1. What is your name and where do you call home?
Barry Hoffman, Colorado Springs, Colorado though I'm from New York and still call it my home.
2. Do you have a pen name?
Nope.
3. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
It would be Chaos Unleashed, the final book in my YA trilogy The Shamra Chronicles. A strong-willed female warrior leads her people against Chaos, an entity of enormous power for destruction. Dara must face the betrayal of others around her and come to grips with her emotions if she is to succeed.
4. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
Yes, this is the third book in the series but there will be a short story collection of Shamra related stories to follow.
5. What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing?
I began writing non-fiction in Junior High School but in college after having read so much fiction I fell in love with telling stories and began writing after I graduated when I began a career as a teacher. So, a good 40 years of writing fiction.
6. Do you gift books to readers for book reviews?
Yes and I also had a 10,000 book giveaway of the first book in my YA series, Curse Of The Shamra which went to the underprivileged and schools that had insufficient funds to purchase books.
7. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
I've had 3 different covers for Curse Of The Shamra. I hired a publicist last year and she felt the covers had to be redone. Peter Lutjen designed the covers.
8. How did you come up with the title for your book?
The Shamra were initially an enemy of the main characters but I liked the name so much I decided to have the main characters called the Shamra. In the first book the Shamra are attacked and enslaved, hence Curse Of The Shamra.
9. Is there anything you would change about your book? And why?
Each book skews a bit older and the villain in the second and third books I think are more terrifying than the enemy in the first book. So, I might introduce Chaos earlier if I rewrote the series.
10. Do you have a book trailer? And what are your thoughts on book trailers?
I don't have one right now. To do them well is incredibly expensive. If you can afford the expense I think they're great but I have to prioritize on what I spend my money on. A quality website took priority.
11. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or audiobooks?
I prefer either hardcovers or paperbacks. There's nothing better than holding a book in your hand and turning an actual page.
12. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
I am published by Edge books.
13. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
I've read several books more than once. The one I read several times was Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I also read his censored script for the novel (it was never produced as written by Matheson). A wonderful novel.
14. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
I am reading the last book in the Hunger Games series. I actually have the hardcover edition.
15. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what's the best advice you have been given when it comes to writing?
My advice for writers is to write what you are passionate about. Too many people try to write the "next big thing" or write a variant on what's popular (i.e. vampires, werewolves and zombies). I don't feel that's the best way to write. I know what I'm passionate about and it doesn't matter what publishers are looking for. I need to be able look myself in the mirror at the end of the night. The best advice I received was to focus on characters. No matter how strong the plot if the characters don't come alive on the page the book will fail.
16. Where can your readers follow you?
Blog: www.ShamraChronicles.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shamra-Chronicles-Book-Series/101548979897858
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/521619.Barry_Hoffman
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/shamrabooksrule
Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!
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