Charles F. French Blogtour: Part 2

I know I’ve been eagerly awaiting Part 2 of Charles F. French’s Blogtour interview, and I am happy to share that the wait is over!

If you didn’t catch Part 1 of the interview, be sure to click here and see what you missed. 

Charles is a fellow blogger, professor and author. His novel, Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I, has been released on Kindle, and the print version will follow later this month. He was kind enough to answer some questions I had regarding his writing process and his novel:

Q: Can you give me the backstory of some of your characters?

Roosevelt Theodore Franklin is the protagonist of the novel. He is a retire Marine Corps officer and a retire History professor who lost his beloved wife, Sarah, to cancer a few years before the story begins. His two closest friends, Sam and Jeremy also have lost loved ones to death. Sam is a retired homicide detective, and Jeremy is a retired antiques dealer. Sam’s son, when he was a teenager, committed suicide, and Jeremy’s partner, died in his arms while the two were attending a gallery opening.

Q: Where do you plan to go with the series?

Two more books are planned in this series. Without going into detail about the specific characters, each will highlight a different person in the Investigative Paranormal Society.

Q: Any timeline in mind for the next book release?

Yes, I hope to release the next two books in the series in October of 2017 and October of 2018.

Q: What impact do you think being a college professor has had on your novel?

I am a professor of English Literature, and reading has been a central part of who I am since I was very young, so it has had an enormous impact on my writing. I may not always be conscious of including themes and ideas that I have read and taught in my classes, but I am sure they are in parts of this and other novels. While no one character represents me completely, it is not a stretch to see parts of myself in a retire history Professor. I will emphasize, though, only parts, since I am not tall, retired, nor as I dapper! Plus, I teach a different academic area—English and not History.

Q: Were you intimidated by the prospect of self-publishing?

I was not intimidated by the idea of self-publishing, but I am in awe of the amount of knowledge about business and promotion that is needed to attempt to be successful. I will continue to learn as much as I can about this aspect of the writing, and I hope it will fuel success.

Q: What advice can you give to someone who might give self-publishing a try?

I would suggest that any author who attempts self-publishing to learn as much as he/she can about the process from as many sources as possible. An author needs to understand that he/she is now a businessperson as well as an artist.

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Thank you again, Charles, for the opportunity to interview you and sharing such wonderful insight. 

If you aren’t already a follower, be sure to check out Charles’ blog for more great content.