Interview with Richard Blomberg, author of Terror Never Sleeps
Dr. Richard Blomberg has practiced anesthesia in the land of 10,000 lakes for twenty years. He grew up in an Iowa farm town, the oldest of ten, before serving as a Navy hospital corpsman during the Vietnam War. For generations, Richard’s family has proudly served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and currently lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and family, where he is working on his next Jack Gunn thriller.
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Connect with Richard:
Author Website: http://www.richardblomberg.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rblombergauthor
About The Book
Title: Terror Never Sleeps
Book 2: Jack Gunn Thriller Series
Author: Richard Blomberg
Publisher: Beaver's Pond Press
Publication Date: February 15, 2015
Pages: 337
ISBN: 978-1592988952
Genre: Military Thriller / Suspense
Format: Paperback, eBook (.mobi / Kindle), PDF
Navy SEAL Jack Gunn’s life is turned upside down when terrorists kidnap his family and disappear without a trace. While Jack and his team search frantically for clues in Virginia, half-way around the world, his wife, Nina struggles to survive the terrorist’s daily persecutions as his hostage.
Terror Never Sleeps is an action-packed tale of Nina’s transformation into a warrior who is fighting for her life, and Jack’s relentless pursuit of the terrorists from Mali to Diego Garcia to Pakistan. A military coup, propaganda, dirty bombs, and the launch of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal with one target—Israel—is all part of the terrorist’s master plan, who are hellbent on blowing the world back to the eighth century. The non-stop action keeps the reader constantly off balance with the bizarre and unexpected.
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Author Interview
Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? Where did you come up with the idea to write your book?
They called me “Dinky.” I was the oldest of ten. Even though I grew seven inches taller after graduation, I suppose that’s when I became an over-achiever—anything to stand out in a crowd.“Make the last thing you do, be the greatest thing you ever did,” an x-Navy SEAL said in a radio interview I heard. Is that my excuse, or my marching orders for why I never relax? I have no idea, so I press on.
My latest Jack Gunn thriller, Terror Never Sleeps, was born on the mistaken assumption of every deployed soldier; terrorists would never attack their families back home. Right? Wrong! To take it up another notch, my protagonist, Navy SEAL Jack Gunn, has killed many terrorists and made many enemies in the past. In Terror Never Sleeps, revenge-seeking terrorists kidnap Jack’s family and vanish without a trace. Jack is wracked with fear and guilt for not protecting the ones he loves. Nina Gunn, Jack’s wife, faces torment and torture as she fights to survive each day at the hands of the terrorists. But, Jack and Nina have secret weapons. They grew up on the same Sioux reservation in Montana. They draw on the power of their ancestor’s spirits to face the biggest challenges of their lives.
Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?
I started my writing career, but didn’t quit my day job, when I was fifty five, long removed from my college days. In fact, it had been so long, somewhere along the way they decided to add only one space after periods, question marks and exclamation marks, instead of two. I had a lot to learn. My education as a fiction writer came in the form of how-to writer’s conferences and pay-for-service editors.
Rule #1 for thriller writers: start in the middle of the action. Don’t begin a chapter with what Jack ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Start with Jack bashing down a door and kicking butt. Use spare dialogue where every word has a reason to be there.
Rule #2 for thriller writers: stick to the plot line—keep the action moving forward. Any side-story lasting more than two paragraphs and you risk losing the reader. Stick to the story.
Rule #3 for thriller writers: use active verbs—it speeds up the pace. When using active verbs the subject does the acting instead of being acted upon. Example: The game was won by the Chicago Bears vs. the Chicago Bears won the game. Whenever possible, eliminate words like: be, is, was, were, been, are, am, isn’t, wasn’t, weren’t, aren’t.
Don’t get discouraged. Two very famous authors at a writer’s conference agreed that you are born with 90% of what it takes to be a good story teller, and only 10% is learned. That discouraged me, since I never could remember a punch line. But that didn’t stop me. I wrote and let editors edit, each in their own way honing my story-telling skills. I think anyone can become a story teller and everyone has a story to tell.
Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?
I’ve always been self-published, which is where and how I hook up with my editors. Right now I’m working with Beaver’s Pond Press. I don’t see being on my own as a negative anymore. I reached a point where I decided to get the books out, keep writing and let whatever happens, happen.
Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?
Writing a book is exhilarating. Sales and marketing is frustrating, because it’s so difficult for an Indie author to get their books in front of their audience. Mainstream books stores don’t exactly welcome Indie authors, and if you do get in, you’re essentially paying them to carry your book. That leaves on-line marketing and social media and blogging and—well you get it. As exhausting as being an Indie author sounds, you can do it too.
Q: Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to get across with your book?
The message I’m trying to get across in Terror Never Sleeps is to never lose hope, no matter how hopeless your situation is. Get out of bed each day and keep fighting. You may think you know what’s going to happen, but you don’t. Miracles happen every day, and one day soon, it might be your turn.
There’s a rule of the road on the backpacking trail that applies to life; people climbing uphill have the right-of-way. Going downhill is easy. Starting takes no effort at all. In fact it takes energy not to move. That’s how life is for many. Everything is going their way. They have it all. If you’re cruising down hill, step aside and pull someone up.
Living an uphill life is another matter. Believe me, I’ve been there. Getting going is hard enough, and if someone gets in your way, you might just quit. You’re hungry, tired, sick, poor, oppressed and alone. You may be desperate, but don’t give up. You’ll never get to the top of the mountain if you don’t keep pushing on.
That’s my dream—that people would lend a helping hand to one another.
Q: Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?
Like the lyrics of John Lennon’s Imagine—You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.
Go to www.richardblomberg.com. I’d love to hear your story. I’d love you to read mine.
Thank you Writer's Life and your readers. I deeply appreciate the opportunity you have given me.
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