Interview with Author Tom Blubaugh!

Good morning all! Please join me in welcoming the wonderful author of Night of the Cossack, Tom Blubaugh!

AW: Tell me about yourself…

I’m happily married to my best friend, Barbara. We have six children and fourteen grandchildren. I am retired.

AW: What genera do you write and why?

I write YA fiction. I believe there is a lack of good, healthy books for this age group.

AW: Tell us about your latest book….

My latest book is Night of the Cossack. It is a historical fiction classified as YA, but I’m getting more response from adults. Actually I have had readers from 8 to 80 and it is a good read for all ages.

AW: What was your inspiration for this book?

Both of my grandfathers died before I was born. I missed not having one and the hole got bigger the older I got. My mother passed away in 2005 leaving me with only one aunt who could give me any information on my maternal grandfather. He was a Jew and a Russian Cossack soldier. This intrigued me. I have found many people don’t know what a Cossack is so I put up a definition.

AW: Do you have a favorite character and why that one?

Yes. Nathan. He’s my grandfather.

AW: Did you find anything particularly difficult in writing this book?

I started creating my grandfather for myself and after I go into it, I found myself writing for my children and grandchildren. I wasn’t writing it to be published. However, I eventually decided to write it as a novel after I was encouraged by a published writer in a Yahoo Christian Writer’s group. I found a local critique group. The writing became more difficult then, mainly because I had written the story as a narrative. I didn’t know about show and tell.

AW: What project(s) are you currently working on?

I toying with a sequel. I also have some children’s books I’m working on.

AW: Do you have any interesting quirks you want to tell us about?

I like burned popcorn.

AW: Do you have any advice for writers out there?

Start building your platform now. Do everything you can to get your name known. Don’t wait until you’ve finished your manuscript. I’ve found that the writing is the easy part.

AW: Where can we find you? (facebook, twitter, blog, website, etc)

You can find me on my personal Facebook page, Night of the Cossack Facebook page, my website and twitter @tomynate.

AW: And of course we have to know, where can we find your book? (your website, publisher, amazon, etc)

You can find a signed copy with free shipping @ Night of the Cossack, printed book and ebook @ amazon.com and ebook @ barnesandnoble.com. You can also read the Amazon reviews.