Interview with Author David Bond

Heidi recently interviewed author David Bond.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START WRITING?

Several factors influenced my decision to take up the craft of writing. Not long after I lost my position in a ministry when the parent decided to eliminate this part of their nationwide ministry, which was in 2000, I more or less fell into writing. I had a short article published after joining an online critique support list, and within a few years, I started to take writing seriously. I don't think I thought of writing as a career back then, since I still hoped to land some other kind of job. But as a blind person, jobs aren't all that abundant. So writing began to occupy more of my thinking about what I could do, and at the same time, what I liked doing.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING WRITERS?

I think good writers are good readers. In 2000, after losing my job, I began reading books on tape, a program made available to blind people. I fell in love with reading, and I think this helped me as a writer.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS?

Well, as I mentioned, I qualified for the audio reading program sponsored by the government. This meant that much of what I read was secular. But there are many fine authors who are not Christians, and I read a lot of historic fiction, and, yes, romance. I found I enjoyed romance novels when they involved 3-dimensional characters and story lines often with adventure or other elements providing plenty of tension and conflict. For example, Wilbur Smith and his "Courtneys of Africa" series, or C.S. Forester and his Horatio Hornblower series. Also, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels, and Winston Graham's, "A Novel of Cornwall" series. I devoured the Christian author Gilbert Morris's early American historic fiction/romances, from the "House of Winslow" series, to his Revolutionary War series, the "Liberty Bell" series. Did I mention Richard S. Wheeler, or Richard Paul Evans? And of course, Louis L'Amour's countless westerns, including the Sackett series. One more, and I'll stop! Francine River's "Mark of the Lion" series. These are books and series etched into my brain because of the impact they had on me.

Lately, I've been intentionally reading more current works, which cover a very wide range, partially because I enjoy reading novels incorporating current improvements in writing style like showing and not telling, as well as a more consistent point of view from the novel's main characters.

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO SPEND YOUR TIME WHEN YOU’RE NOT WRITING?

I spend a lot of time writing! It's a creative outlet for me. It's as much work as it is fun. I don't have too many other activities I spend much time on, other than family matters as my wife and I raise our 15-year old son, and of course, reading.

CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING NOVEL?

My debut novel will be released in January, 2012, in e-book format, from Desert Breeze Publishing. I am contracted to write two sequels, so Book 2 is scheduled for an October, 2012 release, and Book 3, a July, 2013 release. The first book, The Attaché, is about a man who loses his sight in Iraq in 2004, not long after we began the so-called "Iraq War." The main character, Zach, comes home and must cope with blindness as well as managing a business he inherited but doesn't want. He used to love to climb his mountain located on the 300-acre property, and Zach decides he'll figure out a way to climb his mountain again. A new employee, Jessie, wants to help Zach cope with his situation, but she isn't really sure what to do. She took the job at Zach's company thinking she'd meet up with Zach's brother, a man she met briefly and believes she could love. But over the months, Zach and Jessie make some interesting discoveries about themselves, and fall in love.

Readers can learn more about David and his writing by visiting his Web site, http://authordavidbond.com/.