Category Archives: Interviews

My 10-year-old played an important role in the editing process. He was the first one to read the rough draft and his opinions helped a great deal. It was nice having someone in my target audience there to proofread with me. 

Kyle Bagsby – 17 June 2021 Continue reading →

If setting can be considered a character, and it can, then the entire world of Del Rio is real—the heat, the bodies found in orange groves, the cartel smuggling, you name it. The characters themselves are completely fictional. Although by now, they seem absolutely real to me. 

Jane Rosenthal – 13 June 2021 Continue reading →

I pull out different facets of myself and the people I’ve come across, to create my characters, with their challenges and their dilemmas. I then infuse the plot with my knowledge of supernatural lore and my recollections of true crime stories.

Daniela Valenti – 9 June 2021 Continue reading →

The Back Flap

The world of Antridi is full of wonder and secrets…Grant Stevens, Jace Perkins, and Nora Lake have been best friends since childhood. They came to Antridi seeking adventure and the promise of something new on an alien planet, though their jobs at TerranCorp allow for little adventure apart from the occasional excavation or testing of mining equipment. When wealthy genius Alan Riker contacts Grant about an illegal yet lucrative excursion to find and bring back Antridian minerals, Grant can’t resist asking his friends to join him. They soon meet up with Kent, Izzy, and the android Clive, and set off on an adventure that could change their lives or cost them everything. However, they are not the only ones who want to get their hands on Antridium. Russell Cambridge also has big plans for the precious mineral and will stop at nothing to prevent Riker’s crew from obtaining it first. Expanding the world of Antridi that was first introduced in his debut novella Trouble in Peaceful Haven, C. R. Leverette delivers an action-packed story that will transport readers deep into an alien world. Strange plants and creatures abound as tempers flare, romance is kindled, and life and death hang in the balance.

About the book

What is the book about?

Three best friends embark on a journey into a forbidden zone of an alien planet looking for a rare mineral. They team up with two other adventurers (and an android) and face unexpected dangers.

When did you start writing the book?

I started it in mid-2018.

 How long did it take you to write it?

A little over a year. I work full-time and write when I can in my free time. Plus, I procrastinate more than I should.

 Where did you get the idea from?

I had already begun writing about my alien world Antridi in my first novella, so I wanted to expand it. I used completely different characters this time around, and I wanted them to see parts of Antridi that weren’t in the novella.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Certain transitions were difficult. I just had to push through and get back on track.

What came easily?

The character interactions. I love writing characters and exploring how they interact with environments and situations.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I certainly borrow certain aspects of my characters from people I know. Sometimes I’ll use personality traits or take the person’s name and slightly alter it.

Do you have a target reader for this book? 

Anyone who loves science fiction, adventure, and fun characters.

How was writing this book different from what you’d experienced writing previous books?

This is my longest book so far. It was so different filling so many pages and fleshing out a longer story.

What new things did you learn about writing, publishing, and/or yourself while writing and preparing this book for publication?

I learned more about putting more into planning a story and sticking with it even when it’s hard. It was so rewarding to finally see the finished product and hear people say such great things about it.

End of Interview:

For more from C.R. Leverette like his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter.

Get your copy of The Mountain from Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Once I immersed myself in a scene, I was astonished to find how easily I could recall details that I’d previously forgotten. When you get into that zone, it’s like you’re channeling the story.

Kirsten Mickelwait – 1 June 2021 Continue reading →

Her words and thoughts that just flowed out onto paper, it was amazing, beautiful! So when I was grieving over my deceased stepfather, writing down my thoughts and feelings made me feel a lot better. Just to be able to get it all out made a huge difference!

27 May 2021 – Candy Ann Continue reading →

The novel has a bit of paranormal, some earthly stuff, some life-philosophy, some play with words. So, it should satisfy those not hooked to a particular type of fantasy but looking for something different within the fantasy genre. 

Mony de Panja – 23 May 2021 Continue reading →

But the writers who influenced me the most, from the very beginning and still to this day, were the rock n roll poets: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, John and Paul, Mick and Keith, Carole King, Robert Hunter and Bob Weir, Robbie Robertson and all the Band members he took credit from, Pete Townshend, Robert Lamm, Holland-Dozier-Holland from so many Motown songs—what they did with imagery, and brevity, how they could say so much using so few words.

Jeff Arch – 19 May 2021 Continue reading →

My love of the who-dun-it influenced how I presented my story. Like so many of Agatha Christie’s novels, my main character has a problem to solve, and she must go to great lengths to unravel the clues. I wanted my book to read like fiction, to function like a detective story, but to hold the elements of reflection which are fundamental to memoir.

Julie Ryan McGue – 15 May 2021 Continue reading →

The meaning of my parents’ strange about-face was the hardest puzzle I’ve ever tried to solve. I could only do it after both had died. I had to work to view them as complex human beings, not through the lens of their being my parents, in order to see what was actually staring me in the face.

Elizabeth Roper Marcus – 11 May 2021 Continue reading →