One of the biggest challenges with selling a self-published book is letting people know you've published it. I'm trying to do my part to change this by interviewing self-published authors so people can learn about their books. This is my first interview in what will hopefully become an ongoing series.
Today I interview Karl G. Larew author of "Candles in the Window".
DBN: Tell me about your book?
Karl: “Candles in the Window” is a nostalgic, but more especially a psychological, look at the love and sex lives of college students in the 1950s, set in the University of Connecticut. A small number of students form a little “family” of their own, drawn together by a golden-haired, beautiful, but enigmatic girl nicknamed “Silky.” This book is a somewhat revised version of the 1999 edition.”
DBN: Where is it available?
Karl: At Amazon “Candles in the Window” and at Smashwords “Candles in the Window”.
DBN: Tell me a little about yourself?
Karl: I’m a 74 year old semi-retired history professor specializing in military history but with many other interests (I am the author of a scholarly article on the image of women in a 1940s comic book, for example). I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1959 and received my Ph.D. from Yale in 1964. In addition to “Candles,” I have published a three-volume family saga about an Army family from WWII through the Korean War and the Cold War/Vietnam era. I have also published a two-volume set of spoofs on vampire/werewolf/James Bond stories. Each of these five books may be read as a stand-alone. They are all for sale through Amazon.com, Kindle, Smashwords, and Nook. In addition, I’ve published a history of the Larew family based largely on a Civil War diary. In terms of professional publications, I am the author of many historical articles, reviews, and encyclopedia entries, mostly in military/diplomatic history but some in popular culture history.
DBN: What Genre is your book?
Karl: Mixed, mostly psychological with some nostalgia and some romance.
DBN: Who is your primary target audience?
Karl: My primary audience for “Candles” is those who wish to understand the culture of the 1950s and those interested in the psychology of (fictional) characters.
DBN: What made you decide to self-publish?
Karl: After many years of seeking an agent and/or a publisher, I decided that “Candles” might never find its audience unless I self-published, which I did in 1999. Last year, I put out this new edition so as to tap into Amazon and various ebook markets.
DBN: What drives your main characters to overcome the challenge in the book?
Karl: The main characters are driven by a sense of generation gap and the need for love; one character is tortured by fears of homosexuality.
DBN: Why do you love your characters?
Karl: It is that capacity for love and friendship that makes the characters attractive, to my way of thinking.
DBN: What inspired you to write this book?
Karl: I was inspired by my own memories and my recollection of things that happened to other 1950s students; nevertheless, the book is genuine fiction, not a memoir in any sense.
DBN: What sort research did you do while writing your book?
Karl: I did not have to do any research; my memories were enough, though I have been influenced both by Freud and Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet.
DBN: What was the hardest part of writing this novel?
Karl: The hardest part of writing this book was to get the characterizations believable.
DBN: What is the hardest part of marketing this novel?
Karl: The hardest marketing chore was, first, searching for an agent and now, after self-publishing, searching for ways to publicize my book. Those who have read it, including the reviewer for the Baltimore Sun, have liked; but I need to publicize it much, much more.
By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE
DBN: Tell me about your book?
Karl: “Candles in the Window” is a nostalgic, but more especially a psychological, look at the love and sex lives of college students in the 1950s, set in the University of Connecticut. A small number of students form a little “family” of their own, drawn together by a golden-haired, beautiful, but enigmatic girl nicknamed “Silky.” This book is a somewhat revised version of the 1999 edition.”
DBN: Where is it available?
Karl: At Amazon “Candles in the Window” and at Smashwords “Candles in the Window”.
DBN: Tell me a little about yourself?
Karl: I’m a 74 year old semi-retired history professor specializing in military history but with many other interests (I am the author of a scholarly article on the image of women in a 1940s comic book, for example). I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1959 and received my Ph.D. from Yale in 1964. In addition to “Candles,” I have published a three-volume family saga about an Army family from WWII through the Korean War and the Cold War/Vietnam era. I have also published a two-volume set of spoofs on vampire/werewolf/James Bond stories. Each of these five books may be read as a stand-alone. They are all for sale through Amazon.com, Kindle, Smashwords, and Nook. In addition, I’ve published a history of the Larew family based largely on a Civil War diary. In terms of professional publications, I am the author of many historical articles, reviews, and encyclopedia entries, mostly in military/diplomatic history but some in popular culture history.
DBN: What Genre is your book?
Karl: Mixed, mostly psychological with some nostalgia and some romance.
DBN: Who is your primary target audience?
Karl: My primary audience for “Candles” is those who wish to understand the culture of the 1950s and those interested in the psychology of (fictional) characters.
DBN: What made you decide to self-publish?
Karl: After many years of seeking an agent and/or a publisher, I decided that “Candles” might never find its audience unless I self-published, which I did in 1999. Last year, I put out this new edition so as to tap into Amazon and various ebook markets.
DBN: What drives your main characters to overcome the challenge in the book?
Karl: The main characters are driven by a sense of generation gap and the need for love; one character is tortured by fears of homosexuality.
DBN: Why do you love your characters?
Karl: It is that capacity for love and friendship that makes the characters attractive, to my way of thinking.
DBN: What inspired you to write this book?
Karl: I was inspired by my own memories and my recollection of things that happened to other 1950s students; nevertheless, the book is genuine fiction, not a memoir in any sense.
DBN: What sort research did you do while writing your book?
Karl: I did not have to do any research; my memories were enough, though I have been influenced both by Freud and Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet.
DBN: What was the hardest part of writing this novel?
Karl: The hardest part of writing this book was to get the characterizations believable.
DBN: What is the hardest part of marketing this novel?
Karl: The hardest marketing chore was, first, searching for an agent and now, after self-publishing, searching for ways to publicize my book. Those who have read it, including the reviewer for the Baltimore Sun, have liked; but I need to publicize it much, much more.
*******
This was my first author interview. If you are a self-published author and would like to be interviewed on Project Savior Reborn please email me at project.savior(at)yahoo(dot)comBy Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE
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