Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Please Help Me In Welcoming Author Christian Baker

Hello Christian and thank you for joining us today. Please tell us a little about yourself.


I came into the world one year before a man would walk on the moon, at the end of a decade that held the dawn of change in its guts. I was raised during a special and complex time but I retain memories of profound sensitivity and a love of knowledge that impregnated the experiences of my childhood. I look back fondly on my afternoons in the neighborhood. I can still see old the cinema where sensations, words and images appeared as if by magic before my wide eyes.
 

Time advanced with its sure steps and my love for the seventh art spread to a passion for literature. In the pages of books I discovered that prodigious spark which unites the author's tale to the depths of our imaginations. Through reading, writing and the tests life uses to shape us, I learned and grew. Creation and vision nested deep within me.
One day, four years ago, the stream of words and images that I had intoxicated myself with for so many years as reader and spectator, along with the clarity conferred by life's challenges, gave way to the writer that had been lurking within me, waiting for the chance to break free.
That is how “THE BLEAK DOOR” was concocted, an intense and powerful tale, one that sticks to your skin as soon as you take it in your hands. We will travel its pages together, setting off as spectators. We will move quickly into a world of unique sensations, down a winding path paved with fear, drama, doubt and reflection. It will force us to look within ourselves, to flee, to rediscover who we are.
It is my hope, dear reader, that we remain forever united by this experience and that we may journey together always.
 
Please tell me about your novel. Who or what was your inspiration behind it? 

The present work was inspired by a deep observation of historic and present events of tremendous impact on our society. I wanted to approach them not from a general perspective but from our deepest nature, that which defines our identity and gives way to our decisions. It’s not a book of theory. It’s a dark and breathless journey which we experience firsthand. It forces us to decide, to choose our path. And there, behind The Bleak Door, the consequences await.
When you sit down to write, do you do it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper or do you use a computer? Do you prefer one way or the other?

I love the romance and the mysticism of pen and paper. But when I write, I try to let the story come to life on its own impulse, from the innate force of the plot and the protagonists. When my imagination begins to move quicker than my pulse, the computer is a great ally without a doubt.
What do you look for in a book when you sit down to read for fun?
I want the story to transport me, to absorb me. To feel that it’s real and not just something to pass the time. And when I finish reading, something inside me has been transformed.

What has been your favorite part of being an author? What has been your least favorite?
Without doubt, the creation of the characters and how throughout the story, they appear to come to life and react and feel, beyond what you expected when you imagined them. They suffer, they love, they react with different perspectives, in different ways. And somehow they’re the ones that show me, from their point of view, where to go with the story that I propose as an author.
When you walk into a book store, where do you head to first? Why?

Book stores have something magical about them, they give off a certain aura. I like to wander aimlessly around the tables and the shelves and surprise myself.

Besides writing and reading, what is your most favorite thing to do?

I have a particular weakness for knowledge. I love to learn new things, to see other perspectives. I also enormously enjoy technology and the Internet.

But above all, what I like most is to spend time with the people I love, to share in the magic of the mundane.

We all have our little things when it comes to reading, is there anything that bugs you when you read a novel? What is it?
I don’t like it when a novel is predictable, slow, or emotionless. But most of all I don’t like it if a story is written for the sole purpose of selling. Besides that, even a simple story but well told, with feeling, where the author really wanted to transmit something, could be worth reading. But you must always respect the reader.

What do you listen to when you write? Do you find one type of music over another that inspires you to write? Why?
At some parts of the story, it helps me to listen to soft or relaxing music, something instrumental. At other times I am so concentrated and absorbed by the story I’m telling that silence is my best companion.
Who are your favorite authors?

Author Clarke or Asimov in Sci-Fi. Harlan Coben in the thriller genre, Carlos Zafón for stories of love and drama. There are constant surprises and talented authors to discover, even in the most unexpected books.
Is there anything else that you would like to share or say to those who will read this interview?
Just that THE BLEAK DOOR is there, waiting for you to discover it. I invite you to accompany me on this journey in which we will share a unique, jarring story. Along with the protagonists we’ll live through extreme experiences. We will have to make decisions, to face impossible challenges, to transform. And there, in the deepest part of our interiors, maybe, just maybe, we will find the answers.

The Bleak Door by Christian Baker
ISBN-13: 978-1490503004
Publisher: CreateSpace
Softcover (472 pages)

Purchase the book:
Amazon

Book blurb:

The President of the United States is abruptly hit by a serious and unknown disease. Suddenly, and while his successor was being discussed, he miraculously recovers. Relief rapidly spreads among his assistants and public opinion. The most powerful man on the planet has come back. Or, at least, that is what everyone thought. A different enemy, beyond our understanding, expands his webs. Soon changes in laws, persecutions, and weird and flabbergasting experiments start to take place. A top-notch interdisciplinary team is clandestinely put together in order to grasp the inexplicable and thus put up some sort of resistance. They were not aware that the knowledge of that truth might only be the beginning of the nightmare. The Bleak Door tells us about a world becoming oppressive, violent, without any clear apparent reasons. It faces us with complex questions of our inner self and our response towards manipulation both from an individual and a social level. It positions us before our selfishness, our decisions. And, above all, their consequences. An electrifying, obscure, fast-paced story from its very first page. SCI-FI Thriller.
Contact the author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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