What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
I am Chris
Rakunas, and I live in a small town in rural Oklahoma called Clinton. I
was born just west of here in another small town, Los Angeles,
California. You might have heard of it.
Did you always
want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
While I’ve
always done a lot of writing, I don’t think I ever said aloud that this was
going to be something I wanted to do as a profession. Most of the
time I told people I wanted to be an astronaut, or a fighter pilot, or a
dinosaur wrestler, or any of the other million things that kids say they want
to be when they grow up. I worked for a newspaper, and I worked for
NASA for a year as a science writer, but I don’t think I ever wanted to do it
as a living. I think I still don’t know for sure what I want to be
when I grow up, although I might give dinosaur wrestling a try.
What is the name
of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what
would you say?
My latest book
is called The 8th Doll. Here are the 20
words I’d use to describe it: Fast-paced thriller, Mayan apocalypse, murder
mystery, fictional plot, real facts about the Yucatan, lots of twists and
turns.
Who is your
publisher? or do you self publish?
I work with
Divertir Publishing out of Salem, NH. They published my first book, Tears
for the Mountain, which is about the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The
first time I spoke with Dr. Ken Tupper, the publisher, he suggested we donate a
portion of the proceeds from that book back to the orphanage in Port-au-Prince
where the book is based, and that always has remained with
me. Understanding that businesses can also have a societal benefit is
something that means a lot to me.
Which of your
books were easier/harder to write than the others?
The 8th Doll was a lot different from the other books
I’ve written in that it was more like a story that was stuck inside me trying
to get out. I’ve heard other writers talk about words just flowing
out through you, and I was rather surprised that it happened to me with this
book.
What can we
expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of
a different genre?
The 8th Doll is the first in a 4-book series, and
I’m halfway done with the series already. So you can expect at least
2 more books with the same characters. The books are not all the
same, though. The second book is a little more like a light-hearted action
story, similar to a movie you’d see in the summer time. The
third book is going to be much darker and intense, and the fourth is going to
wrap up the whole series. After that I have several other novels
planned that will range from stories of redemption to a western.
Where do you get
your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration?
I really take my
ideas from all over the place. This book came to me while I was in
the Yucatan. My wife and I were at the Temple of the 7 Dolls, and as
I was staring up at it, an idea struck me. For the rest of our trip
there I could not stop thinking about it, and it bugged me the whole way
home. Even after a few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about this
story, so I started putting it down on paper.
My
other books, however, come from all over the place. Sometimes it’s
just a matter of thinking about stories you’d want someone to tell you.
Do you have a certain
routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
No, not
really. I’ve written pieces of it at the kitchen table, sitting on a
sofa, in a library, or in an airport. The only thing I do the same
every time is spend a few minutes thinking about what is going on in the story
and putting myself there. Once that happens I start to feel like I’m
really there with the characters, and then it’s just a matter of explaining
what is happening to everyone.
Would you ever
ask a reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about your
book/books?
You know, the
only time I’ve ever asked a reviewer to look at something again is when there
are formatting issues. One of the downsides with electronic formats
is that sometimes an e-reader might not load a file the same way another
e-reader does. A couple of months back Amazon made some minor
changes to their Kindle formatting, and I had problems pop up with some
reviewers over it. That sort of stuff I think is ok to discuss. But
if someone said they didn’t like the idea of my book, then that’s
different. We don’t all have to have the same tastes. I
figure that even Hemingway had people criticize his writing, and since I’m not
even a shade of him, I’ll have the same thing happen to me.
How do you come
up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover
of your books?
The title for
this book came from the name of a temple in Dzibilchaltun called The Temple of
the 7 Dolls. The temple figures heavily in the story, which begins
when a murdered geologist leaves behind a doll with the number 8 on its
chest. As for the cover design, I work with the publisher on some
ideas and then they actually put it together. The folks at Divertir
are much more creative when it comes to artwork than I am. If it
were left to me, there would probably just be a stick figure on the cover.
Do you choose a
title first, or write the book then choose the title?
About halfway
through I start thinking of titles for the book. I learned with my
first book that it’s important to have a catchy title AND a title that isn’t
close to something else. When people Google your book or try to buy
it on Amazon, you don’t want it to be close to someone else’s book. “Catch-23”
would be a horrible title in that regard. It needs to make sense and
stand out in a crowd.
How do you come
up with characters names and place names in your books?
I prefer to use
real places in my books as much as possible. I think it’s awesome
when you can go to Rome and actually walk through the steps of Da Vinci Code or
cruise along the French Riviera and follow an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. So
I try to use as many places, restaurants, bars, streets, and other landmarks as
possible.
Characters,
however, are a different story. When I can, I do try to throw in the
names of people I know or of fans that I’ve met. I think it helps
tie together the community of people who read my books. (The local
librarian her in Clinton is always asking me when she’s going to make an
appearance in one of my books) But if the names don’t work out, then
I try to come up with something that fits the character best.
Do you decide on
character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or
as you go along?
Most of my
characters are mapped out before I sit down and write. For me the
story is the important part, and the characters have to have traits that match
it. For example, Alex Guidry is the main character in this series,
but he has some flaws (for good reasons). I don’t want him to be
this awesome superhero sort of guy who whoops on bad guys and is perfect. Instead,
he’s got a small cowardly streak, and sometimes he makes choices that make him
feel guilty later. But I know what he’s going to be like at each
point in the book.
Do you basic
plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you
let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?
I have a very,
very detailed outline. I think for this book it was around 5,000
words, and the follow-up book, Eye of Siam actually had close
to 10,000 words in the outline. (That’s something like 20 pages and
40 pages, respectively). I’m sure there are some people who can just
sit down and let it flow, but I always have a hard time ensuring consistency
when that happens, even with basic things like the color of a character’s hair
or what they’re wearing. Outlining really helps me a great deal.
Have you ever
based characters on people you know or based events on things that have
happened to you?
The other main
character in this book, Skips Kane, is actually based on a real person. All
of the other characters who appear in the book are purely fictional. Someone
else was just asking me the other day if I based characters on me or events on
things that had happened to me, and I try not to. I think if I wrote
stories where I felt as though I were in them, I would have a tendency to make
them unrealistic, almost like a James Bond movie. Instead, I enjoy
watching characters who have some flaws struggle with them and be forced to
overcome their problems.
Do you think
ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
I don’t think
they’ll totally replace printed books, but I do think that printed books are
the next vinyl record. They’re soon to be collector’s items. More
than half the books sold are in e-format, and it’s much easier to get them
distributed. I have fans in India, Ireland, and the UK who I probably
would never have connected with if it weren’t for the fact that my books are
available as e-books. I love the fact that I can get comments from
readers in Brazil, Australia, and China all in the same day. It’s
wild.
Did you have a
favourite author as a child?
Roald
Dahl. I think I read everything he ever wrote including his
biography, which sadly did not feature giant peaches.
What piece of
advice would you give to a new writer?
Write. That’s
all that matters is writing. Being a writer isn’t about interviews
and book signings, and it’s not about how many copies you’ve sold. It’s
about producing lots of high quality works. Herman Woulk is in his
90’s and has already won a Pulitzer. The guy still writes all the time.
If you could
invite three favourite writers to dinner, who would you invite and enjoy
chatting with?
F. Scott
Fitzgerald would be there as long as I could get him to leave Zelda at
home. If not, Hemingway would take his place. I can’t
imagine a dinner party of famous authors without having one of those two there
since I’m pretty sure they’d be lively. I’d also add in Jennifer
Lancaster because I have a feeling that she’s just as funny in person as she is
in her books.
Where can
readers follow you?
www.facebook.com/chrisrakunas
Your Goodreads author page? http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5833251.Chris_Rakunas
Your Goodreads author page? http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5833251.Chris_Rakunas
I love speaking
with my readers, so please feel free to message me on FB or GR.
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