Author-2-Author with J.E. Braun, author of Paranoia

I was sound asleep after working a ten hour nigh shift in security. My stepfather barged into my room and said, "Chris wake up we´re under attack!"

I shrugged it off with a sleepy—half asleep—half awake response. Then my cell phone rang, one of my best friends sent a text message, "plane hit tower in NY." I stirred and rubbed my eyes. My cell phone rang again. It was my Sergeant, he left a message, "We´re on alert, check in."

Confused, I walked into the living room and found my mother and stepfather glued to the TV, a news broadcast of the first tower on fire glowed…then in horror, I watched the second plane fly into view and hit the second tower.

That´s my memory of 9/11, and yes even though I´m in Seattle I was hit with a wave of emotions.

J. E. Braun´s book, Paranoia, touches on this wave of emotions and goes a step further. It follows the life of Jim, a 9/11 survivor with post-traumatic stress disorder. After the attacks, Jim goes as far as joining an anti-Muslim group and even partakes in unspeakable acts that leave him asking if he´s become the terrorist.

J. E. Braun (John), is a graduate of Trenton State with a degree in Literature. He´s a happily married father of two and a lifetime resident of New Jersey. Paranoia is his debut novel and can be bought on most online book stores.

C. L. Vaughn: John, Welcome to Author-2-Author. I can imagine that writing a book dealing with September 11th has not only personal challenges but outside challenges as well. Were you worried about how the public would react to your novel as you were writing it? How hard was it for you to write a novel based on the events of that day?

J. E. Braun: I was a little nervous. I didn´t want people to think I was exploiting tragedy, or trying to make a buck off the horrendous emotions of that day. That is one of the reasons why I focused on Jim, the person, and not on the events of 9/11. Don´t get me wrong, I discuss the events - they are the catalyst for the entire story – but I wanted this to be about how we, as people, have coped. It was such a defining moment in our history, in our national psyche, that I felt needed to be explored. I watched people who were not in NY, or Washington D.C., or, obviously on Flight 93 on 9/11 become afraid to drive through a tunnel, or over a bridge, or to get on a plane. I watched suspicion, fear, and hatred creep into the lives of even the most open minded people. Our lives changed that day and I noticed a certain reluctance to write fiction about it. To me, fiction helps us heal. It definitely helped me to put some of my feelings into perspective. Words I wrote sometimes just came out without planning them and they would make me really think about what I felt about that fateful day.

C. L. Vaughn: Out of the readers who have left you feedback, do you have one that stands out to you? Maybe from someone in NY during 9/11?

J. E. Braun: I have had some readers tell me they were there or that they lost loved ones 9/11. Overall, the feedback has been positive even from these people. One reader told me he didn´t know if he´d be able to handle the book, but he read it and felt that it was tastefully done and actually couldn´t put the book down. To me, that says that I succeeded in what I set out to do: tell the story of a man without letting his story be overshadowed by the colossal tragedy at its genesis.

C. L. Vaughn: I saw that you were in the process of setting up a "New Writers Night" with your local Barnes & Nobles. Has that taken place yet, and if so how did it go?

J. E. Braun: It actually got delayed, but I know a group who is doing a fundraiser there and wants to have me as their solo guest for the night, so the whole plan should change. I´ve found it very difficult to work with B&N, actually. Being print-on-demand, books are not returnable, so they will not purchase the books for a signing, the author has to. And, I´m willing to do that, but then they have very specific rules about putting new, POD writers in a group and only doing these group nights at certain times throughout the year. Overall, other than the relationship they have with iUniverse and the ability to sell on their website, I´ve found Barnes and Noble to be a hurdle more than an asset. For instance, the woman I was supposed to deal with at the Hamilton, NJ store changed her tune as soon as she saw POD, without reading a word of the book, and became condescending. I guess she´s published volumes of work and can pass judgment at will. (laughs)

C. L. Vaughn: When I started shopping for companies to self publish my work through I ultimately decided to use Lulu publishing. I see that you´ve decided to use iUniverse. What brought you to use their services vs others?

J. E. Braun: Branding has worked for them, at least with me. I knew the name, I liked the services they offered and the prices. They did a professional editorial review and made some really valuable comments. When all was said and done, though, I think a large part was owed to brand recognition.

C. L. Vaughn: Promoting you book is an uphill battle, especially if you´re self published and doing it all yourself. What are some of the things you´re doing to market your book?

J. E. Braun: I stared with a grassroots campaign. I flooded family, friends, colleagues and former colleagues. I used the internet to get word to my alma mater, who published an announcement in their online and print magazines, and to my high school. I´ve reached out to tons of people through MySpace and Facebook and even bought an ad on Facebook that was viewed over a quarter-million times by my target audience. I stopped the ad for budgetary reasons, but I will most likely run it again. Now that I have some reviews under my belt, I will be writing press releases and getting them to local newspapers and radio programs. I´ve also utilized some online review companies: www.allthesebooks.com and www.apexreviews.net. Apex has a partner that is currently producing a video promotion for Paranoia that will be blasted out to video sites on the internet.

C. L. Vaughn: I read about some of your other writing projects and found their plots to be great. Care to share with our readers a little bit about your other books and when they will be available to buy?

J. E. Braun: I like to tackle controversial topics. I´m writing a fantasy story that is an allegory for what I believe to be the failure of organized religion in our world. By that, I mean that all of the major religions seem, from my perspective, to have lost sight of their message. In the story, two sibling monarchs (named after my children Isabella and Caden) return to find that the three houses have fallen. A deeper read will see comparisons to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. I don´t know if I´ll publish that one, as I´m writing it to be able to read to my children as they grow up, but we´ll see. My next novel is a satire of sorts that deals with the state of political correctness in our country and everybody´s fear of offending everybody else. I´m actually currently speaking to a nationally syndicated radio show (and satellite radio show) who frequently discuss this topic. I´m hoping to use their names in the book. Sure, if they agree it will be some built-in publicity, maybe they´ll even help promote Paranoia, but I really feel they embody the message I´m trying to get across.

C. L. Vaughn: With juggling a fulltime job and family with kids, I know finding writing time is tough…I´m there now! How long did it take for you to finish your novel, Paranoia?

J. E. Braun: It took me about a year to write the rough draft, but a lot of work went into it after that. I posted my story chapter by chapter on a site called www.fanstory.com and got some really fantastic advice and feedback from other writers – people who weren´t going to yes me to death or stroke my ego. I began writing it a little over a year before the five year anniversary of the attacks and finished before the anniversary.

C. L. Vaughn: What are your goals as a writer?

J. E. Braun: To make this a career. I want to be able to focus on writing, to continue to address relevant topics, to leave a body of work behind for my children to be proud of and pass on to their children and grandchildren.

C. L. Vaughn: Before we go, is there anything you´d like to add for our readers?

J. E. Braun: There are a lot of very talented new authors out there. Enjoy King, Koontz, Rice, Patterson, or whoever you favor, but keep your eyes open for up and coming talent. If you like what you read, mention it to your local bookstore or tell a friend. You can make the difference in somebody´s dream.

I've recently decided that I will be donating 10% of all profits from the sales of Paranoia to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund (www. ttof. org). The fund helps provide higher education, health care, and psychological care for children who lost a parent or parents on 9/11 and in the event of any future attacks.

I am extremely grateful to all the people who have or will read Paranoia and thank you, Chris, for allowing me to do this interview!

C. L. Vaughn: Well John, thank you again for being a part of Author-2-Author and thank you for saying that you´d read the manuscript for the first issue of the Owen Ruger series. I hope you enjoy it.