Monday, January 18, 2016

Interview with David B. Hunter


David, welcome to Homeschool Authors! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a fifteen year old teenager that lives on an acreage in northern Iowa , in the middle of farm country. My family is composed of my dad, mom, and two younger brothers. I have loved reading for like, forever. Okay, not quite that long, but I do have quite a large collection of books. I’m a sort of oddity among my brothers. Both of them are outdoor lovers, while I’m fine just to stay inside. My dream is to professionally write in some way as a career and be able to glorify God.
             
Everyone’s homeshooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?
Well, I’m a very independent learner, so I believe I’m sort of wired for homeschooling. Actually, I tried to learn to read twice. I started the first time when I was four, but that didn’t turn out too well. So, about a year later, I started school in earnest, and my years of reading started. My mom is also proactive at finding the best curriculum. Because of that, I have worked with many different curriculums. Also, I’ve always been homeschooled, since kindergarten and hopefully through high school. In addition, my mom used to be a teacher, so our family’s school is fairly regimented (though Mom has relaxed some over the years).

How did being homeschooled prepare you to write?
For one thing, it allowed me the time. My mom actually let me skip my writing curriculum during the time I was working on my book. Also, I guess, knowing how to get schoolwork done, and accomplish goals. Before writing, homeschooling gave me the time to read.

What caused you to start writing?
I have often wanted to be an author and actually started several word documents several years ago. But my real start wasn’t that long ago, kind of a strange story actually, it was in 2014, I was searching for a Youtube composer and found her Pinterest page which was full of writing tips. I had wanted to write before that, but this gave me a little kick in the pants. I wrote some over the spring and summer of 2014, but really didn’t accomplish much. Then, the fall came. A girl in our homeschool group advertised for a NaNoWriMo club/group. So, me, her, and eventually two others, met every week, and went over the NaNoWriMo material. November came and NaNoWriMo gave me a real kick in the pants. I probably had as much progress in that one month than my fictional writing career to that point.

What inspired Reveille?
First of all, G. A. Henty, and then my grandma was going to teach my homeschool co-op about the Civil War, so some of the inspiration came from that.

Would you give us a synopsis?
Sure. Benjamin Anderson is a teenager living in eastern Iowa at the brink of the Civil War. Of course, as any boy does, Ben wants to join the army. Eventually that goal is accomplished and he joins the First Iowa in a campaign that culminates in the Battle of Wilson Creek. In his travels, he makes friends and enemies, and several of his enemies come to the fore in the final climactic scene.

Who will enjoy Reveille?
Boys, aged ten up to fourteen/fifteen, though girls, if they like history, would enjoy it too. Reveille is similar to G. A. Henty, so any of his readers will probably enjoy this book. It’s clean and the violence isn’t too graphic.

Do you plan to write more books?
Definitely! I have completed the rough draft of the sequel to Reveille. Starting in NaNoWriMo 2015, I’m writing a futuristic medieval dystopian. I submitted a short story into a contest this summer and won’t learn if I’m a winner until March. My dream is to become a professional writer, but I’ll have to wait and see what direction God wants me to go.

Where can people connect with you online?
The only socials I am on is Goodreads and WordPress. The best place to connect with me will be at my blog where I occasionally post. I would love to have some more visitors.

Do you have any final thoughts?
Yes, this is to all of you homeschoolers. God has given you a special opportunity to learn at home, please be thankful to him, and to your parents for the sacrifices they’ve made to allow you to be homeschooled. Also, thank you, Sarah. Reveille is free today. You can pick it up on Amazon and I’d really appreciate a review if you enjoy the book. Have a great day, everyone!

1 comment:

  1. Nice interview, David! Reveille sounds interesting. I can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete