Q&A: Brendan DuBois

There are a lot of wonderful writers living in our state. As the Director of the NH Center for the Book  I get the opportunity to talk to many of them. This interview series of Q&As with New Hampshire authors here on Book Notes lets me share that experience a bit with my blog readers. 

 

Brendan DuBois

If someone hasn't read your work yet, where should they start?

I write both stand-along thrillers and a mystery detective series, along with lots and lots of short stories.  For readers who like thrillers, I’d recommend either Betrayed or Resurrection Day.  For readers who enjoy traditional first-person detective stories, I’d recommend my Lewis Cole series, which take place in and around the New Hampshire seacoast.  There are currently seven books in the series--starting with Dead Sand and ending with Deadly Cove--but each is a stand-alone book that can be read individually.

When did you first think of yourself as a writer?

When I was about 12 and wrote my first short story.  I felt a real sense of fun and accomplishment.  I knew then that I had some sort of writing ability and I also knew that I would never be happy, doing anything else.

How did you end up living in NH?

I was born in Dover, N.H., and now live in Exeter, N.H.  I love New Hampshire and have no desire to move anywhere else.

Where do you like to write?

At this stage of my writing career, it’s wherever my laptop happens to be.  But early on, it was in my office, at a desk, because I began by using an electric typewriter, which can curtail your writing location.  I still prefer to work in my office, but with my laptop, I can write in the living room or outside on our porch.  I’ve written on aircraft, in buses and on a cruise ship.  If the desire is there, the location doesn’t really matter.

How important is place in your writing? 



Very important.    Most of my novels and short stories are placed in New Hampshire and New England because I love the geography, the history, and the character of the people.  But I’ve also stretched my settings, and some of my works have taken place in medieval times, in South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, and a few times in outer space.

 What do you do when you aren't writing?

 Editing, thinking of writing, answering e-mails, answering questions, updating my website and Facebook, trying to keep my office clean and working on other projects.  In the mundane world, I mow the lawn, shop for groceries, do the laundry, make meals and hang with my wife Mona, our nutty English Springer Spaniel Spencer and our one-eyed wild cat Bailey.  We love the outdoors, dining, boating and going to the movies.

What’s the best piece of advice (writing or otherwise) you were ever given? 



Never give up.  Put your butt in your chair and do it, day after day.  The most successful writers are those who have an excess of drive, not talent.  It’s drive that keeps you going.

What books do you love and what about them speaks to you?

Hard to say.  I own several thousand books, and most of them speak to me in some way.  I read more non-fiction than fiction (leaning towards history, biography and science) and the fiction I do read tends to suspense and thriller, written by such authors as Lee Child, Nelson DeMille and Stephen Hunter.

What are you working on now? 



I’m in the final edits of my eighth Lewis Cole mystery, currently titled Broken Harbor, and I’m also editing a different kind of novel for me, a science fiction novel that I had a blast writing.  In the near future I’ll start writing another suspense-thriller, probably in a couple of months.

What do you want to share that I neglected to ask about?

Writing and publishing are currently in a challenging phase, where the old publishing model is being replaced by more exciting opportunities in self-publishing.  For example, with more than 120 short stories published, I’ve spent time “bundling” them into anthologies and selling them as e-books on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.  I’ve also regained the rights from my earlier books and have self-published them as well.

I also encourage readers to check out my website --- www.BrendanDuBois.com --- or look me up on Facebook to see what mischief I’ve been up to.

And my proudest achievement last year was becoming a “Jeopardy!” game show winner on Friday, September 28. 

And I’m just pleased that I love writing so much, and have been able to do it over the past decades.

Book of the Week #25

Rain Brings Frogs: A Little Book of Hope by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (New York: Harpercollins, 2011).

If the recent rainy weather has made you doubt that summer will ever really arrive, this charming picture book from NH author Maryann Cocca-Leffler reminds us to look on the bright side.  Yes, frogs are a bright side.

Book of the Week #24

Big Nate: From the Top by Lincoln Peirce (Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2010)

"Big Nate is taking it from the top--the top of the troublemaker's list! Nate Wright is eleven years old, four-an-a-half-feet tall, and the all-time record holder for detentions in school history. He's a self-described genius and a sixth-grade Renaissance man. Middle school kids everywhere can relate to Big Nate's daily battle against overzealous teachers, undercooked cafeteria food, and all-around conventionality." --Back cover.

If you are a kid, were a kid, or have anything to do with kids, you will probably find a character to entertain you in this collection of comic strips originally published in newspapers and at www.comics.com. As school wraps up for the year this seemed like a good book to feature. Don't forget those summer reading lists--one of Nate's many detentions was for not reading his.

Lincoln Peirce (pronounced Purse) has been drawing the Big Nate comic strip for 20 years. Born in Ames, Iowa, Peirce grew up in Durham, New Hampshire. As a kid, he began creating his own strips in the sixth grade. Peirce taught high school in New York City and has created several animated pilots for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. He lives in Portland, Maine, with his family.

 

"Dig Into Reading" at local libraries this summer

It's time for summer reading at the library! Here are details from the NH Department of Cultural Resources:

Summertime involves all sorts of digging: planting in the garden, searching for special shells and other treasures, learning more about creatures who live underground, and other exciting exploring.

Libraries are great places to start digging around for all kinds of information, activities and fun. This summer, children’s librarians across New Hampshire are participating in the national Collaborative Summer Library Program by creating special summertime programs based on this year’s slogan, “Dig Into Reading.”

Readers of all ages are encouraged to visit their libraries and make crafts, foods and music related to what can be discovered when you start to dig.

To participate in “Dig Into Reading,” families should visit their local public library. Most libraries ask children to register and then to keep track of how much time they spend reading or how many books they read during the summer months. Libraries may offer participants the opportunity to read whichever books they want, even if they’re not related to this summer’s theme. Children are encouraged to read as much as they can.

In keeping with the underground theme, some libraries are offering a summer reading program for teens, “Beneath the Surface”; this year’s theme for adult readers is “Groundbreaking Reads.”

Students who read during summer months retain more of their reading skills and are better prepared for school in the fall. The Collaborative Summer Reading Program helps encourage children to spend more time enjoying non-assigned reading during the summer months.

“One of the most fun things about summer is combining hands-on activities and learning,” said Ann Hoey, youth services coordinator for the New Hampshire State Library and member of the Children’s Librarians of New Hampshire. “This year’s summer reading theme encourages everyone to explore things that aren’t right out in the open by doing a little ‘digging’ and discovering something they might not have thought of before.”

The New Hampshire State Library promotes excellence in libraries and library services to all New Hampshire residents, by assisting libraries and the people of New Hampshire with rapid access to library and informational resources through the development and coordination of a statewide library/information system; by meeting the informational needs of New Hampshire’s state, county and municipal governments and its libraries; and by serving as a resource for New Hampshire. For more information, visit www.nh.gov/nhsl.

Book of the Week #23

Working at the Word Factory: The Curious Life of a Small-Town Newspaper Journalist by Eric Poor (Brookline, NH: Hobblebush Books, 2013)

If you ever wondered what it would be like to work at a small town newspaper then this book is for you. Eric Poor spent 17 years working as a reporter for the award-winning newspaper now known as The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript,  During his career he won numerous writing awards from, and was twice named Columnist of the Year by, the New Hampshire Press Association.  He is an EMT, a photographer, an avid outdoor sportsman and is active in his community. He lives in Rindge.

"Reporter Eric Poor found himself flying in an antique WWII bomber one day and serving on a panel with a MAD magazine editor the next. He might be climbing a mountain in the snow to interview a man celebrating his 80th birthday and the next day be hitching a flight to Belize. His job as a journalist and photographer brought him countless adventures. Curiosity may have killed a cat but it makes a journalist’s motor purr." --Publisher's blurb.