Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
A1. My name is Greg S Paris. First and foremost, I am a husband, father, son, brother and friend. I have been blessed to have an incredible family around me, both growing up and now as an adult. That supportive family environment has also allowed me to grow a network of very dear friends that have become extended family. I love the outdoors and spend time there as often as possible, whether it’s golf, biking, beaches, or mountains – I am typically happiest when I am outdoors.
Writing is new for me and it took me until a little bit later in life to find the author inside me, but once I did I fell in love with it. The energy I feel when writing is such a positive force, I have a hard time even taking breaks and often hours flying by without realizing it.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “The Greatest Reindeer”?
A2. This was my first attempt at writing fiction, so there were a lot. Honestly, once I started writing the story, it really seemed to pour out of me, so that wasn’t really the issue. My previous writing experience has been in the financial world, so descriptive language has always been something I tried to minimize. Drawing pictures with words instead of numbers was a big challenge. I would say the biggest challenge for me was finding the courage to give the story to someone else to read. Most of my professional accomplishments have not included my own creative works, so giving this to someone and asking for their opinion was one of the more intimidating things I have ever done.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A3. Quite honestly, my reading tastes are typically different from this writing. Personally, Steve Berry, Dan Brown, James Rollins and Clive Cussler are authors I always enjoy. I am a big fan of history as well and I have enjoyed many of David McCullough’s works. For this work specifically, much of my inspiration goes back to reading to my children when they were young. The knowledge that someone could tell a story and have another person transfixed by it, was truly awe inspiring to me. I set out on this writing journey hoping to be able to do just a fraction of the same.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
Currently, it would be the Savannah/Hilton Head area. Two of my children have gone to school there (one is still there) and my wife and I have both fallen in love with the area. We have had so many wonderful times there and the feeling of knowing we are visiting one of our children whenever we go always leads to happy feelings. It also has many of the attributes we love: nice weather; beaches; history and golf. The warm, welcoming and friendly environment is the icing on the cake.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘The Greatest Reindeer’?
Again, this goes back to reading to my children when they were young. Like most children, they loved the story of Rudolph and I would tease them that Rudolph wasn’t even the best reindeer, Cedric was. I guess I always had the general outline of who Cedric was and a couple of years ago, during the pandemic, I had surgery for knee replacement. It felt like the world was in a place that needed an uplifting story and I decided that the time had come to write The Greatest Reindeer.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘The Greatest Reindeer’?
A6. The first draft didn’t take long at all, maybe a week. The re-writes and edits took a bit longer, maybe three months in all to complete.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
A7. The book is currently available on most major online outlets including: Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It is also available in eBook copies in .mobi for Kindle, .epub for Nook, and PDF form for download. The book is also available in audiobook form at Google Play.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Greatest Reindeer’?
A8. The title has always been in my head and the story really came after the title, so in essence I worked backwards with this story. The cover was a collaboration with my publisher and partner in this work. Karen Fuller, of World Castle Publishing, worked with me to get a general idea of what I wanted for the cover. She then provided me with several options. There were several that were much more “kid friendly”, but I truly feel the cover that we chose captures the essence of the story well.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
A9. When I am writing a story, I often try to give a unique perspective, and that uniqueness is not typically my initial perspective. I definitely need to adjust my mindset to see how I “normally” see things and then adjust to a different paradigm. Perhaps, seeing things from a “typical” mindset originally makes it a bit easier at times to then ask, “What would be the opposite for me” and then write it from that perspective.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
A10. Make time to write and just keep putting words on the paper. I am definitely writing by the seat of your pants style author. For me, getting the story out the first time, so far has not been the issue. Re-writing and editing has been much harder. My advice is this, writing the words “The End” is incredibly rewarding but I have come to understand that it is usually only the beginning.
Buy The Greatest Reindeer on Amazon
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