone", "
Treading the Needle", "
Wasp Nest", and "
Roma Undergrond". You got a chance to win a -
Prizes: 12 winners will each get a Prize package that contains:
5 winners get a paperback copy of CC
5 winners get an ebook copy of CC
1 winner gets whole set of Roma series in paperback (signed)
1 winner gets whole set of Roma series in ebook format
12 winners total
Print copies open to USA and ebooks open international
Giveaway ends Dec 17Enter her giveaway
Corporate Citizen Giveaway
Let read her Bio and then go to her interview.
#Interviews, #Interviewsaroundtheglobe,
#NRC,
#Giveaways,
#bookreview, #thriller, #suspense, #giveaway, #Romaseries,
@GValjan and
@NouveauWriter
Gabriel Valjan lives in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the
Roma Series, available from Winter Goose Publishing. Gabriel has also
written numerous short stories and essays found online and in print.
Connect with the author:
Website ~
Twitter ~
Facebook
1. Describe your book in 20 words or less.
Boston, ‘magical’, murder and mystery, a visit from an old enemy, two intrepid cats, and a new romance.
2. Where or how did you come up with the idea for your story?
All the books in the Roma Series have some basis in fact and Corporate Citizen is no exception. When I began tinkering with ideas around which I could turn the plot, I was reading about an outbreak of heroin use on the Cape here in Massachusetts and I stumbled upon a unique strain of heroin called desomorphine, a drug that has a dermatological side effect that gives it its street name: krokodil. As far as I know this drug has not appeared in the U.S., although there were rumors that it was in circulation in Illinois in 2013.
In Corporate, a damaged veteran, who is both dangerous and compassionate, makes an appearance. Nick was modeled (loosely) on a deceased family member. When I was a kid, he wouldn’t talk explicitly about combat but he did mention that he and other selected infantry soldiers had been given large doses of Dexedrine, an amphetamine, and, on one occasion, LSD.
3. How important are names to you in your book(s)? Do you choose the names based on liking the way they sound or the meaning? Do you use any resources in assisting you to choose the names?
Alabaster Black and her alias were deliberate choices. She is a purist (think marble) and, at times, a dichotomous thinker. She was idealistic when she signed to work for Rendition, but broke ranks with them when she discovered what the organization did after she submitted her analyses. In the beginning, I don’t think she was bothered so much until she met Robert Strand and fully understood that Rendition’s objective was to maintain the U.S.’s ‘interest’, however that might be defined. Alabaster felt betrayed and understood that Rendition was ruthless, and yet it allows her to live. She took her chances and lives looking over her shoulder. Though she is prickly at times, her dark side has yet to emerge, but it will.
4. Which of your characters (in this book) is your favorite and Why?
Silvio is my favorite in this outing of the Roma Series. If you watch him, he’s always calm, collected, and he offers an intelligent observation. Readers look to Bianca for intelligence, but I think Silvio might be the smartest one in the bunch. I’m also fond of animals, as is Silvio, so that goes a long way with me.
5. Was there a certain scene in this book that was harder for you to write than others?
I’m not fond of writing violence. Violence, like sex, is best left imagined and off-screen. There is violence in Corporate, but nothing that I believe to be unseemly. Readers are likely to see more blood-and-gore in a typical police procedural on television, so why would I give them something that they’ve seen a thousand times. If I’m going to give you a violent scene, it’ll be memorable and it’ll serve a purpose.
6. If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
Interesting question, but I would have a to say either Charlize Theron or Angelina Jolie should play Bianca, or better -- Charlize Theron should play Bianca and Angelina Jolie should direct.
Victor Garber is Gennaro.
Bradley Cooper is Dante. (Note: Mr. Cooper is Italian).
Daniel Radcliffe is Silvio.
Orlando Bloom is Alessandro.
Farrugia is the toughest casting call. I would say that an actor who can project Idris Elba’s intensity would make a perfect Farrugia.
7. What is your least favorite part of the publishing /writing process?)
Promoting the book. While I can get out of my comfort zone and discuss my work, there is no right way to promote a book. I’ve seen Twitter feeds that are nothing more than endless tweets of: ‘Buy My Book!’ Publishing is in a real state of flux and it is the best of times and worst of times to be an author, for the simple fact that hundreds of thousands of books are published each year. I don’t think readers care whether a book is from a Big 5 publisher, a small press, or self-published so long as it is a quality story. I do what I can, but I work on putting the best work forward. I’m grateful that I have a supportive publisher in Winter Goose and that I have a say in editing and cover-art. I hope for a combination of word of mouth and positive reviews.
8. Just as your book(s) inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write?
There are simply too many authors who have inspired me and shaped my imagination. I don’t intend that to sound like a cop-out, but I’ve discovered that you read different authors throughout your life and some you return to again, and some are important for that moment in your life. I read Thomas Hardy, for example, and he taught me many things about characters making bad decisions, but I can’t bear to re-read him because I find him so depressing. With age, comes maturity and depth to reading. I can now understand why actors want to play King Lear at different points of their lives, starting at forty because Shakespeare strings a pearl each time for the actor. Olivier would play Lear at seventy-five and Gielgud would lend his voice to a radio adaptation of the play at age ninety. A lifetime of reading books is like living all the emotions Lear did in the course of his life.
9. What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
Be humble and write the best story that you have inside you. Seek out constructive criticism from people you trust. Revise ruthlessly knowing that the page is all that you have between you and the reader. If you can like an author’s work, give them a review, a kind word of encouragement.
10. Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I have read some of my reviews. I don’t respond to them. I’ll smile at the good ones and I’ll listen to the critical ones, looking for a common complaint. I know the story that I wanted to tell and if someone liked it, then I am grateful for the time they spent with my creation. I know that I can’t please everyone.
11. What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I’ve been writing five novellas around the Roma Series for my publisher. Each story concerns one of the five characters in the Series, a part of Italy, and predates Roma, Underground. Each novella is free, available from Winter Goose Publishing when you sign up for their email newsletter. Three of the five stories are done. Winter Goose will introduce my other series, The Company Files, in 2017.
Bonus Question: Characters often find themselves in situations they aren't sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?
My characters do get themselves into a bind, don’t they? If I can create the situation, though, I already have a solution in mind. It’s a compliment to think that readers are that into the story, that I’ve created a character that they care enough to wonder how he or she will make it to the next page.
Thank you for stopping by Nighttime Reading Center, Gabriel Valjan. I have come to enjoy your books about Roma series. It get intense to the point I sometimes get headaces that got to take a break.
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