Today, we have Robert L. Beck talking to us
about Dawn of the Knight.
Tell us about your book.
My current release is actually my first
book titled, “Dawn of the Knight.” It is a fast-paced, young adult,
action/romance novel. It ‘s the story of
a fatherless Canadian high school boy, Lance Rock, who has been homeschooled
and trained by the United States government’s former top operative. For his
senior year, Lance decides to travel down to California via a student exchange
program in the hope of finding a girlfriend as well as freedom from his
regimented life. Once there, he inadvertently ends up in the home of a mother
and her two teenage daughters—the oldest, Shannon, being the prettiest girl in
the school! Lance is forced to use his skills to defend them and himself from
the woman’s ex-husband—a crime-lord who has been terrorizing the family for
over a decade! That is the basic plot. However, there are many sub-plots going
on throughout the story
Can you tell us about the journey that
led you to writing?
I never, ever, thought I’d be a writer.
I never had any desire for it. I actually had a desire to be an artist/illustrator,
but my life didn’t turn out the way I thought it would. My oldest son was a
communications major in college. I thought that he would be the one to take up
writing. I did an Amazon.com search and bought three of the most highly
recommended books on how to write fiction that I could find, and then gave them
to him. He chose not to pursue writing, however. Three years ago I became
extremely discouraged with my job and my life. I decided I would try to write a
story as a means of escaping the boredom. But first, I read the three books I
had purchased for him. They were so helpful that I’ve actually credited them in
the acknowledgment section of my book! I’m a huge fan of operative type
characters having grown up watching James Bond, Derek Flint, The Wild, Wild
West, etc. When I was younger, I had read a 1960’s young adult teen spy series
titled, “Chris Cool/Teen Agent,” by Jack Lancer, and I loved it. That series
only lasted six books and I decided that if I would ever write a book series it
would involve an operative type teenage character. I’m originally from Canada
so I made the protagonist Canadian as well. I also knew I didn’t want him
working for a government agency. I thought, what
would happen if you put a teenage boy with operative type skills in a high
school setting? The result is this story.
Do you have a musical playlist you
listen to while writing? If so, what kind of music?
I don’t listen to music while I write. I
prefer complete silence in order to properly focus my thoughts. However, I do
love music and in particular, movie music scores. I collect them. When I listen
to them, I often envision specific scenes from my book. I also love soft
rock/pop music—especially from the eighties. There are certain songs will make
me think of specific characters and scenes in the story as well.
What would you say is your most
interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure if this is a quirk, but I
actually never learned how to type! I “finger pecked” my way through an 85,000
word novel! I don’t recommend this for anyone else, however. I’m constantly
making typos and having to go back and correct them. *laughs heartily*
Who is your favorite author and what is
it that really strikes you about their work?
Three of my favorite authors are John Norman,
Harry Harrison, and Daniel Defoe. All three have written action stories using a
first person POV and this influenced me greatly to write from that perspective
as well.
Do you have anything else to say?
I read fiction to escape the world I
live in with all its ups and downs and to be entertained. I think
“entertaining” should be the most important quality a fiction book possesses. I
can honestly say that my story, “Dawn of the Knight” is highly entertaining, if
nothing else.
Robert's blog is here and you can obtain Dawn of the Knight for free on Smashwords.
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Thanks for taking time to read this!
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Nina xxx