Book Giveaway Drawing! Read the Details later in this post.
Roger Bruner worked as a teacher, job counselor, and programmer analyst before retiring to pursue his dream of writing Christian fiction full-time. A guitarist and songwriter, he is active in his church choir, early service praise team, Sonlight service, and nursing home ministry. Roger also enjoys reading, web design, mission trips, photography, and spending time with his wonderful wife, Kathleen. Roger’s first young adult novel, Found in Translation, came out in January; the sequel, Lost in Dreams, came out in August.
Roger: Hello, Book Readers. Great to have a chance to share a bit with you about my books and my writing—and maybe something about me as well.
Janalyn: Welcome. What type of books do you write?
Roger: Although my first two published books, Found in Translation and Lost in Dreams, are both considered young adult (YA), I don’t think of myself as a YA author. From what I hear, teens love to read adult books, so I try to write adult books with teen characters and teen themes. I do that without trying to make them sound overly teen-ish. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether I’m successful. Maybe that’s why adults seem to enjoy these books so much, also.
I’ve also written manuscripts that fall into other genres—from romantic comedy to speculative fiction (that’s what Christian fiction calls anything that’s weird, in this case a minister who thinks he’s selling his soul to the devil to keep his church from splitting up).
Janalyn: Your definition of “speculative fiction” makes me smile. Tell me, why do you write?
Roger: I’ve always been a writer—poetry, monologs and short drama, short stories, personal essays, technical articles, workplace articles. Not to mention Christian songs. I’d dreamed of writing a novel when I retired, but downsizing from my career in information technology about nine years ago left me with time to think—and time to write that first novel. Then I wrote eight more. I wouldn’t know how to spend my time productively if I weren’t writing—especially now that I have retired.
More important, writing is my ministry. I may not stutter, but Moses didn’t have a thing on me when it comes to feeling less than wonderful at communicating verbally. I can’t make any claims to compete with Solomon regarding wisdom, but sixty-five years of life have taught me some truths I believe God wants me to share with others. Writing them down in a fictitious setting is the way He permits me to do that.
At book signings, I typically write, “May this book both bless and entertain you.” That pretty well describes what I hope to accomplish through my writing.
Janalyn: How would you describe your newest release?
Roger: Lost in Dreams is the second book in Barbour Publishing’s Altered Hearts series; it picks up exactly where Found in Translation ends. Kim Hartlinger is returning home from her mission trip to Mexico, only to encounter an unexpected tragedy that leaves her feeling both guilty and depressed. Events throughout the book, including a mission trip to the mountains of northeast California, help to get her back on track.
FYI: You don’t have to read Found in Translation first, but Lost in Dreams will read more smoothly (you won’t get sidetracked wondering about some of the references to the first book) if you do.
By the way, if you have a Kindle, don’t delay: Lost in Dreams is available for Kindle download this month only for $1.99. Feel free to spread the word. *big smile*
Janalyn: What do you hope the reader takes away after reading Found in Translation?
Roger: Several themes throughout my writing are forgiveness and the need to follow God’s leading more completely. If my books help anyone with those needs, I feel I’m accomplishing something extremely important.
Janalyn: Who is your favorite character from the book?
Roger: Although I love my protagonist, Kim, and her best friend, Jo, I have a special affection for Aleesha Jefferson, who became a second best friend to Kim on the Mexican mission trip. While I’m too much of a Caucasian to create a 100% authentic black character, I’ve had enough black friends over the years to give me some ideas I could apply to Aleesha. As much as I’d love to pretend that Christians have the race issue all (lovingly) straightened out, I know that’s not always the case. But it was important to me to make it true among Aleesha, Kim, and Jo.
Janalyn: Do you have a funny or touching story that relates to your book?
Roger: A touching story. Kim has a debilitating fatigue problem in Lost in Dreams, and I modeled that after an experience my daughter, Kristi, had when she was in middle school. While Kristi’s problem didn’t relate to guilt—at least not that we could determine—it lasted months before dissipating on its own. That was an extremely trying time, but it gave me the idea—and many of the details—for Kim’s problem.
A mildly amusing story, too. My original title for this book was Prancing on Pebbles, and I knocked myself out making that concept so obvious at the beginning of the book—and again at the end—that I was sure Barbour Publishing wouldn’t dare to change it. I was wrong. Oh, well. . .
Janalyn: Tell us about your writing process.
Roger: Once I have the general idea for a book, I list the things I want to happen in the story and keep adding to that until I can mentally divide the plot into three acts. (Occasionally four.) By that time, I know how the story ends and probably how it begins. Then I write a synopsis, which tells me whether I know everything I need to know before I begin writing the rough draft.
Once I start on the rough draft, I keep refining the first fifty pages before moving on. If I get stuck, I go back to the beginning and work my way to the sticking point; that normally reveals what ought to come next. I do ten or twelve full edit/revisions once the rough draft is complete. As a perfectionist, it’s hard to let a manuscript go and say, “This is the best I can do,” because it never is. I can always find something to reword. Thank goodness I’m free from that bondage once a book is in print. *G*
Janalyn: What will you write next?
Roger: I’ve just completed the rough draft of Misfits. It’s about two teenaged preacher’s kid misfits who discover that being different can really rock. Although written from a teen boy’s point of view, I believe girls will love it, too—since girls will read books written for boys, but not the other way around.
Janalyn: Which books do you recommend to readers?
Roger: I read a little of everything in fiction. I’ve just discovered speculative writer Bill Myers and read his book, Eli. Wonderful! I also recommend anything and everything by Jim Rubart. Deb Raney and DiAnn Mills, too. Oh, and Ray Blackston. I can’t leave out Tim Downs and his Bug Man series. You’d better stop me now, ‘cause I’m not nearly finished naming my favorite authors. . .
Janalyn: Where can readers find you online?
Roger: My website is RogerBruner.com. Although I have a blog—you can reach it from my website—be forewarned: I don’t update it often. And you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, too; direct links to those are on my website, too. Although I’ll gladly friend and respond to readers, I’m not very good about checking the social media on a regular basis. It takes too much time.
Janalyn: Thanks for stopping by Novel Books, and telling readers about yourself and your books.
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Book Giveaway Drawing:
Roger Bruner will give away a free copy of Lost in Dreams to a reader of this blog. To enter, leave a comment to this post. If you are a follower of Novel Books and tell me so in a separate comment, I’ll give you an extra chance to win.
Entries will be accepted until this coming Thursday at midnight (Pacific Time/US).
I’ll announce the winner on Novel Books on Saturday. The winner must respond within two weeks of notification. Detailed rules of giveaways on Novel Books are located in the footer of this blog.
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I’ve not heard of Roger Bruner until this blog interview. Great information to grasp. Love the themes–it’s what I look for in a good Christian book. Please include me in the giveaway.
desertrose5173 at gmail dot com
I read Lost in Translation this past summer and toward the end, I became teary-eyed. (Hint: the letter Kim gets.) Good read! Great interview.