Tuesday, January 15, 2019

BLOG TOUR & INTERVIEW: Rob Kaufman author of A Broken Reality


As a child, Rob Kaufman was always fascinated by the stories recited by those around him and the words used to tell them. As he got older, his need to tell his own stories grew, as did his ability to share them in exciting and captivating ways.

However, he wanted to share more than just stories. His primary desire was to create characters with whom people could relate, while at the same time bringing them through a journey from which most would crumble.

His degree in Psychology was the first step toward getting beneath the surface of the people in his life. What followed was a lifelong search for what makes people tick – what forces them to become evil when deep down in their heart of hearts, they are yearning for love. Rob’s characters walk this search with him, deep into the human psyche, creating psychological thrillers from every day events.

Rob’s second book “One Last Lie" continues to receive great praise and is selling well in both electronic and paperback formats. His current book, “A Broken Reality” is much darker than his first, with characters who hold bits and pieces of strangers he’s known, friends he’s had and personal tragedy he’s lived through.

“This book hits home for me,” says Rob. “There were a few pages that made me laugh out loud as I wrote them... and many that made me cry. And the great thing is, I’m finding that many readers of this book are experiencing the same emotions.”

Through social and other media, Rob hopes to get “A Broken Reality” into the hands of millions, so that they, too, can experience the ups, downs, twists, turns and final tragedy that has helped make this book a Five-Star contender.
Website Address: www.AuthorRobKaufman.com
Twitter Address: @RobKaufmanCT



BOOK BLURB:
On a fateful night in the dead of winter, an unimaginable tragedy changes the lives of two families forever. How will they manage to deal with reality while stopping the sociopath who is pushing them toward the edge of sanity?

Ten-year-old, Danny Madsen, has been missing for four days when Jesse Carlton begins his own search for his godson on a frigid, snowy night. Driving along a deserted rural road, Jesse hits a stretch
of black ice at the same time Danny appears from the thicket. Unable to control the car, Jesse slams into the boy and watches helplessly as Danny's body flies back into the dark brush.

When Jesse regains consciousness, he has no recollection of how he and his car wound up in a ditch. However, there's a witness: Charles Hastings, the sociopathic kidnapper who chased Danny through the brush and into the path of Jesse's car.

Hastings takes this chance to set up Jesse so he'll take the fall for both Danny's disappearance and death. And so the mind games begin--an onslaught of psychological manipulation that devastates Jesse, his wife, Danny's parents and the cops' investigation. Inexplicably, the torment continues even after the primary suspect is killed and the rollercoaster of emotions and confusion seems never-ending until the final and devastating truth is revealed.

If you like gripping, suspenseful page-turners that keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end, this is a must read!

Congratulations on your new book! Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing?  Can you tell us about your journey?

Actually, the writing and publishing was difficult but honestly, the marketing and selling is a whole world unto itself. Think about it, with millions of books on Amazon alone, how do you I make myself stand out and show the world MY books are the ones to read? (And they are!) It’s a learning process – it’s a taking a bit longer than expected and also more expensive than anticipated.
                                                        
If you were to pen your own autobiography, what might the title be?
Stop thinking and start writing. It works.

When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation and/or fun?
I like to drink wine and play Candy Crush – no thought involved so it relaxes me. I like trying new restaurants, watching good movies, meditating and talking with friend about what a sequel to “Breaking Bad” would be like. (Yeah, I know, that last one is a bit strange. True, but strange.)

What makes your book stand out from the rest?
A Broken Reality reveals emotion and psychological processes from different sides of the spectrum – all in a way that keeps the reader wanting more. One of the most common comments I get from readers is that they know what happens at the very beginning of the book, but there are clues that lead them to understand there’s a lot more about to take place than meets they eye. They can’t put it down… and that means I’ve done my job.

Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we can get a glimpse inside? 

 Madsen had been missing for four days, and hope was fading faster than the weak sunlight giving in to the cold night ahead. Worse, there’d been intermittent periods of snow and sleet throughout the day, creating slick surfaces on unlit county roads and leaving behind asphalt without traction or boundaries.
Like every other evening since the boy’s disappearance, the approaching dusk put a damper on the search effort. Each was another day past the critical “48-hour window,” another night for Jesse Carlton to fight back tears of frustration as he crawled the icy streets of Hingham, Massachusetts in his silver BMW, looking for the ten-year-old boy the Amber Alert described over and over as white with blond hair and blue eyes, weighing fifty-six pounds and standing about four feet six inches. When last seen, they’d always add, he was wearing a bright blue North Face coat, blue corduroy pants, Nike sneakers and a backpack with the name “Danny” stitched into the left shoulder strap.
Danny’s description echoed in Jesse’s head as he made the right off of Main Avenue onto Forest, which passed the hundred or so square acres of conservation land. He didn’t need the Amber Alert to picture Danny. He’d recognize him the instant he saw him since he’d known the boy from the day he was born. Jesse had long been best friends with his parents, Becky and Don, and Danny had become the son Jesse and Melissa tried and tried for but could never have. They’d become so close to the Madsens, in fact, that they’d purchased a home up the block from them, sight unseen, when Becky and Don told them it had come on the market. It was apparent to all of them that the less distance between the families, the more fulfilled their lives would be.
It was this honorary parenting of Becky and Don’s only child that had Jesse driving the streets and highways in and outside of every neighboring town for the past four nights—pursuing leads he’d overheard cops discussing at the Madsen home, following up on hunches he’d get after scouring the Internet for clues from past abductions. Each evening as he began his search, Jesse prayed he’d be the one to bring Danny home safe, sound and emotionally intact.


If your book was put in the holiday section of the store, what holiday would that be and why?
Halloween. I’d have it placed there because the weather is just starting to get cold (climate in which the book takes place) and the holiday itself has an “eerie” feeling – the same kind of feeling A Broken Reality creates for everyone who’s read it so far.

Would you consider turning your book into a series or has that already been done?
My books are pretty much “stand alone”. They tend to have endings that are final – meaning, there really aren’t characters remaining who can go on to other stories or experiences. My books aren’t like the typical movie where everyone lives happily ever. Unfortunately, that means I have to start each book (and idea) from scratch. It can be painful at time. Perhaps I’ll consider a series for the next book I write.

When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or full-time profession?
Yes, I always thought I’d be a writer. I loved writing for as long as I can remember and have wanted to do nothing else. It enables me to give people the tool to escape their “reality” for a while and get lost in someone else’s world. Doing that makes me feel good.

Did any of your books get rejected by publishers?
Many traditional publishers didn’t think the concept behind my book was right “for them”. In the end, that doesn’t matter. It’s what readers think and what they’re attracted to. From the response I’ve received so far from A Broken Reality, readers love what the publishers don’t. I’ve succeeded in my goal of keeping the readers happy and in the end, that’s all that matters.


What’s next for you?
My mind is filled with ideas for my next book. I know where it starts, ends and I know most of the “in between”. However, I first want to get A Broken Reality into the hands of hundreds of thousands, even millions, before starting my next project. That gives me a little time to figure out the intricate details of my next book.

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