It is a Christian Fiction piece so my target reader is someone who enjoys that genre. But it is also for those looking for something a bit different within that genre.

C.L. Shaffer – 10 September 2015

The Back Flap

Gavin is a man who has lost his faith in God. During a periodic meeting with his lifelong friend and religious mentor, Dr. Faulkner Brickley, Gavin confesses that he is no longer a believer. Alarmed that his friend has lost the capacity to see that life can be extraordinary, the professor decides it’s time to reveal a secret. “We can either choose to use our talents or not to use them,” he tells Gavin before dramatically demonstrating to him that God has granted him with an amazing gift.
Meanwhile, Gavin runs into his old flame at a funeral. He brought Elizabeth Kashner into the faith, all those years ago. But in his state of grief following the death of his father, he had told Elizabeth he no longer wanted her in his life. Although their chance meeting stirs up old feelings, nothing much comes of it—until Elizabeth goes on a missionary trip to the Russian republic of Ingushetia.
When Elizabeth ends up being held hostage, Gavin offers to use his newfound talent to win her freedom. In the meantime, Elizabeth’s own plan of escape is to create a bond with one of her captors.

As a result of their adventures, lives are changed—in very surprising ways. And Gavin sees that life can be extraordinary. But is this enough to shake his disbelief?

About the book

What is the book about?

The Link That Could Not Be Broken is about a man who has broken his link to God. His life has become just the routine day-to-day. He’s cut out all the extraordinary so that he doesn’t feel any hurt, but with that comes not feeling any good or love. Something happens along the way, however, something incredible that begins to dissolve his numbness.

When did you start writing the book?

It was over ten years ago, perhaps even more than fifteen. Writing was a past time or something I did when I felt like it. But you really can’t treat it like that if you ever want to finish. I learned that I had to have discipline. I will say also that during this time, I was learning the craft. At times, it seemed like everything came with a question. Can I do this? Can I do that? With every question came a need to research. This was also time-consuming.

How long did it take you to write it?

This is difficult to answer because there were a number of years when I hardly touched the work due to life getting in the way. I generally say ten years. It’s a nice round number.

Where did you get the idea from?

Inspiration came from the strangest of places from a bad ‘90s movie to theological questions that I needed to work out on paper.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

The beginning came easily—the middle not so much. I certainly change the trajectory of the story several times. I knew I needed some danger, but I was unsure where this danger was going to come from. Then 9/11 happened, and terrorism was at the forefront of my mind. I’d always had an interest in Russia, so the combination of this with terrorism made Chechnya the obvious choice as to where this danger would originate.

What came easily?

I like to observe the rhythm of people’s conversations, the flow of subject matter, and the things that hide beneath. Due to this, I enjoy writing dialogue and since it’s enjoyable to me it seems to come easily.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I’m slightly embarrassed to say this but I like to put a little part of myself into each character. It can be a fear I have, a dream, or even a personality trait I wish I had. This may be a bit egotistical but as a writer it just makes the characters come alive for me.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

Frederick Reuss who wrote Horace Afoot was very influential. I had never before encountered his style of writing. It was completely new to me. It was minimalistic and masculine. I couldn’t put Horace Afoot down. I don’t believe I ever had that kind of a reaction to a book. That style was very influential to The Link That Could Not Be Broken.

Do you have a target reader?

It is a Christian Fiction piece so my target reader is someone who enjoys that genre. But it is also for those looking for something a bit different within that genre. The Link That Could Not Be Broken is suspenseful, and the writing style may be new for some.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I use to write in the late afternoons after work. I would snicker at people who said that they would get up at 5:00 AM to write because they were fresh at that time. I have to say that I now agree with them. I can’t claim that I get up at 5:00 AM, but I have come to find that mornings are the best time to write. Things are just clearer during that part of the day.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

Oh, how I wish I could outline. It would be so much easier if I did outline. I do, however, have a general idea of where I am going. I think the main reason I don’t outline is that I love the sense of discovery that occurs along the way. Sometimes the work takes an unexpected turn. For me, part of the fun is not knowing exactly how everything will fall into place.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I do both. I edit as I go because I can’t seem to allow obvious problems to just sit on the page. After all, what if I died and someone read it! Plus, I like to tinker with what I just wrote until it is, in my mind, perfect. This may be another reason why it took me so long to finish.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I did hire a professional editor. I think doing so is essential. I would even recommend hiring two. If you don’t have a budget for that then find someone who is an avid reader of the genre you are writing. Whatever you decide, you need someone else to look at it. As a writer, you are going to be blind to some errors.

In the end, though you as the writer are responsible for the editing. There are things that even a very good professional editor will miss. I went through my own work probably two more times even after it was edited.

There are also some horror stories out there of professional editors not doing their jobs or even having an agenda that the author just does not share. I remember one writer complaining that their editor changed all the masculine pronouns to he/she even for the male characters. Of course, this just made the story incredibly confusing.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I generally don’t listen to music. If I were going to, it would have to be something without lyrics. Songs with lyrics are just too distracting when you are trying to write your own words.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

No.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

My decision to self-publish came on gradually as the concept of self-publishing became more accepted. I also think getting off dial-up internet helped too. There is no way I would have self-published using dial-up internet. Technology has made doing it yourself attainable. In addition, writing is the only place I am truly the boss. To hand my work over to someone, making them essentially my boss, would go against one of the main reasons I love to write.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

I had a professional do the cover. The designer was Ana Grigoriu. I knew enough about graphic design to know I needed help. I was afraid if I did it myself—it would look like I did it myself.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

It has all been a learning process for me.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Don’t wait until you publish to contact reviewers. I waited, and I could not believe how time-consuming the process was. It is essential to have reviews because some promotional sites won’t even look at you until you have at least five.

Make sure your reviewers read the type of book you have created. If your reviewers love reading flowery romances then they probably won’t like the to-the-point suspense-drama you have created.

Understand the emotional toll that publishing your book will have on you. No one talks about this, but it just hit me between the eyes. I was unprepared for it. I did not realize how it would feel to finally be done. I thought I would feel great but there was this sense of loss that came over me. I compare it to a mother watching their child go off to college. It was bitter-sweet. Best thing to do is to move swiftly into the promotional side of the process as quickly as you can.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in central Pennsylvania.

Where do you live now?

I live in central Pennsylvania.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I just began writing a blog. It is on my Goodreads profile. I never thought I would have a blog until one day my boss at work suggested I start one. I told her that it would take up too much time. She looked at me rather disappointed, and it got me thinking as to why I really was not doing one. I thought—I can do this!

What are you working on now?

I am working on a non-fiction piece that may overlap with the fiction work I have begun. I’m not quite sure about that yet. I enjoy doing both nonfiction and fiction. With nonfiction you can just come out and say exactly what you mean. With fiction, you have to be subtle and remove things from the story so that your readers can enjoy figuring things out for themselves.

End of Interview:

For more from C.L. Shaffer visit her blog.

Get your copy of The Link that Could Not Be Broken from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).