Monday, September 16, 2013

Straight From the Mouth of 'The Guilty' Vincent Zandri


Vincent Zandri is the No. 1 International Bestselling Amazon author of THE INNOCENT, GODCHILD, THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT FALLS, THE CONCRETE PEARL, MOONLIGHT RISES, SCREAM CATCHER, BLUE MOONLIGHT, MURDER BY MOONLIGHT, MOONLIGHT SONATA, CHASE, and more. He is also the author of the Amazon bestselling digital shorts, PATHOLOGICAL, TRUE STORIES and MOONLIGHT MAFIA. Harlan Coben has described THE INNOCENT (formerly As Catch Can) as "...gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting," while the New York Post called it "Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant!" Zandri's list of publishers include Delacorte, Dell, StoneHouse Ink, StoneGate Ink, and Thomas & Mercer. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri's work is translated into many languages including the Dutch, Russian, and Japanese. An adventurer, foreign correspondent, and freelance photo-journalist for Living Ready, RT, Globalspec, as well as several other news agencies and publications, Zandri lives in New York.

His latest book is the thriller, The Guilty.

For more information on Zandri’s books, go to WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

Thanks for letting us interrogate interview you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

I wanted to be Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn and Robert Capa all rolled into one.

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

It’s fun as hell. I get to work when and only when I want. I get to sleep late, party late, and travel a lot. It beats the shit out of a day job.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

I’m traditionally published by the majors, minors, indies, and hybrids. Only now am I starting my own imprint, Bear Media. The majors don’t care about the author. All they care about is moving units. The minors and indies care more about the author as a human being.

What’s the snarkiest thing you can say about the publishing industry (e.g. rejections, the long wait, etc.)

Writing is a calling and I feel blessed that I’m able to do it for a living. The business end of it sucks because most “executives” sitting in their offices over Times Square are carpet baggers.


Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

I’ve been married and divorced twice. That answer it?

What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process?

I was in the office of my second editor at Bantam/Dell. I saw a manuscript sitting out on her desk. I recognized the name typed under the title. I said, “I went to writing school with that woman. She hated my guts.” The editor said, “I’ve already rejected the book.” I smiled.

How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

None of them really do a hell of a lot anymore. But if I had to choose one I’d go with Facebook.

Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you?

There’s the ebb and flow which comes naturally. Basically, you have to keep on writing good books and eventually you gather an audience.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

“The Bravo Channel Sucks!”

Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in.  Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

If you don’t mind, I’ll trade in the tea for a cold beer. I love the life, yes, and wouldn’t have it any other way. As an author I always have something to bitch about, but in the end, I get to do what I want on my own terms and I live free. No one tells me what to do. My life rocks.


No comments: