Mariam Kobras Interview - The Distant Shore

Read my review of the Distant Shore HERE

 

The Distant Shore is the first book for Mariam Kobras. Mariam describes the story as a contemporary romance with a light twist of suspense.

Born in Frankfurt Germany, she currently lives in Hamburg with her husband and two sons and to say she is excited about the launch of The Distant Shore is an understatement.

Mariam’s road to publication is an interesting one, having been discovered on Twitter by her publisher Buddhapuss. Read on to discover the inspiration for The Distant Shore, what genre she loves but wouldn’t dare attempt and her thoughts on the digital age of books.

INTERVIEW

Susan May (SM): What were you doing when the idea for ‘The Distant Shore’ came to you?

Mariam Kobras (MK): If I remember correctly, it was inspired by a song. I’m not going to tell you which one, though, because you might think the book is about that songwriter. Which it isn’t. To be honest, the scene in the hotel lobby where Jon and Naomi meet again after all that time was inspired by that song. The rest fell into place. Something like that.

(SM): What do you enjoy most about writing?

(MK): I love the writing, the shaping of scenes and situations, of scenery and people’s thoughts. Actually, writing is nothing more than describing things very, very well.

(SM): In what genre would you love to write but wouldn’t dare?

(MK): One word: SciFi. I love reading SciFi, I’d actually go so far and say it’s my favorite reading genre. But I don’t know enough about physics, astrophysics, the Universe, and all that to write it myself. But I’d love to.

(SM): If you could co-author a book with any other author—alive or dead, who would they be?

(MK): I’m thinking I’d really like to collaborate with my editor at Buddhapuss Ink some day. That would be amazing fun. And there’s still the idea of writing a book with Sam Hilliard, the author of The Last Track.

(SM): As an author, how have you adapted to the Digital age and what are your thoughts on it?

(MK): I take it you mean digital publishing, and not twitter and facebook and how they can help one get established as an author

To be honest, I’m totally in two minds about e-books. Margaret Atwood said at the Tools Of Change conference in NY that there are always three sides to each tool, an upside, a downside and a dumb side, which is the one you hurt yourself with. She made a rather passionate plea for paper books, and I tend to agree with her. From the author’s perspective, it’s a great thing to hold your book in your hands, feel the cover, read the words on paper. It’s also rather cool to sign it at book readings. I know they are working on making “digital signing” possible, but really. How would I sign on a kindle with my Montblanc Meisterstück, with my rose-scented, dark pink ink?

Margaret Atwood said, “When all technology fails, you can still read a paper book with the light of a candle.”

She also mentioned that a lot of people make their living by publishing books. Publishers, editors, cover designers, AUTHORS, book store owners, and so on. I don’t think every kind of progress is necessarily good progress. Do you remember the old version of the “Stepford Wives”, where the woman asks the men at that “club”, “Why do you do this?” and the reply was, “Because we can.”

It’s a bit like this. Destroying the paper book market is a bit like destroying a piece of culture. On the other hand, when I’m on a plane, I really do appreciate the handiness of an eReader. I just think there should be room for both.

(SM): Is there any character that has inspired you in life?

(MK): In my books? Or in someone else’s? In my books, I don’t know. I don’t think so. Not in other books either, no. Cetainly not inspired in the sense of, “They made me want to write.” I know the people in Peter F. Hamilton’s Reality Dysfunction made me want to be a space explorer, and see the things they saw. Well, not all of them, but some, for sure.

(SM): What has been the best part of having your first book published?

(MK): EVERYTHING! There is no specific best part. It’s just a long, lovely thrill ride, and I hope to be on it for a long time to come!

Thank you Mariam for taking the time to share your thoughts. We all look forward to your next book in the “Stone Trilogy.”

MARIAM’S BLOG HOP & THE PRIZES

This was the sixteenth and LAST stop on Mariam’s The Distant Shore “Love is in the Air” Blog Hop & Giveaway. We hope you enjoyed this and all the stops along the way.

Buddhapuss Ink is giving away copies of Mariam’s book, along with some pretty terrific (and very romantic) gifts, as we count down to that most romantic day of the year—Valentine’s Day!

Want to enter the giveaway? There’s still time! Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM ET tonight – 2/13! Leave a comment for this post for one entry. We also encourage you to “Like” this blog and follow it! Tweet a link to this blog including the hashtag #TDSBlogHop for another chance to win.

Want more chances to win? CLICK HERE for all the info!