My Love for Books: Author Interview

Friday, June 28, 2013

Author Interview – DV Berkom

What inspired you to write your first book? It was a satire about earth’s funding being cut, along with social commentary on the evils of factory farming and corrupt politics, and it will never see the light of day.

Who or what influenced your writing once you began? Carl Hiaasen. I love how he incorporates black humor with scathing political commentary.

What made you want to be a writer? I have no idea. It’s just something I have to do.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? Plotting. I’m more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of gal, and plotting—though extremely helpful—is the bane of my existence. I did take a wonderful plotting class a while back that helped immensely, so it’s not quite so aggravating anymore.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? Plotting works.

Do you intend to make writing a career? It already is. I was able to quit my day job last July.

Have you developed a specific writing style? I try to keep my writing tight, focused and lean. It’s what I like to read, and I aspire to never waste a readers’ time.

What is your greatest strength as a writer? Brevity.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Not so much writer’s block as I can get hung up on something if my subconscious thinks the manuscript has taken a wrong turn. Then I just have to find out where I went wrong and fix it. I’m usually avoiding cleaning something when that happens.

Will you write others in this same genre? Absolutely. I’ve had several readers ask when the next Leine Basso’s coming out. I love writing her character (and Santiago’s).

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Human trafficking is not something that happens only in other countries. It’s happening here, in the U.S.

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot? No. All the characters are strictly from my imagination. Some of the scenes in the book may or may not be attributable to an imprudent nature on the part of the author.