Author Interview: Thomas Wade Bounds, Author of CHOICES: MY SECRET

Thomas Wade Bounds, is a businessman and the founder of Heritage Values. He lives with his wife Elsa and their two children, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
You can visit his webpage at http://www.heritagevalues.com/.

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

Yes, I am a proud father of 2 and married to my beautiful wife Elsa. We lived on the Island of Saipan for many years and after the 9/11 attacks moved to Charlotte where I grew up. We started a small construction business and then a few years later started Heritage Values in hopes to keep the values and heritage alive—Faith, Family, Country. I have been writing for about 2 years now.

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

“Choices, My Secrets” tells the compelling story of a Rachel, a teenager that lives an incredible journey during a quest to find her place as a teen. She makes choices that take her out of her realm. She is then faced with more than she bargained for. Now, pregnant and her boyfriend off at collage not returning her messages, she feels lost, alone, and scared. Searching for hope, things spin out of control as she deals with more issues while leaving out the possibility of talking with friends, family and God. She decides that abortion is best for her. See what she faces during her visit to the clinic. Does she find her true self and gain the faith, hope and courage to guide her through this roller coaster ride of choices?

I wrote this short story to help my kids and young teens and parents live a realistic journey so they could gain the experience and wisdom of this together with out having to live it for real, and to give them the 20/20 hindsight to sit down and relax without the real pressure and talk it out, set expectations of relationships, family values and possibly godly goals. Teens today make choices most parents do not dream of.

What kind of research was involved in writing “Choices, My Secrets”?

I looked at some similar experiences that I was aware of from friends and my journey through high school, Asia as a teen and young adult. I also put forth a lot of thought on how I would deal with this if it where to happen to me or one of my children.

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

I explained to my publisher what I wanted and they gave it to me. I love it. The cover tells the story of a confused and lost teen. That truly is a story of wisdom to share.

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

It was pretty smooth. I searched for a self publishing company that provided what I was looking for, asked several questions, and basically got what was offered, and at the time what I wanted.

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

Since this is a short story it did not take that long about 3 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?

No, I do not have an agent. I would leave that up to the author to choose what they feel works best for them, but would suggest she research the possibilities and direction one could offer.

Do you plan subsequent books?

Yes, Choices is a series for teens and parents. Its intent is to create a realistic life of trouble through the choices and consequences of a particular character to develop concerns and wisdom in the reader’s mind. I hope teens and parents will talk about those choices made by the different characters to bring up questions and answers and to develop trust, understanding, and hopefully more conversations between parents and teens, which is a good thing.

Are you a morning writer or a night writer?

I write whenever my thoughts come out. I sit down at my computer and the words will just flow from my finger tips onto the screen. I will rework it several times to develop the plot or character.

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

I would give my books to public and school libraries in hopes that young teens and their parents would read them together and gain the wisdom of the life the story has created, as well as, build a closer relationship as a family.

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

Self promotion is a key. As an author that writes on subjects such as I have, you must stand up and help raise them, so to speak. I have given my book to several young teens their parents and some libraries already. On line you can find my website http://www.heritagevalues.com/ and more information at authorsden.com

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

If you truly enjoy writing and want to share your thoughts with others, go for it. You will be happy that you did. Who knows, you may make it. Trust is important. Do not shy away when you are criticized, that will only strengthen you. Wisdom is only good if it is applied. You must learn first to hold wisdom.

Thank you for coming, Tom! Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

By all means, first of all thank you for having me on your blog. I have really enjoyed the opportunity that you have given me to share the thoughts behind my short stories to your readers. I hope they will enjoy reading them and sharing the experience and wisdom with the teens in their life.
Please visit http://www.heritagevalues.com/, xulonpress.com, amazon.com or authorsden.com, The ISBN 978-1-60477-369-9
If you would like to leave a comment, click here.
*******
CHOICES, MY SECRETS VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on March 1, 2008 and continue all month. If you would like to follow Thomas' tour, visit http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in March. Leave a comment on his blog stops and become eligible to win a free copy at the end of his tour! One lucky winner will be announced on this blog on March 31!
*******
Thomas' virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours at http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/ and choreographed by Cheryl Malandrinos.
*******

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , ,

No comments

Powered by Blogger.