I'm so excited to be hosting John Davidson today. His book, Bricks, was just released February 3rd. I love learning about where authors draw their inspiration from and just digging into a creative
Hi Sonia!
Thanks so much for having me on the blog.
1. Where
did you draw inspiration for Bricks?
My main
inspiration was the tornado that struck my hometown of Moore on May 20th, 2013.
The tornado went through the neighborhood where my wife and I bought our first
house, through the neighborhood I grew up in, destroyed the elementary where I
went to school, hit my daughter's junior high, and then destroyed my truck and
the office buildings where I worked. Living in Oklahoma my whole life, I’d
experienced other tornados, but this one literally hit much closer to home.
Several weeks later, we were watching the Wizard of Oz, and I couldn't help but
think of how the four travelers mirrored those impacted by the storm. Some
just wanted to forget. Some were numb, as if they’d had their hearts taken from
them. Some were, of course, afraid. And some just wanted to go home. I let the
story idea stew in my head for a while, but it was on a 20 plus hour vacation
drive to New York where things started to fall into place. Fitting I suppose
since my wife had bought tickets to see Wicked.
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2. What
is a day in your writing life?
I usually
write on my lunch breaks and late at night. I’m not a morning person. I get
distracted by thoughts of things to be done during the day. At night, with just
sleep (or not) waiting for me, I can just write. I function pretty well on
limited sleep, so this works best for me. I usually re-read what I wrote the
day/night before and make edits. Then when I finally put things away, I close
my eyes and think of new projects or conversations on the existing WIP until I
fall asleep.
3. What
is your best writer's advice?
Authors
are artists, but art is hard work. If you want to be a writer, you really have
to decide if you are committed to being better—and better should always be the
goal. “Best” is subjective. Styles and stories are just that—subjective. But
better uses your own writing as a measuring stick. If you are committed to
learning the craft, reading in your genre, and making every word count, everything
you write should be better than what you wrote before.
4. What's
your next project?
I just
finished a Princess Bride type fairytale—a girl has a divorce court-ordered
curse placed on her when her parents break the bonds of true love. It’s an
attempt to take a humorous look at love and fairytales and how fairytale love
differs from the real world.
5.
Who
is your favorite character and why?
My
favorite character in BRICKS would be Slim. As human beings we all know what
the noble way to react to a situation is—the right way to handle things. Slim knows too, but he lets the
jealousy overwhelm him before snapping back. J.R.R Tolkien once said that Sam
was the true hero in TLOR trilogy. By no means does BRICKS approach that
masterpiece, but I do think that in most books, the heroes need heroes. Slim is
Cori’s hero.
6. Favorite
snack to eat while writing?
Easy.
Goldfish. Extreme pizza flavored preferably. (Have a bag with me right now.)
7. Which
song would you use if they made your book into a movie?
I have a whole
playlist with a song for each character—some obvious, some you would have to
know the story. I think the best song would be Pompeii by Bastille. There’s a
lot of BRICKS in that song.
8. Winter,
spring, summer, or fall and why?
FALL. FALL.
FALL. Don’t ask me why. Maybe the crisp Oklahoma air. The refreshing escape from
the heat. The color of the leaves. It’s almost like the earth gets a chance to
rest. I absolutely love fall.
Bricks by John Davidson
Surge,
Anaiah Press
Blurb:
Sixteen-year
old Cori Reigns learns that not all tornadoes take you to magical places. Some
take your house, your school, and life as you knew it. Struggling to put the
pieces of her life back together, Cori learns to rebuild what the storm
destroyed by trusting a family she didn't know she had and by helping friends
she never appreciated.
Release
Date: February 3, 2015
Book Links
Buy
Links
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/n6vaqlh
Author Bio:
Married to my bride for twenty-four years, I have an amazing
son and a wonderful daughter.
Born and raised in central Oklahoma, I work in education,
first as a teacher now in technology curriculum. I write. I read. And in the
summer I make snow cones.
Website:
www.aboyandhisdreams.com
Twitter: @jdavidsonwrites
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/jmdavidson
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