My guest is debut suspense author, Stephen Tremp. I always enjoy learning about different authors’ journey to publication. We all learn lessons along the way of any career choice. When we apply them, it increases our chances at being successful. No matter what career we’ve chosen, it always involves the ambition succeed, a willingness to work hard, and self-discipline to stay on the course we’ve chosen and make the necessary changes for success. The journey is rarely an easy road to travel but it is worth the time and effort involved.
I didn't always want to be a writer.
From my childhood through teen years I wanted to be an artist. I could draw and paint just about anything; still shots of an old barn back dropped against a harvested field or actions scenes of heroes and villains locked in mortal combat. A lady friend wanted to write children’s stories and mentioned I would be an excellent illustrator. It was only after reading her drafts a transformation began inside of me. I decided what I really wanted to do was write. My journey began. Poems, short stories, and finally a novel that soon turned into the Breakthrough trilogy.
As I began writing every day, I hit the proverbial Writers Block. "Writers Block is when the voices in your head stop talking to you". I found two techniques helpful to overcome this obstacle.
First, I run “What if …” scenarios though my mind. These two words have inspired writers and poets to pen masterpieces that are now considered literary classics. I have taken this same premise and developed a trilogy. What if there has been a breakthrough in some of these scientific theoretical theories (what physicists believe may be true but cannot be verified in the lab). What if the discovery has been stolen and used to kill innocent people. What if a hero needs to rise up and put an end to technology gone too far before he is killed?
Also, here's a little exercise I do too. I ask myself a question, "What would I be if I could be anything other than a writer?" I would be a tour guide at a reknown museum like the New York Metropolitan, the Louvre Museum in Paris, or the British Museum. I would love to talk to people all day about art, history, and culture.
Okay, now what can I do with this?
There have been great books and movies with a museum as a setting. Dan Brown's Angels and Demons begins and ends in a museum. The Thomas Crown affair with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo was a very good movie about a rich and successful playboy who amuses himself by stealing artwork. Loved Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller.
So now the gerbil in my head is once again running inside the wheel and I'm thinking again. I can sit down and begin writing something, even if its just a chapter.
As with all authors, I've had my disasters and thrills. One of my thrills was last year at Mission Viejo Reader’s Festival (Mission Viejo, CA), I had the pleasure of meeting readers, signing my books and I met some very interesting people. Later in the day, Dean Koontz was to speak. I was there, not just to hear him speak, but to meet him afterwards, have him sign a book, give him a copy of Breakthrough, and take a picture with him. I was four for four, hitting for the cycle. This is definitely one of the high lights of my young writing career.
I don’t know if he will keep my book, let alone read it. I would imagine he receives manuscripts and books every day in the mail from his fans. But who knows, maybe after one of his 80-100 hour workweeks, spending time with his family, and taking care of business, he’ll find time to read and enjoy Breakthrough.
I've learn a lot in my writer's journey and one of the most important things is having the support of your family. I would like to thank my wife and family for supporting me during these past three years of researching, writing, and promoting BREAKTHROUGH. Often, all they see of me is the back of my head as I’m writing. But I always allow them to interrupt. I never tell them, “I’m busy.” I’ll take a few moments, answer a question, solve a problem, or ask them to let me find a breaking point, and then they can have my undivided attention.
- What have you learned in your writing journey? Or if you're not a writer, in your career's journey?
Sia, thank you for inviting me to be a guest blogger. And thanks to everyone stopping by. It’s been a pleasure meeting you all.
Breakthrough blurb:
A scientific breakthrough of such magnitude it could radically alter the future of humanity—for better or worse—is in the wrong hands~ * ~ * ~
The Information Age is moving at breakneck speed. Breakthroughs in areas of science that were once fodder for science fiction are now becoming part of our everyday life.
A group of graduate students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has stolen a breakthrough in opening and stabilizing Einstein-Rosen Bridges, commonly known as wormholes., that allows them to instantly transport people from one location to another. Their goal is to assassinate any powerful politician and executive controlling the world’s banking system that would use this technology for their own greedy gain rather than the advancement of mankind.
In south Orange County, California, young Chase Manhattan, part of a new breed of modern-day discovery seekers, seeks to leave behind his life of danger and adventure and settle down as an associate professor of physics at University of California-Irvine. He also desires to build a lasting relationship with a beautiful woman he has not seen since high school.
His idyllic plan is postponed when he soon uncovers the diabolical scheme on the other side of the country. He realizes he is the one person who can prevent more murders from happening and either control or destroy the technology. Once the M.I.T. group understands Chase and his friends have the ability and motivation to not only take the technology from them, but also thwart more killings, Chase finds himself in their crosshairs, the top-of-the-list target on their assassination agenda.
As the death toll mounts, Chase and his friends must battle this group of misled zealots from M.I.T. on both coasts and in cyberspace in a thrilling, desperate race to determine the outcome of this monumental, once in a millenium discovery that will drastically change life as we know it—for better or worse. You can purchase Breakthrough as soft bound or e-book here
Stephen has a B.A. in information systems and an MBA degree in global management. He is currently completing his doctorate program in business administration.
Stephen spent over ten years in consumer finance for some of the largest companies in the industry, holding numerous management positions. After many years of writing short stories and poems, Stephen has taken the last two years to fulfill his lifelong passion: write and publish Breakthrough.
He has four more suspense thrillers to follow.
