1) Mr. Bialois, welcome to The Writer’s Block! Describe your journey as an author/writer.
Thank you Raychelle, I’m happy to be here. I think my journey can best be described as typical. For as long as I can remember I liked to write short stories about anything I came across. Early on I wrote my stories about my favorite toys like Transformers and the Masters of the Universe and later got into online role-playing.
As strange as it may sound, role-playing helped me in ways I never would’ve imagined. I met so many talented writers in the games I had little choice but to push myself to improve. Over time my stories went from two or three pages to ten or more and I decided to try my hand at writing a book. Now that was hard.
An avid reader, I read anything from Stephen King, Sue Grafton, Tom Clancy, and many other classic writers and I couldn’t figure out how to expand my thirty pages into a 400 page book. I said many of the same things those authors did but I did so in a far reduced capacity. Being stubborn is one of my better qualities so I kept trying and one day something snapped inside of me and I couldn’t stop writing. When I was finished I had 225 page manuscript that became Call of Poseidon. Since then I’m amazed at how much easier it’s gotten to take an idea and make it into a book length story. All I needed was to do it once and the confidence of knowing I could has helped me more than I can say.
2) Do you specialize in any particular genre(s)?
Yes and no. While I love horror, science fiction, and fantasy, I tend to jump from one genre to another. Overall, my stories tend to have a suspense/thriller angle to them along with some sort of coming of age arc. I’m all over the map due to my interest in nearly everything in our world from the ancient times and the Wild West to current day and future times. I’m the first to admit I’m not easily pigeon-holed.
3) What was your first published work?
My first published work was Call of Poseidon.
4) Tell us about Call of Poseidon. Where can our readers buy it?
Call of Poseidon is a supernatural “who dun it” involving Greek mythology in modern day New York. The Atlantians were given a magical conch shell by Poseidon as a gift. The Conch allows whoever holds it to summon the power of Poseidon. Following their defeat to the Athenians the Conch is used and Atlantis is destroyed.
The survivors form the Illuminati shortly afterwards and begin to build their fallen empire but strive to remain hidden. When their leader dies he bequeaths the Conch to New York’s Museum of Natural History where it is later stolen by an Illuminati agent. With two guards murdered a cantankerous police detective and rookie FBI agent are teamed together to find the Conch and the perpetrator. Various events and demons from the Detective’s past are brought out for him to confront while struggling with his new partner.
Through it all, an underlying current of a civil war within the Illuminati forces both sides to do things neither of them want to with the power of a God as their reward.
Call of Poseidon is available as both a paperback and ebook through Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Call-of-Poseidon-ebook/dp/B005WMBI6Q/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1318279683&sr=8-1 and as an ebook through Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92801
5) What led to your decision to self-publish?
That’s hard to say, in the end I decided to self publish because of a variety of factors. The first was I didn’t want to be locked into a potential contract for a series of books about one topic or genre due to my roving interests.
Secondly, I have the mentality that if I fail it’s because of me and not someone else. I’m not saying I’d blame anyone else, far from it, but it seemed easier to me to narrow the scope of failure to one person.
6) Would you like to be traditionally published? Why or why not?
I have mixed feelings about being traditionally published. I’m considering it for my next novel and am weighing the pros and cons. In many ways I’d like to go through a publisher as there is a great deal about them I don’t know and I think it’d be a good experience overall.
The reasons I wouldn’t are as I stated before but there are a couple of nagging things here and there. Not a single one of my doubts are really justified, they’re more like random thoughts and feelings I have.
7) Tell us about your current projects and what is next for you.
Current projects… now that’s a loaded question. As of now I have five more works in the process of editing before they’re readied for publishing. A pair of short story books, Duets and Skeleton Keys, a Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy novel, The Sword and the Flame, a Civil War love story called Civil Disagreement, and the book I wrote for NaNoWriMo entitled, The Last World. It’s a sci-fi/end of world type of story. I’m also working on developing a pair of ideas to add to that list.
8) How do you promote your work? What strategies have been the most successful?
I do most of my promoting through my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I have a blog but I tend to rewrite the same things on it so I have large gaps in my posting through that outlet. I’ve always thought of myself as a team player and I like to help other writers whether it’s through retweets or other sharing styles. I’m a firm believer in what goes around comes around so by helping the community I feel the community will help me. So far I haven’t had much to complain about.
9) What advice would you give to budding writers?
The best advice I can give is don’t give up. Keep reading the books that interest you and keep your nose to the grindstone. Everything works out in the end sooner or later as long as you stay true to yourself.
10) What is your definition of success as a writer?
While I wouldn’t mind being on the New York Times Bestseller’s List, what makes me feel good is hearing my readers say they enjoyed my work. Few things make me feel better than to get an email or message saying someone enjoyed my story. To me, that is the epitome of success.
Author Bio:
Where do I begin? Well first I guess it's only fair to say that CP Bialois isn't my real name. It's a collaboration I made out of the three greatest pets anyone could ever want. My real name is Ed and I'm just an average person that has found a way to do what he loves.
For as long back as I can remember I loved to pretend. Whether it was with my Transformers, GI Joe, or He-Man toys I loved to create intricate plots and have them fight it out. As a fan of horror, science fiction, action, and comedy I dare say my taste in movies are well rounded. Some of my favorites were Star Wars, Star Trek, martial arts, and anything with Swarzenegger in them.
I'd write my own stories about the characters I saw in the theaters or TV or I'd just daydream about what I'd see myself as the hero of course. You can't have a daydream without beating the bad guys, getting the girl, etc. It's just not right to envision yourself as a flunky or sidekick.
As far as books I loved Sherlock Holmes, Treasure Island, Dracula, and the normal assortment. My early love was the Star Trek novels, I'd read them or the Hardy Boys relentlessly. For a time I could tell you the plot of over a hundred books not to mention comics.
I have to come clean and say that I learned to read because of comic books. I was bored, make that extremely bored when we started to read in school. Reading "the cat fell down" really didn't interest me. My dad, who continues to astound me with his insight to this day, figured comics would work. With that in mind he went to the newstand in town and bought issues of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Tales From the Crypt, and Spider-man. He patiently read through them with me until I picked it up. Whether it was him or the comics I learned to read in about two weeks and for a while few were as good as I was. For years after that whenever we'd go out he'd always spring for a couple of comic books for me.
While it wasn't exactly the perfect beginning everything I've ever read or have seen has influenced me in some way and now is the time I'd like to share some of the ideas I've had over the years with all of you. I hope you enjoy my stories, they're always fun to write and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Author Links:
Website: cpbialois.webs.com
Blog: cpbialois.wordpress.com
Twitter: @cpbialois
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCPBialois
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