Interview with spiritual author Cesar about his novel Boy Who Dreams...

 

		Today, in the Forum, we have a fascinating spiritual writer who goes simply by the name Cesar. He’s here to talk with us about his YA novel Boy Who Dreams.
Tim Greaton: It’s great to have you with us, Cesar. I guess the best place to start would be early in your life. I understand you had a shocking experience when you were a child. You could tell us about it?   Cesar: I remember being at my grandmother’s flat in Portsmouth as a child, I guess I would have been about seven or eight and I was searching for my Transformers toy and looked under an armchair only to find a head staring back at me. It was a ghost, I guess. Although, now, these many years later, I am unsure whether it actually happened or not. Either way, I chose to include this story into my book Boy who Dreams. The same thing happens to the character, but at school.     Tim Greaton: Many authors are bubbling wells of creativity. The same is true for you. Could you tell us about your other creative pastime?   Cesar: I really enjoy painting Celtic art onto canvas and furniture. My favorite of my paintings is the Celtic tree with interlocking branches and hundreds and hundreds of perfectly shaped dots that form Celtic patterns of leaves.   Tim Greaton: What genres do you read?   Cesar: Though I read most genres, it’s mostly YA or fiction. Sometimes I do read historical or psychology books, as they interest me a lot, too.     Tim Greaton: I count at least five of your books available now. Could you tell us a little about some of them?   Cesar:  As you mentioned, we’ll be talking about the Boy Who Dreams today. That was my third book. My first book, Prayers Poems Songs was a collection of thoughts and prayers that I wrote when I was a teenager.  My second book, Book of Prophecies, was probably the first published book of its kind since Nostradamus in the 16th century. Tim Greaton: For our forum readers, I’d also like to mention two of your other books, Revival Prayers and Edify, both of which have free giveaways until October 5th. More information is available on Cesar’s website http://aboutcesar.blogspot.ie/p/home.html.   Cesar, it must be difficult keeping up with such a steady production. Do you have a set writing schedule?   Cesar:  Well the majority of Boy Who Dreams was written during the night!!  At the time, I was suffering from insomnia and decided to invest those hours in a creative way.  But now I write during the day whilst listening to music.       Tim Greaton: Like many of us, you use a circle of beta readers. How does that work exactly?   Cesar:  My brother reviews my books, mainly for plot and story weaknesses. He has a background in animation, and his constructive criticism is always helpful. Though other friends do review my works, they often say they liked or loved the books without pointing out perceived flaws, which honestly is a little frustrating for me.   Tim Greaton: I understand you have a strong affinity for a certain well-known author. How has that played into your fiction efforts?   Cesar:  Well, I am embarrassed to say that I was late in reading the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling, but I was reading it whilst I wrote Boy who Dreams, and it certainly did influence my story. Indeed, when I was finalizing the dialogue, I tried to use a similar format to J K Rowling, mainly because I thought her books were amazing and because this was my first YA book. What better model to assure a connection with my YA readers?       Tim Greaton: Since we are discussing Boy Who Dreams, can you tell us more about the story?   Cesar: The main character, Jordan, returns to school after the holidays and is troubled by haunting dreams. After the death of a close relative, things spiral out of control as he realizes that his dreams are showing him the future, and that he could have prevented the death of his relative. But as the mystery about his strange paranormal powers grows, a dark figure crosses from his dreams into real life. Then, as his friends start to disappear one-by-one, he must face a reality that he is walking a destiny foretold thousands of years ago.   Tim Greaton: What led you to tell this particular story?     Cesar:  Well actually, quite a few of the dreams and even some of the events in this book are based upon my own life. I have always had a keen interest in the paranormal and spiritual side of life, and this book brings my experience together with beliefs about spirituality from around the world. It entwines them in an intense and unique story, which forms the start of the Destiny Awoken series.   Tim Greaton: Can you tell us a little about the next books in Destiny Awoken?   Cesar: Yes, I am planning three books in this series. The second book as already half written.  In this first book I delved into meditation dreams ghosts and other spiritual topics. The next book continues the story with Jordan and the other characters including themes of romance and betrayal but moves on spiritually into angels, prophets, miracles, and astral travel.     Tim Greaton: If you had an unlimited advertising budget, how would you “get the word out” about your latest release?   Cesar:  Oh, for sure, I would hire my brother's animation company to put together a short film based upon the book. I have joked with him saying he should do it for free, even as his fingers went in his ears.  But how great would it be to see your own story on the big screen?!   Tim Greaton: Could you share your website/blogsite and links to where our audience could directly communicate with you and purchase your stories.   Cesar: http://aboutcesar.blogspot.ie/p/home.html http://destinyawokenseries.blogspot.ie/     Tim Greaton: Thanks for taking the time with us in the forum today, Cesar. I hope you’ll pop back in when the next books in the Destiny Awoken series come out.   Cesar: Thanks, Tim, for having me along for the interview. I’d also like to thank all the readers and invite you to keep an eye on my blogs. I often have book giveaways (two right now) and would love to see everyone there!! Thanks again :)