Interview of Author Kenneth E. Rupert

   1.        Share with the group, who and what inspires  you to write?

Since I can remember, I always had a passion to write. In 1987 I had a vision that one day I would be writing and publishing books. I tried to write for years, but never gained any traction. In 2011, I received my Board Certification as a Master Christian Life Coach and a close friend of mine suggested that I write a book as a way of establishing my expertise. I published Planned Excellence that year and have never looked back. What inspires me to write is my passion to add value to others and my faith.

   2.       Why did you choose the genre that you write in?

I tried poetry, fiction, and playwright, but I have learned that my strength is in writing non-fiction. I think I gravitated towards non-fiction because I am able to communicate real life. My struggles are not unique to me. Many others deal with the same questions about the world and how to make their lives better. I have experienced some success in my life and I want to pour that knowledge out to other so they can do the same.

3.       How long did it take you to write your first book?

Literally three months. From the day I told my wife “I think I will write a book,” until the time it published was nine months and six months was the publishing process. I had the material inside of me and all I needed to do was put it down on paper.

4.       When you are not writing what are you doing?

I work a regular nine to five job as a senior data governance analyst for a bio-tech company. I also like to spend time with my wife and son. But when I am not doing those things, I am constantly observing the world around me. I enjoy playing golf because it gives me time to think. I also enjoy spending time with my community group.

5.       What is your writing style?

I write non-fiction that is a communicative style. It is instructional with word pictures and real life examples. I always try to incorporate a teaching/learning element in my writing. I want people to have learned something new after they have finished one of my books. Writing for me is more than putting words down on paper. It is a way of change someone’s paradigm and adding value to someone’s life for the rest of his or her life.

6.       Where is your favorite place to write?

I think best on the golf course. And I write best at night. After the house gets quiet, I can get consumed by writing. Although I have to admit, there are times when it does not matter where I am or what time of day it is, I just get focused and write. Since writing to me is a release, anytime, anywhere as long as there is a medium to record my thoughts, I am in a perpetual state of writing; sometimes physically, but almost always intellectually.

7.       How do you come up with your character names?

Since I write non-fiction I pretty much use real life characters. I might change a name to protect the identity of the person I am telling a story about, but for the most part my characters are not characters at all.

8.       When marketing your book, what do you find most challenging?

I find the most challenging thing about marketing to be encouraging people who purchase my books to leave a review on Amazon. Every author desires feedback. For me, feedback allows me to know that I am changing lives. I believe that if more people provided word of mouth marketing, my efforts to market my books would be more successful. I am satisfied that my words are slowly penetrating the market place, but feedback and word of mouth marketing would surely be a welcomed experience.

9.     Do you need peace and quiet to write or do you have any form of background noise? i.e. music, television.

Doesn’t matter, when I am churning with ideas and thoughts about a specific subject, I can write with either. Because I am an intellectual, I am constantly thinking about life and how to solve the problems of life. Some you cannot solve so I think about how to manage them proactively. This is from where my material comes. Chaos is all around us. Since my mind works to bring order to chaos, it does not really matter if it is quiet or noisy.

10.   Tell our members where they can find your book.

All of my books can be found on my website’s resources page at http://kenrupert.com/Resources.html. The links there will take you to my Amazon page where you can purchase the paper copy or the ebook.