Jeremy Gernhaelder interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I am a small town kid through and through. In spite of my Agoraphobia and depression, I truly love to connect with people and hear their stories. I currently live in Lochaber, Quebec (Canada) with my beautiful partner, Anick Côté 💖 (who designed the original cover art and logo that inspired the team that published my work). We have a 5 year old Budgie named Kansas and a 4 year old pug named Kaiba. I love horror, thrillers, and mysteries, which I try to combine with my love for characters into my writing. Some of my favourite authors growing up have been Beatrix Potter, R.L. Stein, and Val McDermid.

When did your love of books begin?

I fell in love with both reading and writing at a very young age. I was born with underdeveloped fine motor skills that resulted in a speech impediment and an inability to grip things effectively. I had to learn from specialists over several years how to do many of the skills that others obtained at younger ages. As a result of this, my parents put a lot of effort into exposing me to literature and encouraging me to try and create. The first story series I ever wrote was made with crayons and consisted of picture books about my family's adventures to space, through a haunted mansion, to a desert in Egypt, etc. I still have a collection of Beatrix Potter's work that was given to me long before I can recall having them. 

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

It has always been a dream of mine to eventually publish something. I never really had a focused drive to do so, however, until I burned out of my career as a teacher. My wife encouraged me to write and produce the Small Town Slashers Series, so it is really her that has motivated me to eventually transition to writing full time (I hope).

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

If somebody would have told me that writing and saving up the money to self-publish my book would be the easiest parts of becoming an author, I am not sure that I would have believed them. With that said, for every challenge on this journey so far, there has been an equally rewarding victory or emotional moment that has helped to slowly rebuild my self-confidence. That is worth everything to a person struggling with their mental wellness.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

I would say two things to anyone aspiring to become an author. 

First, prepare yourself before you jump in. Research what kind of commitment you are taking on if you plan to become an author. Look into some books about Writing (I particularly recommend the book "On Writing" by Stephen King) as well as some on marketing and running your own business. Finally, if you're not already online, start building your presence everywhere. You never know who is waiting for you to suggest your book to them if you don't try.

Then, once you have all that prepared, WRITE YOUR HEART OUT🙂💕. I believe we all have a story to tell and that there will be people out there interested in hearing it. At the very least, I know that I am 👍❤️.

Tell us about your book/books:

My first book is called "The Drifter". A massive stranger with a scary demeanour and more cash than anybody has ever seen arrives Jenny Maysure's hometown. Naturally, since she is a journalist and the stranger assaults her fiance in a case of mistaken identity, Jenny begins digging into the man's past, trying to discover who this 'Heis' character is and why he wants to find him so desperately. Soon after arriving though, The Drifter suddenly disappears and then all of the people in town who had contact with him begin dying in mysterious circumstances. Now Jenny's quest to resolve her curiosity may very well be the difference between life and death for her and everyone else that she loves. To find out if she solves it in time, you will have to purchase the first book in my Small Town Slashers Series 💕.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I can honestly say that I am blown away by all of the love and support from the reader/writer community here on Twitter. I have always held a biased view against most social media platforms (including the ones I had begrudgingly used before publishing) because of the many articles I have read regarding how they can negatively impact people's mental and social wellness. I have, in fact, experienced this myself, and for several months last year I swore off of Facebook after an emotionally difficult argument. However, joining this community on Twitter has been one of the biggest lifts to myself on both a spiritual and professional level. I am so very happy that James Stewart, my Promotions Specialist with FriesenPress, encouraged me to join this platform 💕. I love each and every person who has followed me and encouraged me to keep grinding away at marketing my book💕.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

I would like to thank anybody who is willing to give my book a chance. This was very much an all or nothing gamble that my wife and I took on this project, so I love every person who is willing to help us make this dream of mine become a reality. I would also like to encourage every person to reach out and message me. I want to hear your feedback and to build a community who want to follow this series as it continues with the next book (hopefully sometime next year) 💕. 

Where can people connect with you?

Anybody interested in reaching out to me can do so on Twitter @STS_JeremyG, on my webpage, www.smalltownslashers.ca, or through my newly formed Facebook group, Small Town Slashers Book Club.

I look forward to hearing from you soon ❤️.