1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I’ve written for as long as I could remember. It probably comes from a deeply embedded love of story. At some point you want the story to keep going, or to have different ideas about a story that you want to explore on your own. From there, you find your own stories to tell.
Spring Promotion – $5 off $45 @ eBooks.com. Use Code: springebookscp. Valid until June 20.2) What inspired you to write your book series?
I spent six years as an indie author and publisher. There’s a lot of freedom in that. I explored whatever genre I felt like. Eventually it felt like I’d achieved everything I could as an indie author and I wanted to try my hand at traditional mainstream publishing.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your books?
Honestly I don’t write to spread messages or themes. There is no hidden agenda in my work. That being said, any good piece of art can be enjoyed on multiple levels. The casual reader will be entertained by a good story. The ones who want to go deeper will find more to it. I’ve always been a fan of layers and subtext, but that is not for me to point out. They will find it if they look.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
It’s my wheelhouse. I’m a twenty-year police officer and still a full-time detective. This genre allows me to focus on writing without having to stop and look up certain procedures or terms or do research like I would in others. The background information is baked into my brain. It opens the track up wide.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book series, what would you ask them and why?
I already know what they’d say. They say it in my head. Anything I don’t know is something I’m waiting to find out later.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Any of the normal sites will do. It’s all in your approach. I keep it casual and post the things I enjoy. I’m not trying to gain new readers via social media. If people read my work and enjoy it enough to seek me out on social media, I’m glad to get to know them. I hope they like hearing about boxing and Star Wars, because that’s pretty much what I talk about on there.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
The basic advice is fairly simple. Real authors finish. I see too many aspiring writers pining over unfinished manuscripts. Too many workshopping first chapters. Too many worried about agents and publishers and everything that isn’t important yet. Finish your book. Set it aside. Rewrite the entire thing. Have it edited by someone who doesn’t mind hurting you. Make it something worthy of standing on the bookshelves next to the people you admire. Until you finish and have a completed book, you haven’t done it. If you haven’t done it, forget everything else and go do it. Once you’ve done it, go do it again.
Toy Story 4 Plush Only $6.99 With Any Purchase!8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
THE THIEF OF ALL LIGHT paperback arrives this summer. Then, AN UNSETTLED GRAVE, the second Santero and Rein book, comes out July 2019 in hardcover, audio and eBook. BLOOD ANGEL comes out the summer of 2020. What I’m working on now will come out sometime after that. In the traditional world, books are published a year or so after they’ve been written. It gives me plenty of time to plan for the future.
About the Author
Bernard Schaffer is the author of the Santero and Rein Thriller Series from Kensington Publications.
Prior to that, he published multiple titles in a variety of genres as an independent author. Schaffer is the father of two children and a full-time police detective in Southeastern PA.
Visit him @BernardSchaffer or www.bernardschaffer.com.
THE THIEF OF ALL LIGHT: A Santero and Rein Thriller 1 (Available Now)AN
UNSETTLED GRAVE: A Santero and Rein Thriller 2 (Summer 2019, Available for Pre-Order)
BLOOD ANGEL: A Santero and Rein Thriller 3 (Summer, 2020)
Social Media Links
Bernard Schaffer’s Facebook Author Page
Bernard Schaffer’s Goodreads Page
Bernard Schaffer’s BookBub Page
Website: www.BernardSchaffer.com
Instagram @BernardSchaffer
Twitter: @BernardSchaffer
