Meet Tom Blubaugh

Tom Blubaugh was raised in a small town in southeast KS. He began writing poetry at age fourteen. Tom has written nonfiction writer most of his adult life. He self-published his first book Behind the Scenes of the Bus Ministry in 1974.  Tom wrote articles for denominational and business magazines  from 1975 through 1995. He co-wrote The Great Adventure for Barbour Publishing Co. in 2009. Bound by Faith Publishers published his first fiction Night of the Cossack in April, 2011. Tom is married to Barbara. They have six children and fourteen grandchildren. Both are retired. Tom has been public speaker for 40 years. He was a self-employed entrepreneur  from1973 to 1995. Tom retired in 2004 and has devoted most of his time to writing and volunteer work.

Welcome, Tom!

Describe your writing in three words.

Hard, interesting and rewarding.

Where do you live, and how has your environment affected your writing?

I live in southwest Missouri. I’ve lived here since 1976 and I’ve met a great many interesting people. Branson is an hour south and that’s a whole different world of entertainment. There’s never any lack of things to write about.

How many books have you written?

Two of my own and two that I co-wrote with other authors.

Give a short synop of your most recently published book.

Night of the Cossack is a compelling adventure by Tom Blubaugh about a teenager who is forced to grow up quickly. The main character, Nathan Hertzfield faces many life or death situations during his saga.

How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the book?

Quite a bit in Night of the Cossack. I basically created my grandfather since I never got to meet him. He died before I was born.

Do your characters take on a life of their own? If so, which is your favorite?

They do. I read this in an article when I started writing. I thought there’s no way that can happen—but it does.

Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

Yes. On Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

What challenges did you face while writing this book?

The research was very demanding. There was so much going on in Russia at the time of my grandfather lived there.

What do you think is the greatest lesson you’ve learned about writing so far? What advice can you give other writers?

That I will no longer enter a library or book store and take the books for granted. Each one of them has a huge amount of work behind them and they didn’t just jump on the shelf.

Where do you store ideas for later use: in your head, in a notebook, or on a spreadsheet?

I have written hundreds of articles for my website over the years. Each one of them has the making of a book or a novella. I also use a program named Snowflake.

We all know how important promoting our work has become. How do you get the word out both off and online?

The platform is the hardest work in selling a book. I am very involved in social networking, blogging and speaking. In some ways, the Internet is an easy way to get my name out into the world and at the same time, it’s very hard because there is so much competition.

Can you tell us your writing goals/projects for 2012 or beyond?

One goal is to make Night of the Cossack a best seller; another is to finish the sequel—but time is flying by; a third is to set up online classes or webinars about building a platform; and setting up a section of my website/blog for doing audio interviews or authors and other interesting people.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Here are all of my links:

Night of the Cossack historical fiction ebooks available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble

Night of the Cossack historical fiction signed paperback at Night of the Cossack  FREE shipping to address in USA.

Night of the Cossack historical fiction pdf file will be available soon.

Facebook fan page

The Write Trail Scribbling from the sometimes creative/sometimes scattered mind of Tom Blubaugh

Twitter @tomblubaugh

Goodreads

Authors Den

Info-line for writers promotion

Linkedin to join my network

Genesis Project my ministry site

Follow me on Pinterest

Thanks for letting me interview you, Thomas. Continued success!