Cedric

Author Bio: My name is Cedric I am 41 years of age and french. I've worked in the restaurant business for about 12 years as a seasonner (which is way way too long ahaha). I travelled quite a bit (India, Nepal, Australia, Viet-Nam, Mexico, USA, Canada, Venezuela, some of Europe too...) I worked in a book shop, in an organic food shop, I did some farming work roofing here and there, I lived in a Campervan as well for a little time. I was the manager in a vegan kebab for a few years. I am an animal right activist, something that is very important to me (and should be important to everyone). A bit of a nerd as well and quite introverted, but I'm working on it and it's much better as I grow older. I love to go on treks, camping and hiking in the wild, astronomy, music (classic rock mostly)... The lord of the rings.

Author/Writer Interview:

1.What inspires you most to write?

I had this idea of a perfect society in which humans would be living happily ever after, since I am not very happy in the one we all live in. Who is ? So I wanted to create my own. I have always watched a lot of tv and shows such as The walking dead for example and thought that it would actually be cool to live in such a world, and also a great opportunity to restart society (not really maybe, but maybe yes) and I wanted to have my own tv series : a better version of The walking dead (let's be honest, it gets boring after a while). So I started writing (the screen play became a book) inspired by 20 years of movies and tv series and books and my desire to change the world for the better.

2. What is your favorite genre?

I have read about a thousand books in my life, I think. Everything between romance and essai. It is difficult to pick one genre and I don't think that I have One favorite. Sci-Fi would be amongst it with general litterature I suppose (is that a genre ? I am not sure). The books that makes us question things around us, our choices. That makes us see the world and ourselves, with new eyes.

3. Who is one author you admire if any and why?

I worship Jack London. I could put a lot of names in here but you did ask for only one ahah ! He was a writer who only wrote about what he knew and experienced. No lies. He made himself with hard work. He was a socialist and a believer in equal rights for all. He scrutinized society and everything that was wrong with it with the eye of a simple working man and exposed the lies and the misery. His work goes so much further that "Call of the wild" or "White fang". He wrote the best book in my opinion ever writen by anyone : "Martin Eden", that I read 3 times. He was very poetic with his words and his books are extremelly beautifully written. He transports me in his stories, and as I read page after page, I am there with him getting cold in the great north or sailing the endless water of the world smelling the salt of the ocean.

4. How do you overcome blank writing spells?

Patience. Not pushing it. Writing when the mood is right. I don't think there is a secret formula for it, I mean every one is different. I tried whisky and weed a few times to push me but it only got me closer to the couch watching tv ahah !

5. What legal publishing advice can you give?

I don't think I have a lot to say on that. I have written only one book and I don't have a lot of experience. Don't rush things with the first offer I suppose. Patience again. Staying true to who you are.

6. How many books have you written, are any a bestseller yet?

It's only the one and it is not a best seller, yet. It was published in France for two years but my publishing house was not doing a lot for it's promotion so it didn't go very far. But I intend to best seller it and I intend to get it as a tv show one day. I have started a couple of other stories but I am not into it as much as I was for the first one. Maybe it will be something one day. It will be something one day.

7. If you had the opportunity to rewrite one movie script which would it be, why?

I would definitly rewrite the end of Game of thrones, because it sucked ahah !

8. What are some difficulties you've experienced in your writing career; how do you handle book critiques/criticism?

I don't consider myself a writer, an author perhaps. I don't have a career in the writing business so I can't really talk about the difficulties of it. I have this one book that I got published but it's not a job per say. It is something that I fit in my every day life and as of today it doesn't take a lot of place. I hope that one day it will be bigger so that I can make some kind of career out of it, and deal with the difficulties that comes with and then I can tell you, but it is too early for that. And the criticism, I have a few so far and they've all been good so it's quite easy to deal with. But I wouldn't have a problem if someone would to not like my book as long as it is constructive critisism, you can't please everyone. I don't like everybook. So it's OK.

9. What are your best experiences in your writing career?

Maybe the first time I read some of my paragraphs to people. I had translated myself some of it (which was poorly translated probably ahah) because my audience was english speaking people. I was in Kathmandu, the book was only about a quarter in, or a third maybe, and I was starting to feel confident about sharing my work. So I did a reading for 10 or 15 minutes with a few friends. It was billiant and I felt very proud and I felt that it could actually be going somewhere and actually become a real book. People said they loved it but I think they were being polite ahah. The translation wasn't great. And one of my friend that day became the one who made the cover for the french edition.

10. Do you prefer to write in silence and or have some sort sound in the background?

I prefer a little bit of background noise. I wrote a lot of the story in coffee shops and pubs when I was travelling and I used to love the ritual of packing my laptop in my backpack and walk the streets to go and write. I wrote very little home. It discipline myself to go out because home I get distracted by dishes or something.

11. What are some encouraging words you'd give to another author/writer?

I don't want to sound pretencious giving advice, I mean I have the one book and it's not like I'm very prolific or very experienced. But believe in yourself. Don't be intimidated by yourself (something that I was when I first started, I felt a bit stupid with my pencil and my notebook on the first day). If you think a phrase is stupid, write it nonetheless. Read a lot of books. Don't force yourself, if it's not coming then it's not (That's what she said ahah).

12. How did you decide the pricing of your material; how did you go about promotion/advertising and distribution of your work?

The publishing house does the pricing. For the promotion, my publishing house in France didn't do much. I could have done more myself to be honest but I'm not very good with social media. I'm working on it though ! And for the US publishing house, well it's only the begining of it so I'll do what needs to be done, enjoying this interview for one and hoping there are a lot more.

13. Why should anyone read your book?

Ah that's the question hey ! ...Because it's a good book. Because I think that when people read my book, they will question... things in general. Beliefs, social conventions, traditions, everything that make our civilization... our civilization. Because I will make them laugh and cry (if they have a sence of humour and a heart of course ahah). Because the story is about who we are as individuals and as a people, and who we aspire to be, should be and could be. Because it's about the better world that everyone is secretly dreaming about without saying (I think ahah). Because  it's about everything with a big E.

14. Did you have a book coach?

No I didn't. I couldn't even get people I knew to read some of it. Every now and then to give me notes. I had to do it all on my own. Only once it was finished I had someone reading the manuscript and helping me. Funny story : I was working in this book shop and one day my old french teacher from when I was 13 walked in, I recognized her and we started chating. One thing after another I asked her and she said she would be happy to correct it, so I sent her the whole manuscript and she corrected every spelling (there was a lot, a lot...) and phrases construction and everything, a massive work that would have been very expensive but she asked for 50 euros only. That saved my life. Ahah, and I used to hate her when I was a teen.

15. What was your favorite subject in school?

I hated school ahah. I had a least hated subject : math maybe.

16. Are you self-published or have an established publishing contract elsewhere?

I had a 2 years contract with a french publishing house that ended last summer, and now I have a contract with Halfdeadbooks. I didn't self published.