INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT BRESLOFF:
How did you get started writing?
It actually started as a joke about 13 years ago. A friend suggested that I write a story about something, so I did. I sent it to him and he told me it was good. So I began to write more. I finally sent a sample of my writing to a professional critique in New York and she was the one who said I had talent. But she also strongly suggested that I change my audience to children and YA, which I did.
Who influenced you?
Dumas, Verne, Conan Doyle, and many other classic authors were a huge influence. Modern authors such as Robert Aspirin, Clive Cussler, and J.K. Rowling as well.
Do you have a favorite book/subject/character/setting?
I love action adventures with a bit of romance thrown in. My favorite writing is historical fiction and archeological adventures. I love playing with history. In Pirates Alley, I have the Chinese discovering America in 1421, fighting pirates, cannibals and weather the entire way. I like my characters brave, but not foolish, just believable. I also enjoy setting stories in places I have been and love.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to be an author?
You’ve got to love it. The chances of making it big are slim, but it is doable. Write about what you like, not what you think is commercially viable at first. Learn to control your emotions because you will get many rejection letters. But that’s part of the process, so don’t take them too personally, even J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter was turned down by numerous publishers.
Where is your favorite place to write?
I have an office in my basement where I have surrounded myself with different objects from my travels. I find that the most comfortable, but a laptop at the beach in Mexico works well too.
What else would you like to tell us?
I have written numerous action adventures, some on the sea and some in the deepest jungles of Central America. I enjoy taking my readers to places they may have only read about with fun characters doing things they may have only dreamed about
If your readers enjoy Pirates Alley, they may also enjoy my novel Scalawag. This is a fun high seas adventure filled with pirates, treasure, and ghosts.