Interview with Literary Fiction Novelist David S. Grant

David S. Grant is the author of Emotionless Souls. David’s first published book, Corporate Porn, was written in 2005 and published by Silverthought Press in 2006. David’s influences include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Pahlahniuk, and Hunter S. Thompson.

David's rock and drug fueled novels Bleach and Blackout is now available as a double novel through Offense Mechanisms, an imprint of Silverthought Press. Also available, the novella, The Last Breakfast through Brown Paper Publishing.

David lives and works in New York City.

You can visit his website at www.davidgrant.com.

Welcome to The Writer's Life, David. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I started writing novels about six years ago. My first novel, Corporate Porn, was published in 2005 through Silverthought Press. I currently live and work in New York City.

Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

Emotionless Souls is a collection of twenty short stories. I started writing these stories as a way to “take a break” during writing novels. These quickly turned into favorites of many literary journals and online writing arenas so I added a few more and packaged them as a whole.

What kind of research was involved in writing “Emotionless Souls”?

Not much, more note taking. As a writer you pay attention to your surroundings, notice the absurd, or think of how a perfectly normal situation could turn into the absurd. I spend a lot of time in corporate environments. For many of my stories this is a backdrop for the shock and horror of my characters. The mundane every day office activities layered with drugs, pranks, and even a stripper here and there.

How much input did you have into the design of your book cover?

My publisher, Brown Paper Publishing, designed a few covers and I was able to give my input…we agreed on the cover used.

Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing?

For my first novel it was difficult. A lot of rejection coupled with agents/publishers not interested in new writers, attempting to force people to read my work. I say force, but persuasion may be a better word. Submitting short stories and being persistent with promoting my full length works.

For this particular book, how long did it take from the time you signed the contract to its release?

Approximately 5 months.

Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

I did not have an agent for this book. I have had agents in the past; however, all of my published books (4 at this point) have not come through an agent. I believe it’s necessary to have an agent to get into the larger publishing houses.

Do you plan subsequent books?

Yes, Bleach|Blackout, my rock fueled double novel is now available through Offense Mechanism, an imprint of Silverthought Press. In addition I have a couple finished manuscripts and am working on the prequel to B|B titled Bliss.

Are you a morning writer or a night writer?

Night

If money was no object, what would be the first thing you would invest in to promote your book?

I would have Paris Hilton tattooed with my book covers.

How important do you think self-promotion is and in what ways have you been promoting your book offline and online?

Self promotion is extremely important. Online I promote through my website and community sites. I am also currently on my virtual tour via “Pump up Your Books”. Offline I trek around to local bookstores and work with them to carry my books.

Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?

Keep writing and be persistent. It’s difficult for everyone just starting out.

BUY THE BOOK

If you would like to leave David a comment, click here.

Technorati Tags:
author interview, author interviews, virtual book tour, virtual blog tour, David S. Grant, Emotionless Souls, literary fiction, literary fiction novel, literary fiction novelist, literary fiction book
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |