Author Focus - Dr Eduardo Chapunoff

 1        - What motivates you to write?

I enjoy it, that’s the main reason. I also feel that my books will  hopefully    have a positive result on those who read them.

 

2        2 - What did you feel after publishing your book? 

It was like delivering a baby. After a period of hard labor, I have a feeling of relaxation.

 

3        3- What are some of you favorite novels and authors?

I don’t usually read fantasy. I focus on social studies, history and psychology.

 

4        4- Where do you write from?  Do you go to some specific place like the beach side or the hills?

I don’t have a specific place to do my writings. I write when I feel I can project ideas. That may be at my office desk, at the dinner table, or during the night if I wake up with indigestion.

 

5         5- What inspired you to write the books (in general), any tails to tell?

The source of my ideas is often the observation of people’s highly dysfunctional behavior which I try to make it more palatable when I mix it with a sense of humor.

 

6        6- What was your biggest learning experience throughout the writing process?

The realization that our knowledge is very limited even of the subject matter that motivates the writing. I also had an extraordinaria experience with the reviews of my book CHATS WITH GOD IN UNDERWEAR, that came from India. These reviews had an impact on me not only because they were so wonderful but also demonstrated in a very obvious way, that spirituality in India is far superior to what you see in the Western civilization where countries  live obsessed with money and material things. In a way, my mind is far closer to the India’s way of thinking and feeling than it is to the way many people think and feel in the West.

 

7         7- Looking back: What did you do right that helped you brake in as a writer?

My upbringing took place in Argentina. The country has suffered very serious setbacks in the past several decades but I had good teachers (my father was one of them) and during my childhood and adolescence I read a lot and learned about spiritual values that cannot be replaced but golden watches or luxurious cars.

 

8       8- Any good piece of advice that you would like to share with new or struggling writers?

I’d suggest writers to work for the pleasure of doing it. Generally speaking, authors cannot live with the income generated by their work. Of course, there are exceptions. Besides the intrinsic value of the book, marketing plays a crucial role and that, if very well done, is very expensive, and usually you end spending more than what you earn.

That said, I’ll tell you that the spiritual-intellectual gratification I had with the publishing my 14 books, has been a great source of joy and happiness.  When readers tell you that their lives have changed after reading the books, you know you succeeded  even if you are forced  to chew a gum instead of having fine wine with a delicious meal.

 

9        9-Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?

I married twice: My first marriage was an Olympic failure and the second one was an Olympic success. I do oil paintings and had several exhibits in Miami over the years. I play violin and piano even when it rains, and when my back itches, I ask my wife to scratch it.

 

1 10  - Any future books that you’d like to discuss?

Not really although I have the ideas. I’m doing the best I can to focus on the books I wrote already.

 

11  11–What other professions excite you the most?

 

Being an actor or a great musician would have been a source of great satisfaction.

 

12-Any special mention about your readers, be it in previous feedback or anything else?

I don’t know about the reactions of other writers but as far as I am concerned, every time I learned someone read a book of mine, I experienced what I’d described as a sublime satisfaction.

 

13– Do you write a story at a stretch or you make time to complete it? If you take a longer time, wouldn’t you be forgetting the story? How do you tackle it?

I always carry with me a piece of paper to write a thought. That may happen when I drive my car, eat spaghetti wit Italian sauce, or I’m using my deodorant.

 

14-Traditional or self-publishing?

I had both but I’m inclined to the traditional way. Doing the marketing of your own books, isn’t that easy and it’s also expensive. A few days ago, I received a call from an Editorial in Madrid, Spain interested in publishing my book CHATS… I was happy to accept it and after an initial fee I had to advance, all the marketing, sales and distribution will be paid by  them.

 

15- How is the response so far on the book?

Intellectually, spiritually, socially, personally, critiques and reviews: Excellent.

Financial retribution:  I’d rather talk about something else!