Author Spotlight #2- Ralph Krugler

                                                           Ahoy me hearties , (I love that saying lol) . Come travel and sail the world of books with me as I Interview Pirate Adventure author Ralph Krugler . He is the author of the Book "Tales from Conch Republic". See Below Interview for a review :)

Website Address :

http://www.conchrepublictales.com/Site/Home.html

Interview Questions:

1) Tell us about your book Tales From the Conch Republic?


It’s a saucy little tale of murder and intrigue. Love and lust. A coming of age tale for the new millennia… well actually it’s not. What it is though is a tale of two very opposite groups of people coming together to complete a mission.
The spirit of a slain Royal Navy captain who is seeking both revenge and eternal rest approaches a lone pirate captain. The navy men were slain by a group of pirates in an attack. However it could have been avoided if it weren’t for his cowardly rival in the navy who spied the entire mess, allowing it to happen. When the fight was nearly over, the rival captain brought in his men to finish off the pirates making them look like heroes. The betrayal meant that neither he nor his slain men could find their eternal rest. The only way for this to happen was for a pirate to do in his rival the same way that he was done in. For the pirates service, he would be rewarded with the fastest ship in the navy; a former pirate ship herself.
However, nothing is as easy as it sounds. Not only does he have to find his old crew, battle harsh weather and horrible ships; but he also has to convince the surviving members of the RN who were there that day to join him. Not to mention an annoying governor’s son who keeps popping up and getting in the way.
It’s a tale of team building sprinkled with action/adventure, comedic mishaps and historically factual superstitions.

2) Are you a fan of the Pirates/Adventure Genre and if so what are some of the books that you have enjoyed in this genre besides your own lol?

Not really. Most of the pirate related things I read are non-fiction.

3) What gives you the innovation to write a particular genre?

It’s always been a matter of whatever comes to mind at that moment. I know a lot of people just like to go with one particular thing, but my mind wanders too much to do that. For example when I first started writing this, there weren’t supposed to be any ghosts in it. I just happened to have the TV on in the background and I remember something about ghosts being mentioned. I thought that might be a good direction to go in and that’s how that wrinkle came into the story.

4) It was originally suppose to be a comic book, how did you manage into turning it into a chapter book ?

After a lot of cussing and frustration over illustrators suddenly bailing on me, I decided to stop trying to rely on someone else. So I took what I had written and decided to verbalize what I envisioned the pictures would have expressed. It actually was fairly simple because it was like working off of an outline for the first chapter. Then I re-read what I had written, hated most of it and wiped that out. The biggest thing I tried to do was to go over the text a few times and add more description. Since there were no visual pictures, I wanted to paint more of a verbal picture for people who may never have been to places like I wanted them to imagine.

5) Did you experience writers block? If so, what did you do to get rid of it?

Sure did. I turned off the laptop and didn’t open the program for weeks on end. Being my first actual book, I didn’t have any timetables. No expectations. A lot of people told me that they were also writing a book. In fact most of them had been writing it off and on for years. 98% of them told me that I’d probably do the same and never see it through. I always thought, “Hey, thanks for the inspiration.” Then one day I thought, “OK. If you’re going to do this, do it.” After I decided to give myself a deadline, I never had another block.

6) What are you working on now?

Two things. First is a movie script about my days in minor league ice hockey. Second is the follow up to Tales From The Conch Republic.

7) What is your favourite scene in your book?

That’s not an easy one. I’m just such a fantastic writer that it’s extremely difficult to pick out just one… yeah right. Since this is in print and you can’t see the sarcasm dripping off my face I’d better let you know that was just a joke. Favorite scene… maybe the first and second exchanges between the pirate captain and the governor’s son Bart. It’s highly influenced by Monty Python and I envisioned John Cleese as the pirate captain as that came out.

8) Had you previously written anything?

Nothing that was ever published. I have written things off and on for years. In fact, when email was just starting to become popular, I started writing a column and would send it out to my friends. I guess you could call it the predecessor to the blog. It was great because I could write about anything and everything that I wanted. Basically it was just an attempt to take the mundane and make it funny. Now everyone does it and have somehow made the mundane ever more mundane.

9) Were there any scenes that were cut in the editing process you wish had made it into the book?

Not really. Most of the time I cut things because they were just awful. When I wasn’t under my deadline and would put it away for weeks at a time, then I’d go back to it, read it and think, “Seriously? You wrote this? What the hell were you thinking?” Then I’d delete what I didn’t like and moved on. The hardest part was the final editing process. I could still be doing it. I would go over and over changing things and never being satisfied. There again just came a moment when I thought if I don’t stop now, I’ll never stop.

10) If you could be a pirate, who would you be and what would your ship be called ?

If I were to choose one from history, I’d probably go with Henry Morgan because he was so successful. My ship… I have to think about that one.


11) How did you get into writing? Did you always want to become a writer?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. More so than reading. It was never a career path that I dreamt of. Most people have creative outlets, mine is I just like telling stories and hoping to make people laugh. I know that I shouldn’t be saying this, but I never like the “stuffy” writers/ editors who keep limits on you. “You can’t write dialog in slang! You can’t wander off here or there! Your main character must have an epiphany or come to some sort of moral crossroads or it isn’t fine literature!” That kind of garbage. I’m sure that has never helped my compositions in any competitions I have entered them in.

12) If you were stranded on a desert island, what are three material things you couldn't be without?

A fishing pole, a good knife and a guitar
13) What are you reading now?

A classic work of literature, “How to communicate with your dog.” I have an Akita that we rescued who has come a long way into becoming the perfect dog. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to help her.

14) Which author has inspired you most and why?

Probably not the answer that you’d expect. It may also put some people off, but I don’t care. Jimmy Buffett is my favorite. When I read his books, articles, etc it always makes me feel like I’m sitting right there with him and he’s telling the story to just me. That’s what I hope to do. He has quoted Mark Twain’s “Write what you know,” as his most inspirational message. That works for me.

15) What advice would you give aspiring authors?

I’m not sure, being that I’m still one myself. If anything, I’d like to give credit to whoever has said this before, but sadly I’m not sure who said it. Write what you like. Don’t worry about being accepted by everyone. The right people will find it and “get it.” That’s whom you want to write for anyway.

16) As a Quotes Person I always like to ask To finish off, do you have a quote or poem that has stuck with you over the years and what is the story behind it?

I could think of a million Jimmy Buffett quotes from his songs over the years. But let’s go with one from the late, great Chicago Bear, Walter Payton. His autobiography is called “Never Die Easy,” taken from an answer he gave shortly before his untimely death to cancer. He was a true fighter and worked hard for what he wanted to do. So you can take dying very literal, but I take it to mean more. It could be failure, giving up, or simply not trying. You might not succeed in everything you try, but why not give it your best shot and make it as difficult as possible to fail. That’s stuck with me and helped me seek different ways to accomplish different things that I’ve wanted to do.