Interview with Ramon Ballard author of The Last Chance

Today I'd like to welcome Ramon Ballard. Tell us a little about yourself.

 I was invisible throughout my schooldays (due to my shyness), I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons. Invisibility has definite advantages, especially when combined with a vivid imagination. I created magical, fantasy worlds with magical inhabitants, which I told to my imaginary friends.

Time does not stand still. Fantasy worlds evolve into mundane, everyday life. As I grew older, my whimsical travels to far off places diminished and my invisibility slowly faded into visibility. Once I had children, I would tell them the stories that only my imaginary friends knew.

Years passed. One failed marriage became two. I found and married my one true love and began my happily ever after. Happiness has certain side effects my creativity yearned to shine. The imaginary world refused to be silenced; they demanded to be heard.

Well we are glad you got here, no matter how long it took. Share a short excerpt from your novel.
“Tommy left for the safety of Pearl Harbor soon after New Year’s Day, 1939. Our radio show continued to rise in popularity.”

(of course we know how SAFE Pearl Harbor was)

Ramon, what brought about the idea for this book?

I’ve always enjoyed history and one day I pondered about a protag that lived through the twentieth century. Thus Horace was born.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’m almost 70 years old, I hope in 5 years I’m still here.

Currently, what are you working on?

I’m working on a middle-grade novel that I wrote 5 years ago.

Ramon, can you tell us a little bit about your main characters?

Horace3 was born in 1893, and has lived through Kitty Hawk though 9-11

What was your favorite scene to write?

Horace’s friendship with Babe Ruth has been a favorite of mine.

What kind of research do you do before you start a new story?

Time Life has a series about the 20^th century. I bought all ten for research.

That's a lot of research.  Maybe that's why I like fantasy so much. How do you promote your books? Any tips you can share?

I have a few groups on Facebook that I use, however they are all authors, so it doesn’t work.

Really? I find other authors promoting my work to be one the best marketing strategies I have tried. Do you have people read your drafts before you publish?  How do you select beta readers?

I have a few people that will read my stuff.

Who designed the artwork for your cover?  Or did you design it yourself?

I forgot who did this artwork. It was done by a friend.

How do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing?

I take criticism well. I don’t consider criticism a bad thing.

I don't mind helpful criticism, but I am not a fan of anyone who just bashes someone else's work. Is there something you learned from writing your first book?

I learned word count.

Which do you find more challenging inventing the hero or the villain?  Why?

Both are just as easy

How many times do you think you read your book before going to print?

I wrote this book in 2009 and published it in 2017, there was plenty of time to read it.

Thanks for sharing with us today.  Best of Luck with the novel.  Happy Reading!!