NefretitiM: Tonight on Literary Links we have Carlton Holder author of The Moonbeam Rider. Tell us; what inspired you to write this book?
Carlton Holder: I wanted to marry certain interests of mine into one story line. I am a World War II buff and also enjoy UFO documentaries. I wanted to create a contemporary world that is engaged in war with much of the world under foreign occupation. Only, instead of the Nazis, I wanted this world to be occupied by an advance alien force from a distant galaxy.
NefretitiM: How did you come up with the title?
Carlton Holder: Not sure really. I wanted to empower my protagonist – a friendless teenage girl who lost her parents in an alien attack and now lives on a deserted beach with her stern grandmother. The robot she resurrects glides through the sky. The energy signature that comes out from his metal boots look like moonbeams.
NefretitiM: What genre does this book to fit into?
Carlton Holder: It is a young adult novel that should be appeal to tween and teen girls. It’s also science fiction and a coming of age story. So, if you liked “ The Hunger Games,” there’s a good chance you’ll like my novel.
NefretitiM: What influenced your interest in writing?
Carlton Holder: Comic books and mythology. Later, science fiction and horror novels, action and fantasy movies.
NefretitiM: What is the writing process like for you?
Carlton Holder: I love wakening up early, making a strong cup of coffee, then cracking away on my laptop for a few hours.
NefretitiM: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Carlton Holder: I write screenplays. My scripts, so far have mostly been independent productions. But I have a crime drama screenplay going out to the studios in a couple of weeks through my manager. Also, having been a gymnast and a Hollywood stuntman before I began my writing career, I also train competitive female gymnasts (who have been huge supporters of my novel).
NefretitiM: What tips or words of encouragement do you have for other writers?
Carlton Holder: Be stubborn and relentless if you really love writing. I feel like I had an advantage. As a gymnast, when learning a difficult new skill, you experience failure over and over again hundreds of times before you master the new skill. So I’m used to butting my head against a brick wall over and over again. On top of that, we live in a great new age. Before, when I wrote a screenplay and shopped it around, if nobody bought it, it was dead and retired to my sock drawer. Writers today have the option of putting their work Online for the entire world. Marketing that work is another story.
NefretitiM: Good point, and great advise. Thank you for joining us tonight. Much success to you!
Get your copy of The Moonbeam Rider @ http://a.co/6vwLSDx
