Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a writer from London, soon moving to New York to sit in cafes, stare at my Mac and tell attractive ladies in my vicinity that I’m writing a beautiful novel. Though the screen will be blank.
I have only one published ebook at the moment, a parody.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first and latest book is titled “The Short, Sweet, and Sexually Exhilarating Guide to Success”. I have read a few self-help books in my time, and I found myself irritated by the naive optimism in many of them. It seemed like the perfect genre to have some light-hearted fun .
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write my first drafts on a typewriter. It’s not that unusual since it’s how writers used to do their whole books. I love that it’s a tool designed only for writing. It means I’m less likely to get distracted.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
For the book above, Machiavelli, Sun Tsu, Roberte Greene, a bunch of self-help books I can’t remember.
For literary fiction – Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Roberto Bolano, Cervantes, Hubert Selby Jr, J.D Salinger, Jack Keroauc,David Foster Wallace, Salman Rushdie, John Kennedy Toole, J.G. Ballard, Shakespeare, Harold Pinter, Albert Camus, Celine, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Roald Dahl.
For Poetry – Rumi, Hafiz, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
And countless others I can’t remember at the moment.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a novel. That’s all you get, the rest is a secret. Plus I maintain my travel/poetry blog – poetslovetravel.com
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I travel a lot and nothing has worked better than being friendly and telling the people I meet about my book.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Advice for new authors? Don’t I have enough competition without revealing what little I know to new competitors? My advice would be to quit now and get some type of soul crushing real job, there are enough books in the world. Oh, and buy my book.
Seriously, the best advice I can give is to floss every day. It’s hard to write when you have a toothache. As to writing advice – there are many paths to Rome, just keep writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Floss daily.
What are you reading now?
The complete works of William Blake. And the New Testament of the Bible (for research rather than religious purposes).
What’s next for you as a writer?
New novel should be ready in about one year.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would have one comprehensive book on how to survive on a desert island. One book on how to build a boat from material one can find on a desert island. The complete works of Rumi. 100 Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez.
Author Websites and Profiles
Brent Sayder Website
Brent Sayder Amazon Profile