Interview with contemporary novelist David Pereda

Today's interview is with David Pereda who has written a contemporary mainstream novel with a romantic flair, a love triangle, suspense, a pinch of corporate shenanigans and a historical background and published. However Long the Night was published by Eternal Press.

At the end of the interview are details on how to enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card from David.

Bio:
David Pereda is an award-winning author who enjoys crafting political thrillers and mainstream novels. His books have won the Lighthouse Book Awards twice, the Royal Palm Awards, the National Indie Excellence Awards, and the Readers Favorite Awards. He has traveled extensively around the world and speaks several languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching college-level courses, Pereda had a rich and successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Qatar, among others.

A member of MENSA, Pereda is the regional director of the Florida Writers Association and the co-founder of AWE (Asheville Writing Enthusiasts). He loves sports and has won many prizes competing in track and show-jumping equestrian events.

David lives with his family in Asheville, North Carolina.

You can visit and connect with him at:
www.davidpereda.com
www.twitter.com/DavidPeredaAVL
www.facebook.com

Welcome, David, please tell us about your current release.
However Long the Night is a romantic tale with a major dose of suspense, a tense love triangle, family secrets, corporate shenanigans and a historical background.

The main character is a successful award-winning Miami architect and real estate developer who suddenly finds out that his success has been built on a lie told by his dying father twenty-five years ago that has done serious damage to the lives of people once dear to him. His conundrum is what should he do? So he does the elegant thing to do: he returns to the land he abandoned in search of the woman he left behind and the son he never knew. In the process, he learns a great lesson about love, forgiveness and redemption.

What inspired you to write this book?
This book has some thinly-disguised autobiographical passages of my life. It’s one in a series of books I’m planning to write

What exciting story are you working on next?
Right now I’m working on Twin Powers, the third installment of my Havana Series of thrillers, all with the same main characters. I’m halfway through it now and hope to have it ready for publication next year

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I guess always. I always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was a kid. I was nine years old when I wrote my first “novel” – a western – that my uncle proudly typed for me. I lost it somewhere. At fifteen, I wrote a suspense story that my teachers liked, and I lost that one too. In fact, all my early work has been lost.

Probably for the best, as I’m sure it would depress me to see all those writing mistakes now.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I teach ESL and creative writing and sometimes even basic computer courses at A-B Tech Community College in Asheville. I usually write in the afternoons, before I pick up my 9-year old daughter Sophia from school at 3 pm.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t have one. I don’t need to sharpen my pencils or listen to a special song or exercise to be stimulated to write. Somehow I always have something to write about.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be three things: a cowboy, a writer, and a professional basketball player. I never made it as a professional basketball player, although I played high school and college ball. As a writer, this is my sixth published book and I have won five writing awards – so that part is doing fairly well. I never became a cowboy, either, but I am a good rider and spent years competing in equestrian show-jumping events, where I won numerous prizes – so while I didn’t quite make it as a cowboy, but I did something similar.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Yes, enjoy life, and never, ever, let anyone say you can’t do something. Success at anything begins in your mind. Believe in yourself and you will be successful.

Thanks for stopping by today, David.

Readers, here's a blurb for However Long the Night:
What if you found out your success was built on lies told by your father that caused great misfortune to people dear to you? What if you had the opportunity to do something about it…twenty-five years later and at the risk of your own life? Would you or wouldn’t you?

This is the dilemma award-winning Miami architect Cid Milan suddenly faces in this 90,000-word, mainstream novel. A Cuban immigrant forced to abandon his country as a teenager during the tumultuous Mariel boatlift of 1980, Cid is a self-made man who arrived in the United States with nothing. He’s an example of what can be accomplished in America through hard work and determination. He hobnobs with the Mayor, has a sexy model for his girlfriend, and is building the most luxurious condominium on Biscayne Bay. But when his dying father, Colonel Jose Milan, a well-known political dissident, confesses to him a shocking family secret from Cuba, Cid’s life implodes.

Colonel Milan reveals that in order to ensure Cid could leave Cuba unharmed, he collaborated with Castro’s police -- willfully betraying both Cid's best friend, Joaquin, and forsaking his pregnant girlfriend Sandra. Overnight, Cid’s world is turned upside down. Trying to unravel the mystery of his own past, Cid realizes there’s only one thing he can do: return to the land he abandoned. In his quest to learn the truth, Cid rediscovers himself and his roots as he reunites with Joaquin and searches frantically throughout Cuba for Sandra and the secret she has kept from him all these years: his son. In the process, Cid learns an invaluable lesson about love, forgiveness and redemption that changes his life forever.

Readers, David is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card to a lucky winner during his tour. Feel free to comment here and on other sites he is visiting during his tour to increase your chances of winning.