1. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
H.W. (Hugh) Cumming has a passion for creativity—in addition to being an author, he is a classical and jazz pianist; holds a degree in engineering from the University of Toronto; is an avid outdoorsman, having skied and trekked all over world—including both Annapurna and Mt. Kilimanjaro; and is a successful business leader and entrepreneur in the technology industry. Horace, George and Ingle were originally conceived as bedtime stories to entertain and guide his growing children.
2. Describe your book The Adventures of Horace, George and Ingle - The Rise of the Black Knight in 30 words or less.
Three brothers on an epic quest to save the kingdom and unravel a mystery that will change everything; Dragons, magic and treachery lay ahead as they grow from innocent youths into young men.
3. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The neat part about writing is that it never finishes the way it starts and the writing kind of finds its own path through the story and adds lots of new aspects to the initial outline. Although, I always have a short outline written for each chapter, which gives me a reference, the hard part for me is time. I will often have months between solid writing sessions because of the demands of work or family, and that means I have to re-read what I have written making edits along the way with an extra eye for details and consistency with my original idea - only then can I add new chapters. I’m not entirely sure if I could finish in a couple months if it were something I did full-time, but who knows – in then end it’s still a creative process and it can’t be forced.
4. What books have had the greatest influence on you?
I’d have to say that my writing has been influenced by many, but these 4 standout for me.
JRR Tolkien – because he imagined a world with magic and unseen forces bounded by a different set of laws and he did it so vividly and precisely that it was believable
Dan Brown – for taking complex historical events, facts and theories and surrounding them with a story that makes them interesting to so many
Jeffrey Archer – great mystery and intrigue, plot twists and surprising heroes
Kurt Vonnegut – for starting about 15 stories at the start of each book and somehow bringing them all back together in the end
5. Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?
Largely online efforts either through boutique marketing or review sites and blogs. I have also been also working with Smith Publicity to increase awareness through traditional media and drive reviews
6. How do you spend your time when you are not writing?
For the most part work and Family take up my time; In my free time I like to do as much writing as I can, and otherwise spend time playing the piano (not as much as I’d like) as well as lots of active pursuits – Hockey, Hiking, Skiing – we go on a few trips per year as a family to ski
7. What are you working on next?
Book 2 is about 1/3 finished and focuses on the back story for Hartok and gets much deeper into the characters. I'm hoping to publish towards the end of 2015
