Martha Emms Cognitive Dreamer: Meet Author V.R. McCoy and learn about his book, Shaman-the Awakening!

Welcome Author

V.R. McCoy

Personal favs:

Drink – Grand Marnier (straight)

Food – Italian

Vacation – Camen Islands (Love Scuba diving)

TV show – Justified

Movie – Maltese Falcon. I love the old black & whites.

Animal – Horses. I’ve been riding them since a child. Beautiful animals. The wilder and better!

Sport – Skiing

Book – The Dark Half by Stephen King

Current book or project:

Book title:

Shaman-The Awakening

by V.R. McCoy

Brief synopsis of your book: Shaman - The Awakening is a gripping supernatural thriller, filled with brilliant and in-depth descriptions and shamanistic lore.

Christopher Sands is an FBI agent with a unique ability. When his ViCAP unit takes on another serial killer investigation, they soon find themselves in deeper than they bargained for. The killer seems to be ahead of them at every turn. The search for the mysterious killer takes Christopher and his unit from the Crossroads of New Mexico deep into the Navajo Nation.

What was the inspiration for your novel? I was conducting research into my maternal ancestry and came up with the idea while during research.

Please share three interesting facts about your book which are not covered in the synopsis.

1) It tackles serious issues involving abuse by religious institutions, no particular faith.

2) The disparity involving the Dawes Rolls Act in regards to the Cherokee Freemen.

3) It is a journey or metamorphosis of the protagonist in which the readers will take with him.

What was the most complex issue you dealt with, as a writer, in your current novel? My research into the morality of early religious institutions pertaining to Native Americans and subsequent institutions.

Who is the most complex character from your current novel? Nina Blackwater. She’s a strong intelligent woman who juggles differing cultures with ease and tries to assist the protagonist with his self awareness.

Are there any characters in your book that remind you of yourself? Of course; there’s a little bit of me in all the characters, but the protagonist definitley has some of my traits.

If you could pick any well known or famous author to review your book who would you pick and why? It would be James Patterson. He writes in the same genres as I do.

What, who, and when were you first inspired you to write? My advance placement High school English teacher, Mr. Christiansen. He opened the subliminal world of intellectual literacy to me. We explicated all the great writers and poets’ works. He was an ex-Ivy league professor with several books.

Genre/Author/Reader:

What genre does your book fall into? My publisher calls the latest novel, “Shaman-The Awakening,” a supernatural thriller. I called it a paranormal crime thriller, but it also has mystery and suspense within it. I think a good thriller has to have the elements of mystery and suspense. We agreed upon it being called a supernatural thriller.

What is the first book you remember reading that affected how you thought or felt about something? “To kill a Mockingbird.” I’ve always admired people who stood up for what they believe in, even if it went against the popular opinion.

Which three authors have inspired you the most, and why?

1) Langston Hughes (Pioneer)

2) James Baldwin (Courage)

3) Walter Mosley (Voice of the common man)

Have you ever read a book you couldn’t finish reading? War and Peace. I began it in high school eons ago and still haven’t finished it.

Do you read a book, while you are writing a book? Never! I’m old school. I have to go away and be alone when I’m writing, especially in the first several critical chapters. I do a lot of research as well for my novels, so I need to concentrate. Usually I will go into my sound free room; the bathroom. I really get creative in there. Close the door, turn on the fan, and you have an instant sound attenuation room.

The process:

How many books have you written? Which book is your favourite and why? I have written several unpublished manuscripts and two published novels; “Den of Thieves” and “Shaman-The Awakening.” Shaman-The Awakening is the first book of the Shaman series contracted by my publisher.

My novels are like children. It is hard to distinguish which I like best. They all have the same amount of love, dedication and passion. I only write about things that move me. I always try to teach my readers something that they might not have known in the process.

Is there anything that helps get you in the mood to write? Music and paintings.

What were three challenges you faced when writing your book?

1) Not going too far into the morality of certain dogmas and atrocities uncovered during research. It is a fictional work for entertainment, but I do like to make my readers aware.

2) The research was more extensive than the previous novel due to it being rooted in fact based occurrences, history and heritage.

3) Finding a suitable cover. I couldn’t obtain the copyrights for the original art work in mind, but the creative minds from Creativia Publishing and The Cover Collection solved the problem. It took a little while to come up with the concept, but overall I was elated with the final product.

What lessons have you learned as an aspiring writer? That the real work begins after writing the novel. The editing, the cover design and the marketing. I’ve never been a good salesman and it’s hard for me to ask complete strangers to purchase my novel. I love it when they tell you they purchases the novel on merit without you asking someone to purchase it.

Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so what helps you to ‘overcome’? Funny story; I just experienced my first writer’s block last year and didn’t realize I was experiencing it until I was in the midst of it. I just kept making justifiable excuses for my block.

I didn’t really overcome it for that particular project, but I did move forward. I scratch the original idea and used the research to go in a totally different direction. Good research allows you to do such.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned, either in the self-publishing or traditional publisher, route? Well I’ve done both now and the real key to me is editing and proofreading. There are some great self-published books out there, but without a professional editor, beta reader or proof reader, you are going to miss out on a lot of readers.

How long does it usually take for you to complete a book? It depends on the subject, but my average thus far has been 6 months. I have averaged one book a year thus far, but I think I’m going to have two out this year with any luck. I’m not trying to mass produce, it just happened that way. I only want to do one per year.

Do you have any ideas for your book and Hollywood? Actors, directors, music. Absolutely! I’m not currently pitching, but I think every writer thinks about their characters being portrayed by certain actors. Shaman actors ~ Will Smith, Lynn Collins (actress from the movie John Carter) and music by Emenin, Nickleback or Avril Lavigne.

Which book to movie conversion is your favourite? The Green Mile by Stephen King

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/vrmccoy

Twitter: http://twitter.com/vrmccoy

Website: http://vrmccoy.wix.com/author

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/VR-McCoy/e/B00CX5JXZ8

Author at

 J. Ellington Ashton Press ~ http://www.jellingtonashton.com  

Creativia Publishing ~ http://www.creativia.org  

Contributing Author at   Shelfari ~ http://www.shelfari.com/vrmccoy  

Lazy Beagle Entertaiment http://www.lazybeagleentertainment.com/vr-mccoy.html   

Kindlemojo ~ http://www.kindlemojo.com/vrmccoy  

Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/vrmccoy Authorsdb ~ http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/4524-vr-mccoy  