Hey David! Welcome to Novel Travellers! Thanks for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to stop by and share a bit about you and your writing. I'll try and go easy on you, but from our interview I see you are a rebel of sorts! Love that about people, how they blend right into their characters at times.
So, what brought you to the writing life?
There was no “magic moment,” that’s for sure. My mind is like some kind of creative warehouse with no one in charge. There’s boxes and crates all over the place. I love to create, which is why writing and photography are so important to me. Having said that, while I was always writing at one time or another, I didn’t get into it seriously until much later in life—it was as if something was missing creatively, and I had to explore it.
Besides being a blogger and fellow writer,is there something more my readers would find interesting about you?
I love astronomy—love the stars. Art, science, and history keep my mind and my soul alive. My musical tastes run the gamut, from classic baroque to classic rock. I juggle. Eggs, fruit, rounded car parts, anything I won’t cut my fingers on. I do a lot of impressions as well—I’ve got one of those strange monotone voices that can work wonders.
That's a hoot! So tell us a little bit about your book, Velvet Rain, and how you came to write it.
It’s the story of a tortured soul, Kain Richards, an on-the-run drifter who holds the secret of secrets. Where he goes, death follows; his only wish is to be normal, to live and to love like the rest of us. Velvet Rain crosses genres with horrific and graphic elements, and while certainly a thriller, it is, at its heart, a deeply moving story with a life lesson: We can all be heroes to someone.
Sounds like wild ride! Where did the story come from?
Truthfully, I have no idea. It just popped into my head one day. Remember that warehouse in my head? I have no clue how stuff gets delivered there. I think I have some magical UPS guy dropping ideas off in the dead of night.
Seems writers have someone living inside our heads, don't we? But what were the main challenges in writing this book?
Research was a big factor in this book. It’s a period piece that takes place in the 1960s—there are many references to earlier decades as well—so fact-finding was a long process. I like to think I’ve done my homework. Being an avid history nut certainly helped point me in the right directions.
I know how difficult the research is when you write a story in a certain period of time. That fact-checking pays off! Now let's change it up a bit. What can bring out the angry side of you? Your Fear? Your Contentment?
The parasitic GreedHeads who are destroying our economies, our environment, and our very existence. That gets my blood boiling. Fear? Death. Time. The clock is always ticking and there’s no way to stop it. My bucket list needs three lives. Reincarnation is my only hope. Contentment? Writing and photography. Creating magic with camera and pen.
Interesting. So how about if you could travel to one place on earth, where would it be, and would you go alone?
Does the International Space Station count? Because that’s where I want to go. I want to see our pale blue dot from orbit. NASA has this weird thing about seven people flying at once, though, so going alone’s definitely moot.
Still, if I’m stuck on terra? New Zealand. A photographer’s dream. It’s on “Bucket List #1.” (Hopefully it will never reach lists two or three.) And yes, if I had to, I’d go alone.
Somehow, I'd already imagined that one:-) We all know, we never get to the place we are in our writing without someone encouraging us. Would you share a moment someone encouraged you and tell us what that meant to you?
Many moons ago, my girlfriend bought me this beautiful Underwood No. 5 typewriter. It was built in 1905 and has the words beat out of it. I love it. I always wanted to own one, one that was clearly used—one that, in my mind, tapped out wonderful stories for years. The sound it makes when you strike those old keys, it’s like that golden sound of my old film cameras when you click those mechanical shutters. It’s pure. She bought it as inspiration for me, and to this day, I always tap out the letters L-U-C-K on it before I sit down at the computer. It’s meant the world.
What a wonderful gift! Knowing that you've probably written a lot on that beautiful typewriter, would you give us a sample of your writing style from your book?
Gramps pushed him on a swing for a while and then they drove back. They were but minutes from home when they struck the bird.
The child braved the cold and cupped the fragile creature in his hands. It stayed alive for a minute, perhaps two. Suddenly, time was such a precious thing.
“I’m sorry, son,” Gramps said. “I didn’t see him.”
The small wren twitched once more; that was all. The boy looked up at his grandfather wistfully.
Gramps shook his head.
“But why, Grampa? Why can’t I?”
The old man drew a troubled gaze along the lonely road. It seemed to come from neither somewhere, nor lead anywhere.
“It’s not our place,” he said gravely. “It’s not our world.”
Thanks for that great reading cut, David! So what books are in your “must read” pile?
At the Mountains of Madness, by H. P. Lovecraft.
The Trial, by Franz Kafka.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.
About a thousand others. Maybe, in the next life, I’ll come back as a Kindle and have all these books in my head.
Great bunch of eclectic reads. With your book, what impact do you want to make with your writing?
As a photographer, I create images with impact. I want people to connect with what they see, and as an author, I want them to connect with my characters and my stories. If I’ve done my job, they’ll look at an image of mine or turn that final page of my book and say, “WOW.”
In the description of your book, you note that for those in the life of your character, Kain Richards, reality is not what it seems. Do you feel this is often the case in real life? How?
Well, we all wear masks, don’t we? That’s not to say people are dishonest or deceitful. But we have our “game face” on when we’re out there, doing our best to handle what life throws at us. Inside, some of us are truly content. Some of us are screaming.
You are so right! False coverings I call them, and I've had my share od those. Tell us the process you use to create those "screams" for your readers.
I write in layers. I move my characters and plot points around like chess pieces, turning left here when they think they’re going right. Try to imagine stories filled with secrets, corridors, and darkness.
Do you have another book in progress? If so, explain a bit about it.
The Dark is already written. It’s a supernatural thriller that deals with a small, humble boy who discovers that nothing is free in this world—that everything has a price.
Sounds terrifying already! Tell me what is the biggest thing you feel you have gleaned from another author, and how did that knowledge impact your own writing?
It’s so hard to choose just one. But if you insist, it would have to be something I learned from Clive Barker. He’s a writing genius. He taught me how to imagine—and then to imagine more.
It's easy to see what a wonderful imagination you already have. I understand you are also a successful photographer. Do you feel that your photography influences your writing? How?
Absolutely it does. If one studies my images, they quickly get the sense that my work is about capturing the essence of something. My images explode with colour, and my black-and-white art reveals the heart of something special. I like to think that I write in colour, creating vivid characters and memorable moments. The black-and-white comes in when I explore the raw darkness that’s lurking there. I want my readers to know my characters as well as I do, to suffer the hell—real or perceived—that they’re going through.
I have so enjoyed your visit. It's been great chatting with you concerning you and your work. Before we go, is there anything else you would like to share with us about yourself or your work?
I have the utmost respect for my audience. As an author and photographer, I owe it to them to give no less than my best work. As I would never show someone a boring image, I would never tell them a boring story. When I pay for book or a movie, I expect to be entertained, and my readers have the right to expect that from me.
Thanks for being here, David! I'll let my readers in on your contact information, but I do hope you'll come by again soon! Take Care.
Author BIO
David C. Cassidy--author, photographer, half-decent juggler--spends his writing life creating dark and touching stories where Bad Things Happen To Good People. Raised by wolves, he grew up with a love of nature, music, science, and history, with thrillers and horror novels feeding the dark side of his seriously disturbed imagination. He talks to his characters, talks often, and most times they listen. But the real fun starts when they tell him to take a hike, and they Open That Door anyway. Idiots.
David lives in Ontario, Canada. From Mozart to Vivaldi, classic jazz to classic rock, he feels naked without his iPod. Suffering from MAD—Multiple Activity Disorder—he divides his time between writing and blogging, photography and photoshop, reading and rollerblading. An avid amateur astronomer, he loves the night sky, chasing the stars with his telescope. Sometimes he eats.
Book Blurb
He was born a miracle. It will take one to save the world.
Kain Richards is the last of his kind—and a man on the run. So when this mysterious drifter falls for a beautiful and sensible Iowa farmwoman, he knows full well the perils of getting too close. And yet, for the first time in his miserable existence, life feels normal … feels real. But as those around him soon realize, reality is not what it seems. For when a tragic accident forces Kain’s hand, his astonishing secret—and godlike power—changes their lives, and the world, forever.
Purchase links
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Velvet-Rain-David-C-Cassidy/dp/1477529136
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Velvet-Rain-ebook/dp/B007OBN21M
Author e-Store (Paperback): https://www.createspace.com/3888189
CONTACT INFO
Email: davidccassidy@yahoo.com
Blog: http://www.davidccassidy.com
Twitter handle: @davidccassidy
Facebook page (Author): http://www.facebook.com/DavidCCassidyAuthor
Facebook page (Photography): http://www.facebook.com/DavidCCassidyPhotography
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/davidccassidy
Fine Art Photography: http://www.shadesoflifephotography.ca/gallery-list
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