Author Speak: Brian Cohen + A giveaway!!

I’m very happy to share with you all a short mail interview with Brian Cohen – the author of The Life O’Reilly. He was gracious enough to fit me into his overflowing schedule, and what’s more, he is giving away a signed copy of his book as well! 🙂

Read on, to know more about Brian, and about how you can win this book!

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Tell us more about yourself….  

 A native New Yorker, I was born in Queens and raised on Long Island.  I have had a passion for all things creative, including film, literature, and music, since elementary school. During my Middle School and High School years, when I was introduced to literary classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Les Miserables, and The Count of Monte Cristo, I discovered both a love of fiction and a knack for creative writing.  But it wasn’t until my first semester of law school that I truly caught “the writing bug” and knew I had to become a storyteller.  I have been practicing law for over 12 years, specializing in complex litigation.  I live with my wife and our daughters in the suburbs of New York City.

Any other books coming up after The Life O’Reilly? If so, please tell us more…

I am working on my second novel, an emotional story of love and redemption that explores the politics of a family business and the impact it has on the relationships and on its inter-generational members who struggle to understand the differences in each other’s values.

Tell us about your real-life Dawn – your wife… How did you two meet up? How did she inspire you in the writing of The Life O’Reilly?  

We were set up on a blind date!  She inspires everything that I do, and I’m very lucky to have her in my life.

The Life O’Reilly is a beautiful book about celebrating each moment of your life. How did you think of writing such a book?

I am a huge fan of crime fiction, so as an attorney setting out to write a first novel, it naturally followed that legal suspense would be my genre of choice.  I spent six months researching, plotting, outlining, and creating character sketches, and then another six months cranking out 150 pages of material.  During that time, though, a lot was happening in my life – stories of people my age dying prematurely were being told with alarming frequency, the rat race had become all-consuming, and my wife and I were getting ready to welcome our first child into the world.  Then one day, I appreciated that everything I’d been experiencing had inspired another story; I realized that, though writing a crime novel was something I wanted to do, telling the story of Nick O’Reilly was something I had to do.  So that evening, I told my wife that I was shelving the thriller and starting on a new project and, the following morning, I began writing The Life O’Reilly and have never looked back.

How well do you relate to the protagonist Nick O’Reilly?

I relate to Nick a lot – there is definitely a lot of my personality in him.

Like Nick O’Reilly, have you ever felt the urge to give up everything that binds you and go after the truly meaningful in life?

To be quite honest, I feel like I am pursuing everything truly meaningful in life right now.

How did your family feel about your debut novel?

They love it and are very, very proud!

What are your favourite pastimes?

Spending time with my family, writing, playing and watching sports, fitness, reading, and film.

What is the best thing about writing – according to you?

The most rewarding aspect of writing is the wonderful reactions I get from readers!

Tell us about your favourite books/authors/literary characters.

I admire so many authors whose books have inspired me over the years, but to name a few: Harper Lee, Chaim Potok, Sloan Wilson, Mark Friedman, John Grisham, George Pelecanos, and Dennis Lehane.

Any message for your readers?

To the readers – Thanks so much for all of your support and enthusiasm.  You’ve made the journey to publication all worthwhile!

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The giveaway:

The Life O’Reilly is a beautiful book about life – as I see it. It is about enjoying each and every second of it, and making the most of your circumstances.

Read my review of the book here.

The giveaway is open to all regular readers of my blog with valid addresses, in India or elsewhere. To enter this giveaway, this is what you have to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post if you are a regular readerof my blog. This gives you one chance to enter.

2. To get a second chance to enter the giveaway, tell me why you would love to read this book. Leave a second comment on this post to let me know.

3. Post about this giveaway on your blog to win one more entry to the giveaway.

The contest will be on till 6 PM, Monday, August 30, 2010. The lucky winner would be chosen by a draw, and would be announced on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, on my blog.

All the best!! 🙂

Thank you, Brian, for this wonderful opportunity of knowing you better, and for the generous giveaway. 🙂