1) What inspired you to
write this book? During my college creative writing class, I
was given a writing prompt and I decided to write about a character that I had
recently drawn. It was inspired by the season, which was Halloween/fall, and
two of my favorite things The Legend of Spyro (or Spyro the Dragon) and
Cats.
2) What is it about and
who was it written for? The story is about Smokey the Catragon, a
fictional species that is part Cat and part dragon. Smokey is separated from
his parents and raised by a family of Tabby cats. He has trouble making friends
because he looks so different from the other animals in town. I wrote this story for anyone who wants to
read it although it is mostly aimed at children. Several adults have read it
and loved it even though it is meant for kids; it is an excellent book for the
whole family to enjoy.
3) What do you hope
that readers will get out of your book? I hope that readers will learn to be accepting
of others even if they are different, and to forgive those that are unkind to
them. You can make friends in some of the most unlikely places and with just
about anyone. Sometimes, people are just misunderstood.
4) How did you decide
on your book’s title and cover design? My title is a combination of the words Cat and
Dragon put together but dropping the D to make Catragon which is pronounced
Cat-Tra-Gon. The cover design is based loosely on the cover
of The Legend of Spyro Eternal Night cover with a different background and
featuring Smokey in front of a full moon.
5) What advice or words
of wisdom do you have for fellow writers- other than run?! Other writers should just not worry and go for
it. Write what is on your mind and worry about editing and reworking
afterwards. When I started a writing prompt for my college class, I just sat
down and went at it. My classmates and my instructor liked what I wrote, and I
didn’t have to change much. I mostly just had to correct grammatical errors. I
started out with poems and then progressed to stories. My advice is not to
stress about it not sounding good and just write it anyway, then the rest comes
naturally. It’s like packing a box, so you start with the big things and then
all the little things will just fall into place. So, in writing, focus on your
big ideas like plots, characters and genre, and then you have room for
corrections, editing, word changes, and titles.
6) What trends in the
book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is
heading? Mangas are extremely popular and trending
right now, especially for teenagers and young adults. Heroes/ heroines and
animal stories tend to be very popular. I think that the most popular things
are family oriented. I think, and hope that the publishing industry
is heading more towards general audiences and tending to be less violent. My
experience working in a movie theater is that audiences prefer less violent
movies that the entire family can enjoy together.
7) Were there
experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing
this book? I think that the most influenciential thing
that came in handy for me was my creative writing class. I had wanted to write
stories and had some ideas before that, but it wasn’t until I was forced to
write for my class that I found out how truly enjoyable it was for me. It was
then that I believed that I could be truly good at it.
8) How would you
describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar
to? I would describe it as easy to read, light
hearted, and funny. I truly can’t think of anyone or any books that I think are
that similar to me.
9) What challenges did
you overcome in the writing of this book? This book started out as a drawing of an
original character that I drew , and a writing prompt for my class. The
original prompt was to write about two characters, with a problem that they
solve together and to start the story in the middle of the action. I first had
to come up with another character, then what problem they would have, and how
they would solve it. After I completed my class, I added a back
story and rewrote parts of the story until I was fully satisfied with my
work.
10) If people can buy
or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? I think that people should read my book
because it has a great moral for both children and adults. It is an original
story that gives families a laugh, and everyone can enjoy it.
About The Author: I was born and raised in Alabama. I am
currently 25 years old. I graduated from Hope Christian School in 2017. I also
attended Shelton State Community College. I love animals and my hobbies include
art, dancing and anime. I hope to continue to write more stories about Smokey
and his friends. For more info, please see: https://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=the-catragon
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About Brian
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Brian Feinblum should be
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copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now
resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue
dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The
Writer and IBPA’s The Independent. This
award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts
over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by
BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018
as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by
www.WinningWriters.com as a “best resource.” For the past three decades,
including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book
publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses,
Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres,
right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark
Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay,
Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan
RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He
hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and
has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence
College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association,
Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and
Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have
been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY
Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington
Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, &
Co-Op Association Handbook. It was featured
in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.
