David Kummer Interview, Author of She & Enden

April 03, 2017 | Back

It′s been a while since the last author interview I posted so I felt it was time to bring them back. To start, I bring you teenage horror and fantasy author David Kummer of Indiana. David is the author of As Trees Turned Away, My Abigail, She and Enden. Below is my interview with him.

JORDON: David, I appreciate you agreeing to talk with me. As always the first and most important question is why do you write? What is it that inspires or motivates you to put pen to paper?

DAVID: I write lots of stories, but the two published works are horror and fantasy. I do have a literary fiction short story I published and put up for free. Most of the time, motivation comes from something I watched or read. A few times, it′s even been real-life events (especially the horror).

JORDON: Are you a full-time author or do you have another job by day and write by night or some other arrangement?

DAVID: I′m a full-time author at the moment, I guess, because I don′t have a job. I do have school a lot of the day. I′m planning on getting a real job soon, probably at a movie theatre, which promises to be lots of fun and some very interesting experiences! (Oh, and the free popcorn.)

JORDON: Sounds like it could bring a lot of interesting experiences. Now can you tell us about your most recently published books?

DAVID: My newest book is called Enden, and it′s a fantasy novel. It′s my newest, and my first journey into the genre. So far, it′s gotten pretty good reviews, and it′s been a dream of mine to publish a fantasy book ever since I was writing. So there′s that!

JORDON: While you were writing your books were there any specific scene or type of scene that you just really enjoyed writing, or maybe was fulfilling once it was done? Don′t give away anything important though.

DAVID: I love writing ending scenes. Every single time I put together some type of work, I try to make the ending powerful and memorable. I′ve done all types: happy, sad, good, bad. I like to... deep breath... shock the readers by sometimes killing main characters. I admit it. I′m a character killer. So if you read any of my books, don′t take a happy ending for granted! Might never happen.

JORDON: Haha! Well, they′ve been warned now I guess. Do you write exclusively in one genre, or do you explore multiple genres or maybe even bend genres? Maybe I should say do you plan to bend genres?

DAVID: I do three genres right now: horror, fantasy, and literary fiction. However, I′m continuing to expand my writing and I guarantee that in a few years I′ll have something for every type of reader! That′s my goal, anyways.

JORDON: Now, what would you say is the most rewarding aspect of being an author?

DAVID: Meeting fans and meeting other authors. Some of the best people I′ve ever met have been in one of those two categories. There are a few I could name specifically, but for the sake of time I won′t. Once I start talking about those friends, I can′t stop! They′re awesome people.

JORDON: On the flip side, what would you say is the most challenging part of writing?

DAVID: Just the constant will, every day, to get that document and start working on it. It′s a grind, for sure, but when the work is finished there′s nothing quite like that feeling. Being an author is one of the best and the hardest things I do every day.

JORDON: Now, I know It′s hard to pick favorites, but who would your top three favorite authors be, and why?

DAVID: J.K. Rowling because her dialogue is perfect. J.R.R. Tolkien because of his world-building and his massive, captivating plots. Christopher Paolini because the Inheritance Series is my favorite in so many ways, and I could read it 100 times.

JORDON: If I might ask a similar question, what are your top three favorite books or series, and why?

DAVID: I already mentioned the Inheritance Series, and the other two above, but I′ll pick different ones for the sake of interest. I like the Chronicles of Narnia as well, and the Pendragon Series is what really made me a reader in the first place. So there you go!

JORDON: Now let′s get back to your writing. Some authors write spontaneously, some plan. Can you tell us a little about what your writing process is like?

DAVID: I do a bit of planning before I write, but then that eventually goes out the window and I change it a couple thousand times. But by the end, it seems to work out. So it′s a little of both, I guess.

JORDON: Sounds like a good balance of the two. Now, so many stories out there have happy endings because readers tend to want something happy, something that is a sort of escape. In your opinion, should every story have a happy ending?

DAVID: I like them with happy endings, but in my books I do have a few that aren′t like that. If I show that I′m willing to kill a character or make it a sad ending, then the reader can′t count on anything, and there is real fear behind them wondering if the character is gonna make it or not. In the end, I try to be a nice guy and give them happiness, though.

JORDON: Now that we′ve looked a little at your writing method, can you tell us a little about your current project?

DAVID: Right now, I′m writing two sequels. One is to She: A Horror Novel, and the other is to Enden: A Fantasy Novel. Hopefully, both of those will be published within the year.

JORDON: Most stories require at least some form of research. What have you enjoyed researching the most?

DAVID: I have a weird fascination with the Middle Ages, and spend a lot of my time on the internet and Wikipedia. That certainly helped when I wrote my fantasy novel!

JORDON: You definitely got into some interesting stuff there. Let′s move to a few questions about you now. First, what are you hobbies outside of writing?

DAVID: I play basketball, I hang out with my girlfriend, and manage time with my family of ten!

JORDON: Ten? Wow! I have only three siblings, I couldn′t imagine ten. What actor or actress would you like to see play the main character in your latest book, and why?

DAVID: When I wrote She, I always imagined the little girl as the same little girl in We Bought A Zoo. Per Google, her name is Maggie Elizabeth Jones.

JORDON: Now, if you dare, tell us who your favorite politician is.

DAVID: Um, I don′t know if I have a favorite. I like the county coroner. There we go. I think he′s the guy that looks at dead bodies and stuff. (If you′re a coroner reading this, then I do very much appreciate the work you do. Seriously. I do.)

JORDON: That′s a good safe answer. I would have never thought of that one. Alright, two more questions. So how do you come up with your titles?

DAVID: Well, the only difficult title was My Abigail. The others are either because of the first story in the book (As Trees Turned Away), I had it from the beginning (She), or the name of the world I created (Enden). So, yeah, not too hard so far!

JORDON: Makes sense. Now is there anything else you would like to say to my readers?

DAVID: I would like to say a big thank you to all of my fans, and to everybody who read through this post! Hopefully I′m somewhat entertaining for you on this fine day. Also, if you ever need a place to hide a body, don′t ask me! Because I′ve had, like, three people do that already. I ain′t your guy.

JORDON: I′ll try to remember that. Don′t ask David where to hide the body. Got it! Haha! Well David, thank you for talking with me today and good luck in your future writing ventures. I think that wraps it up here.

If you would like to know more about David Kumm you can find his website at www.davidkummer.com or on his social network including Facebook, Amazon and Goodreads.

Get David Kummer′s Books on Amazon:
She: A Horror Novel
Enden: A Fantasy Novel

Author Bio:

David Duane Kummer is the teenage author of She: A Horror Novel and Enden: A Fantasy Novel. He lives in a small river-town on the Ohio River in southern Indiana along with his ten siblings. Writing since a young age, David′s first work was a short-story titled As Trees Turned Away. He is an avid reader, horror movie enthusiast and review writer. When not writing or spending time with the family he′s working out to burn all those calories he gathers from binge-eating Hawaiian Rolls. They′re sort of addicting.