Today's Author is Pierre Roustan

1) Could you please tell us a little about yourself?

Some say I’m a strange sort—such as the members of my family. They consider me a hoot. A pleasure. Entertainment. Personally, I’m just an old-fashioned guy who loves books, both reading and writing. I also like pizza. A lot.

I was born in the lovely city of Chicago where some of my favorite sounds are the car horns and that sweet saxophone out in the street playing to the drummer beat of those upside-down pails. I have a brother and sister, a mother and father, three aunts, three uncles, a grandmother, a great big batch of cousins, four daughters, one son and a partridge in a pear tree. We’re all one big happy family (only we’re spread out all over the U.S.).

I have a B.A. in Creative Writing and have fallen in love with the written word a million times over ever since I was ten.

2) Give us a sneak peak into your current release

Try and picture the frightening combination of Ellen Ripley from “Aliens”, Sarah Connor from “Terminator” and Selene from “Underworld”, and you’ll see the heroine of the novel THE CAIN LETTERS in full force: her name is Alexandra Glade, merciless vampire hunter, and the seeker of a strange, mysterious book that could reveal the truth about the origin of vampirism.

Problem is—she’s not the only one after the book. Another problem—once she finds it, everyone will be after her. The secrets she will discover will unlock the most terrifying choice she will have to make. Against all logic, surprisingly, to save mankind, she must protect her worst enemy: a vampire named Cain. The same Cain written in the Bible, vile brother of Abel. The original vampire in existence.

3) Tell us about your writing process.  Do you outline or just start writing?

I’m a strange morphing creature when it comes to my writing process. I’ll give you the general ‘outline’ (ironic I mention that word) of how I write:

One) I grab as many snacks as possible and also be sure to include a 24-liter of pop or juice.

Two) I play some music—all kinds of music.

Three) I start doing research while eating and drinking and listening to my music.

Four) I plot. And plot. And plot.

Five) Once I finish plotting…I write.

Six) Taking breaks in between writing includes sending fun e-mails, browsing through Facebook, playing Pogo games or internet poker, watching funny YouTube videos or perusing writer/editor/agent blogs.

The fact is: I deviate a lot from my process. It’s an evolving, morphing creature, my writing process is. Strange, I am. Yoda, I am not. The Jedi, I love, yes.

4) What genre is your favorite to write?  Read? 

I’m only beginning to discover that it doesn’t matter what genre I write or read. The more I write and read, the more genres I write and read. They’re directly proportional.

5) Favorite authors?

I have several: Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov. They’re not only my favorites—they’re my inspirations.

6) Is there a genre you haven't written, but would love to tackle in the future?

I remember picking up one of those pop-up books—you know, for kids, and they’re so cool. But what was really cool about it was that it was written by Stephen King. Stephen King! Beautiful short story along the lines of an R.L. Stine Goosebumps book. Who would’ve thought King could write a children’s book?

So, likewise, I’d love to tackle a children’s book. Maybe middle-grade.

7) What's planned next for your writing career?

The sky’s the limit, I’ve noticed. I’m currently working on book 3 of the REVENANTS OF ANARCHY series. THE CAIN LETTERS is book 1. Book 2, CHIMERA FALLS, will be released in May of next year. The final book of the series will be Book 4. Watch out for the series!

Other than that, let’s see—I have a werewolf thriller I’m planning, a psychological thriller, another urban fantasy with a touch of sci-fi, a paranormal drama, a psychological horror novel, and a historical horror novel.

My schedule’s packed.

8) Do you work well with deadlines?  Or do they stall your writing process?

I was lucky enough to warm up to the concept of deadlines, working a couple years ago as a caption editor for a few TV networks. I had 30-minute shows that needed to be captioned in at least 5 hours before sending them in (and I had to be dead-on accurate, too, and given how some people don’t know how to speak English correctly, that was always a challenge).

So, no, not at all—deadlines don’t bother me.

9) When did you first start writing?

Somewhere around 8 years old. I think.

10) What influenced you to submit your work for publication?

Hope. Just plain hope. I had it in my heart already that simply writing a book was an accomplishment by itself. The moment I wrote the last words on that last page, I felt beautiful. Only the desire to have others read it, to share my work—that spurred me to keep trying with the submissions. Most importantly, though, it kept me writing.

11) What gets you in the writing mood?  Music, reading, etc.

Usually the darkness does. I write at night (fitting given my genre and what I write about!). While sitting in the dark with the computer screen glaring at me, I also listen to some mood music—sometimes contemporary, other times classical. Hard rock hits the nose right on the button, too.

12) Do you belong to a critique group?  If so, how has this helped your writing, would you recommend it to others?  If not, would you consider joining, if not, why do you like to work alone?

13) What is the best way for readers to contact you?

I’d love to hear from readers all kinds of ways—616-608-0227 is my number, my e-mail address is roustan@hotmail.com, you can see me on Facebook, http://facebook.com/proustan. My main character Alexandra Glade has her own MySpace, http://myspace.com/Alexandra_Glade! I’m also on Twitter under the name “Starwise”. I do have a blog at the address http://writingandreading.today.com. My official author web site is http://pierreroustan.spaces.live.com.

14) Any advice you want to give aspiring writers?

Don’t write what’s popular or what’s in. Be out. Be an outsider, live on the edge, write something fresh. Write what you love. Never, ever, ever give up. Most authors write a ton of work before an agent or editor notices just ONE project. And all it takes is ONE project to be noticed. So even after two or three or four tries in getting your foot in the door, do NOT give up. Use common sense when you’re thinking about that—seriously, eventually that door’s going to open, because you got your foot stuck in it so many times! Just keep trying. Soon that door will have to open. You’ve pried it enough already.

Most important thing: believe in your writing. And yourself.