Tuesday, December 1, 2009

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/

17 comments:

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

I enjoyed this interview. I’m a frequent visitor to Stephen’s blog because they are always interesting and thought-provoking.

Nancy Famolari said...

Your blog about what's happening at CERN sounds very interesting. No wonder you have followers. I'll have to check it out!

Unknown said...

Great interview. Steve has an interesting blog and a great book. He keeps it fresh and exciting. Thanks for the tips, Steve.

Lea Schizas - Author/Editor said...

Loved the interview. Steven, I wish I knew more about the tech stuff to use in my writing because I love espionage/police/mysteries using technology in one form or another.

Hopping over to your blog now to follow.

Darcía Helle said...

Great interview! Steve, you've got some fascinating ideas and I'm looking forward to reading your work.

Anonymous said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by. I appreciate your kind words of support. Have a great day.

Stephen Tremp

Dianne G. Sagan said...

Great interview and lots of good information about blogging. Thanks to Katie and Steve.

Morgan Mandel said...

Great interview, very practical, which is good. People need to know the nuts and bolts of how to make the most of blogging. Gaining followers doesn't happen magically when you blog.

The Old Silly said...

Stephen has a very good formula and approach to blogging. I like this interview a lot. Nice job, both of you. :)

Marvin D Wilson

Helena Harper said...

I found Stephen to be a fascinating guest on my blog last month and this interview is equally interesting. Great post, Katie.

Stephen - I admire your grasp of science and technology and wish I had it! I watched a Horizon documentary once that touched briefly on string theory and parallel universes. Is that perhaps what you're referring to, when you talk about parallel universes or am I barking up the wrong tree? Have you written a blog post about parallel universes? If you have, I'd be really interested to read it.

Helena

Karen Cioffi said...

Great interview, Katie. What useful information about what makes a good blog.

Stephen's blog is amazing, I especially like the posts about science.

Karen

Anonymous said...

Thanls everyone for stopping by and sharing your comments. And Helen, yes I was refering to string theory and parallel universes.

Hopefully the Large Hadron Collider (LC) at CERN will shed some light on many related questions in the months to come.

Stephen Tremp

Barbara Ehrentreu said...

Katie,
Great interview and Stephen, I just came from your blog via MuseConferenceBoard and enjoyed reading about your take on NaNo.

I recently read a book you might like to read:
The Gates of Hell Are About to Open Want to Peek? by John Connolly which uses the LC to start a whole series of events that might happen if Einstein's theory is correct. I think you would enjoy the mayhem that ensues. If you are on Authorlink.com you can read my review there.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

A wonderful interview. Sounds like complicated, but interesting stuff.

Beverly

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Excellent interview, Katie. Stephen's blog is fascinating. They're talking about one of my favourite subjects: writing and Dexter.

Thanks for introducing me to one more fascinating writer.

Bob Sanchez said...

Good blog post, Katie and Stephen. Even if a post isn't informative, I'm usually satisfied if it's entertaining and well written.

Bob Sanchez
http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Very interesting. Stephen you were the first person to ever post on my blog so you are endeared to me forever.
XD