Meet author Steve Tremp

Can you give us a quick overview of how you came to write your book BREAKTHROUGH?

I have a background in information systems, management and finance. I used this blend of talent and experience to write my unique suspense thriller BREAKTHROUGH. I have four more suspense thrillers to follow. I receive inspiration from some of my favorite authors: the Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child tandem, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King, among others.

What makes a good blog post?

First, you have to have something interesting to write. Second, you need to offer useful and practical tips to the readers, such as information on self-publishing, like what worked for me and what didn’t turn out so well. If I can motivate and help people to publish their story or poetry, I feel I’ve accomplished something meaningful.

And I’m always willing to listen to feedback and make corrections and changes to the material on my blog. I accept constructive criticism and encourage visitors to leave a comment.

Tell me about different types of blog you post.

I write on a number of different topics. The four main groupings are my experiences writing books and the pros and cons self publishing process, some basics about science and technology, and miscellaneous posts about unique topics to keep things interesting and the subject matter diverse. I also like to interview other writers, especially children’s authors. I think it’s important to support those striving to educate our youth with quality stories and poems, and I’m happy to help by giving these writers additional exposure to an audience they may not normally be able to reach.

Lately, I’ve been posting about some very exciting developments coming out of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) they recently started up again. I will continue to blog about news being released by CERN concerning the LHC.

Do you have a particular theme you like to incorporate into your books and blogs?

Yes, I do. I like to weave together breakthroughs and discoveries in science and technology with greed, murder, and mayhem. I then escalate events by converging science and the supernatural. I do not see a problem with this as I, like most of human civilization over the millennia, believe there is something else out there just as real as our physical universe, but something that we cannot see, feel, hear, taste, or touch under normal circumstances.

I stay away from the vampires and zombies and such. What I focus on is what the Bible may have to say regarding science. I find some of the current evolving theories regarding parallel universes fascinating and these could help explain some of the wild events recorded in the Bible. I’ll also be blogging more on this in the next few weeks.

How can a blog build a community of followers?

I have quite a diverse visitor base from all walks of life. I believe this is one of the strengths of my blog. I present an open-end topic, then I encourage healthy conversation by using a question posted at the end of each blog.

Not everyone who visits my blog will agree on the material I present or some of the messages commenters leave. Most visitors are professional and leave an opinion, a question, a challenge, or a correction or a better understanding of the topic. Occasionally, someone will leave a belligerent and venomous comment, or reply with a long, rambling statement because the do not believe in science or they do not believe in a spiritual world. I’ve recently had to moderate my blog and delete such comments as they do not add value to the dialogue. But as long as a commenter plays nice, I’ll post any comment.

What social media tools and traditional methods do you use to increase blog readership?

I visit other blogs, become a follower, and leave comments. Many loggers reciprocate and visit my blog, sometimes leaving a comment. I also use Facebook and Twitter, and I email family and friends to promote my blog. Finally, good ol’ fashioned word of mouth through family and friends also brings additional traffic.

Are you looking to host guest bloggers in the near future?

Yes, I’m contacting a number of people who have the ability to bring knowledge, experience, and wisdom regarding writing, promoting, publishing, and the latest and greatest in the realm of science and technology. I offer a receptive audience willing to listen and ask questions.

Truly we live in very exciting times, and blogging offers a means of reaching a large and diverse audience. I started blogging this past March, met many interesting people, and have had a very successful and rewarding year. I look forward to an even bigger year in 2010.

Order via publisher: iUniverse.com (December 31, 2008)
Available at Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/yckmga3

Readers can catch up with Stephen on his blog http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com/