#AuthorInterview The Incredible @ceebee308 Claude Bouchard

Claude, you are the best selling author of a series of thrillers. Tell us about them. How did you come up with them and how do you keep it going?

Answer: The idea for the first book, Vigilante, was inspired by O.J. Simpson’s getting away with murder, which led me to thinking of someone out there ‘administering’ a crueler justice to those who slipped through loopholes. As of The Consultant, book 2 of the series, I formalized or legalized the vigilantism aspect by putting it into the hands of a clandestine government agency. I’ve been able to keep the series going to date, with six thrillers out and another one on the way, thanks to various types of crimes and criminals which exist and also by introducing new characters to keep things fresh.

Your Twitter ID is ceebee308. Now I keep thinking Seabees, as in Naval construction force with their cute little bee logo, machine gun, wrench and hammer. Logo: "we build, we fight." They have such a can-do spirit. Tell me about your ceebee308 handle.

My first reaction to this question was one of shock when you referred to the Seabee logo as cute. Then I looked up the logo, actually found four and, hot-dang, they’re all cute. Take that, tough guys! Now, onto my Twitter ID and what’s behind it and, let me tell you, there’s nothing cute about it. Ceebee308 was the code name for the Cruel Bastards, a ruthless and deadly force of 308 mercenaries fighting for the good of the planet which I established and commanded for years. Nah, I just made that up. The truth is, ceebee308 is nothing more complex than my initials, CB, followed by our house number. I shudder at the thought of what might happen should we ever decide to move.

Speaking of ceebee308, no one can help but notice that you have over 300,000 twitter followers. Now, Claude, I know you like following avatars with beautiful Russian women and names such as Nastia, Irina, and Ludmilla. Is that your secret? 

Sshhhh!

What gets your blood boiling faster than a jackrabbit on a date?

In no particular order, stupidity, idiocy, selfishness, disrespect and bullying. There may be others.

Okay, now, for some really serious erudite professorial questions. Self-publishing. Is it a flash in the pan or here to stay?

Based on simple logic, self-publishing is here to stay. The logic I refer to is the existence and growth of companies like CreateSpace, Lightning Source and Lulu for POD products and Kindle, B&N’s PubIt, Kobo’s Writing Life and Smashwords for eBooks. I can’t see management of such enterprises making the capital investments required to build and improve technology as they have been doing without their having a reasonable expectation of sustained profitability.

Do you use free book promos to gain market share or just to be charitable? You know, the poor orphans who have Kindle Fire HDs but no money to buy any books.

As generous and supportive as I have always been towards charitable organizations, my primary purpose with free book promos has been to gain market share. I’m aware that not all have had success with KDP Select promotions. In fact, not all my attempts have been successful. However, a number of them have been and, as a result, my average monthly sales this year are 12 times what they were in 2011. Supplying poor Kindle Fire HD owning orphans with free books is an added benefit.

What's in the future? More crime, mayhem, blood, and guts, or a sweet romance, perhaps a collaboration with a romance writer, ala Bob Mayer/Jennifer Crusie style? *eyes blinking*

Definitely more crime and mayhem though I generally don’t go graphic with the blood and guts in my writing. I’m currently working on Femme Fatale, the seventh thriller in my Vigilante series. It’s mainly set in Paris, a city my wife and I fell in love with when we visited last May, and features Leslie Robb, a gorgeous, redhead, lesbian operative I introduced two books earlier. I also have a WIP entitled The Last Party, a stand-alone which will deal with the fragile nature of humankind, inside and out. Finally, and this is the premiere public announcement, I recently penned and released Something’s Cooking, a parody/faux erotica/cookbook under the pseudonyms, Réal E. Hotte and Dasha Sugah. It’s a collection of ten short stories relating to as many recipes, where the hot and sexy characters perform explicit cooking related activities such as slicing with long, powerful strokes and drizzling with oil. Much heat and steam is involved as well as the occasional whisk.

Ah shucks, well, maybe next time we can do a Biblical fantasy, you be King Solomon and I'll be Zilpah, a Kfir assassin who refuses to join his harem. Thanks for talking to us. I mean, thanks for talking to me, Michal, and I.

Count me in, as long as there are some spicy kitchen scenes. It was a pleasure chatting with, uh, all of you.

Folks, make sure to buy ceebee308's books, or go to his website http://www.claudebouchardbooks.com and buy a T-shirt.

Visit Claude's Amazon Author Page and buy his books [click on book cover]

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