Robert Friedrich is an Author who
writes in a multitude of styles which include Novella's, Short Stories, Poetry
and even Screenplays. His books are famous for taking an unconventional route
through the darkest of places and emotions, and are generally driven by fast
paced action and direct-from-heart dialogue.
His current releases include: The Darkness Within: A Novella, Enlightened by Darkness Anthologies, The Book of Metal Lyrics and Seed of Evil, which is the first part of an entire up-coming Saga. Robert surprises his audience by how different, each of his book's tone, message is and how they are visually descriptive. He also designs his own book covers and trailers.
"A fictional Dystopia is
better than a fake Utopia." -- Robert Friedrich
Where
are you from?
First, let me thank you
for having an opportunity to cooperate with your fantastic team and communicate
my views to the readers of The Book Nymph. It is both a pleasure and an honor.
I am from Slovakia, but
been living the latter part of my life in Egypt.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
I felt an urge to
express myself for a long time. And writing came along as a natural way; I
didn’t poke this way or other. All my stories I wrote and rewrote in my mind many
times. One day came and I couldn’t keep them there: I sat and started to write.
Officially “The
Darkness Within: A Novella” was not my first book/story idea, but I decided to
publish it as first because I believed it will be a great start.
Simply, I write stories
that I enjoy personally. All of my books are written in that way.
Do
you write full-time or part-time? How do you balance your writing life with
your family/work life?
I write full-time
besides being a designer. I work from home so it’s not that complicated to
balance my life. I am not married and I have no children.
I can say that my work
life is interconnected with my ordinary life. Writing is something I enjoy and
thus I don’t consider it as a “job” but it’s a significant part of my life,
incorporated as my predominant every-day routine.
How
did you come up with the title?
Giving titles to my
books is actually pretty easy; usually they just derive themselves from the
context directly or during the inception of the idea. This also counts for
stories which I contribute to anthologies/collections and collaborations.
For example: The
Darkness Within since its inception has had the word “darkness” as a
designation. When I was close to
finishing, the word “within” clicked: fitting perfectly. The Darkness Within is deeply twisted
psychological narrative, which in the grand context leads to a dark side of
just one person.
Seed of Evil likewise;
that title was assigned to a story since I got the idea, over 10 years ago. Fits well and rings in the ear; for me at
least. In this first part of saga, the military element is prevalent, but the
concept deals with the ancient “origin” of evil, in the distanced galaxy which
brings to the fore a sci/fi tuning. Occult powers in the battle with the
advanced military and scientific technologies, space and time travel in a
monumental background leads again to one – single point in the life…
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
That depends on the
readers, since they choose after reading, what they take. There is always
message or thought or purpose in each of my books or stories, I just let
everyone decide for themselves. Every book is a part of me, part of my life path;
I’m sure that others walking their own path would not have the same “message”
to convey, so if my writings serve as a point for discussion or rejection, it
is result of reader’s subconscious sending a message, what he/she needs to get.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
The Darkness Within for
example has experiences that I know about from the people who dealt or still
deal with. I do have a bond with many of my stories and yes there are some
things in each book that I know or have experienced personally to a point.
My Enlightened by
Darkness series has certain stories that I know will touch, effect and even
offend perhaps, but that comes with the territory. Publishing my books
worldwide for particular people some of the content may be helpful, for some
strange, while for others it will just be a form of entertainment, etc.
As a Horror/Sci-fi
author I touch on a lot of different, unpleasant and even disturbing situations,
but it’s also a way of expressing myself. Everyone has a voice; and there will
always be people that don’t want to hear or know, however their attitude don’t
change that situation, it is still there and can’t be denied.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Hard to choose a
particular one, since not only books but all kinds of media have influenced me
over the years to such an extent that define me now. If I had to choose one, it
would be Clive Barker’s Books of Blood because each story is just completely
different. They all have a tone, a voice and presence that just resonates
through the book and that is something I also try in my “Enlightened by
Darkness” books.
What book are you reading now?
These days I am kind of
short on time so flash, short stories and graphic novels mostly.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Yes, and I worked with
some of them: Alex S. Johnson, Angel Cox, Thomas Price, Sammy Cassella… There
are so many, the easiest way would be to grab the anthology Deathmongers: Where
the Light Dies, which I collaborated with twenty talented writers and read the
contemporary definition of horror.
I’m also part of
“Demonic Visions” series, “Axes of Evil II” , and “Flash It! “ anthologies, altogether many talented authors
with unique voices.
Anthologies are
interesting; every single story is as a whole book. Readers instead of one book
enjoy many.
What are your current projects?
Right now I am working
on multiple titles:
“Enlightened by
Darkness – Vol.4 Foretold Salvation”, which is the continuation of my short
stories anthologies.
“Welcome to your Death:
Part 2” – Part 1 was released just a few days ago. It is my post-apocalyptic mini-series. Rather
adventure, not my typical horror and I found the great interest about between
the teenagers.
And the sequel to my
saga “Seed of Evil”.
There is also a new
book in works that is not a sequel or a part of something and will be a
stand-alone novella/novel. I am so
excited about it and hope to complete before this year ends.
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Other great Indie
Authors.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest
book?
Nope, it would remain
unchanged. I would have only made more effort to write sooner and faster.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
“Welcome to your Death:
Part 1” of a mini-series, recently released. Easy, fast and enjoyable reading, with
each part you will want more and more. The story is more or less based on the survival/surviving
the new and harsh world, set a number of years after the Yellowstone Volcano
eruption.
My current work in
progress – “Enlightened by Darkness 4” – will be darker, longer and will raise
the stakes and bar even higher than the previous three books.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Writing is the easy
part for me. The editing and formatting
take the challenge cake. When it’s all
done well and a book is finally polished and ready to go - oh, this rewarding feeling erase immediately
any heavy heads from the way and can be compared to a winning a lottery.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their
work?
Well, I already
mentioned Clive Barker, Steven King, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Alan E.
Poe, and many other. All horror authors I would call Indie Authors, even they
have publisher. What is striking on them all - they are persevering and write in
such an “easy” way about the deepest fear of others, fears that evidently no
one else would admit nor be able to experience.
Who
designed the covers?
As I mentioned earlier,
I am also a designer and I create my own covers. Recently, I branched out and
now I design covers for other authors, too.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I can’t remember any
particular or outstanding difficulty with any of my books. Once you are used to
it, it’s pretty simple and works just like clockwork.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned a lot of
things and become a more experienced person. Most important thing that I
learned and will keep saying forward is that writing will test you and you
should never give up. Keep going, crush the opposition, the naysayers and just
go on.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Besides the one I have
given, a good advice I got many years ago when I was studying screenwriting. I
apply it also in my book writing: friends and family are not the people you want
as beta readers or opinions from. Now, this is not meant as anything bad, but
the best advice you will always get from unbiased people that have no personal
relation with you.
The other thing that I use
in general and that is the most important thing to me: “I” have to like what I have written and
enjoy it. I’m not writing for someone else, I’m writing for myself, so let my voice
be heard.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Thank you for your
loyalty and support. Keep on reading and enjoying, more is on its way.
What
do you think about e-publishing versus technical publishing?
I use both methods and
each one has its ups and downs, but by using both I can reach everyone. The
ones that like to read digital will have the e-book while the ones who prefer
the smell and feeling of a printed book will have that. Win - win situation for
everyone.
Do
you have an agent or publisher? How did you go about finding one?
I have neither but I am
opened so feel free to reach out, I don’t bite.
If
you could live anywhere, where would it be?
I am trying to move
back to Slovakia so that is my current goal; get there and start a clean slate.
If
you could have any super power, what would it be?
Does being rich count
as a super power? I mean Bruce Wayne is rich and is Batman. Then I could solve
a ton of other problems, not just my own but world problems.
If that is off the
books I will go Wolverine style healing and aging mixed with flight and
Adamantium for bones and teeth – no more dental visits – ever. Yeah!
Full Book Rooster: http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Friedrich/e/B00F6N9E8A
FB Fan Page 1: https://www.facebook.com/Despair666
FB Fan Page 2: https://www.facebook.com/Friedrich.Designs
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