The Wall by David Pereda

 Please welcome David Pereda author of The Wall 

David Pereda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour,

The Wall

by David Pereda 

 

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GENRE: Mainstream Fiction, Thriller

 

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

 

I don’t know who or what inspired me to write. I was a voracious reader as a little kid and loved westerns. I was eight or nine when I wrote my first novel, a western calledDavid Patterson, El Temerario. I wrote it by hand, and an uncle typed it for me. I remember thinking in my ignorant youth that I could write better than many Western authors, which motivated me to write the novel. My favorite western authors were Zane Grey, Max Brand, and Louis L’Amour. I still have all of Max Brand's books.

 

3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

 

I owe this novel idea to my students. During the past fourteen years, I have taught English to thousands of students from all over the world. They shared their usually happy, sometimes sad, but always poignant and courageous stories of coming to America. Over the years of listening to their stories, I felt the need to write a meaningful but entertaining novel that would address controversial immigration problems in our country but wouldn’t preach. THE WALL is that novel, and many of the most dramatic episodes described in the book happened.

4. What expertise did you bring to your writing?

 

I’m an immigrant myself, which helped me identify with the characters when writing this book. I was a penniless nineteen-year-old non-English speaker when I arrived in America, clutching my immigration papers. While that happened a long time ago, I have never forgotten those early memories. Since then, I have achieved the following: earned three college degrees, including one in English Literature; traveled worldwide to more than thirty countries, including those described in THE WALL; lived in six different countries; learned four languages, including those spoken in the book; written ten previous successful novels; won six literary awards; and continued to improve my craft as a writer. I believe all these things, plus a few others I left out, gave me enough expertise to write this book.

5. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

 

I’m a cowboy at heart. I love the cowboy ideal, whether real or not—honesty, loyalty, and courage. In my teens, I dreamed of running away to Canada and becoming a cowboy. Horses are my favorite animals. I spent years competing in equestrian events, jumped obstacles taller than Michael Jordan, rode racing camels in the Arabian desert--and broke a few bones. But what a thrill!

6. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

 

I’m halfway through writing another novel with the main characters of THE WALL, a thriller titled GOLDEN, already scheduled for publication in 2022. The first chapter of GOLDEN is included at the end of THE WALL.

7. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

Here my answer may shock you or sound arrogant. I don’t wish to be like any of the characters in THE WALL. I am a combination of Thomas and Alex; both of those characters are extensions of my personality. Like Thomas, I’ve been poor to the extent of going hungry at times; like Alex, I’ve been wealthy and married to a royal and hobnobbed around the world with European nobility. Like Thomas, I’m loyal and methodical; like Alex, I’m dauntless and love wine and women and danger. I am like those two characters, only at different times. I have become more like Thomas in my later years, but there’s always Alex peeking in the background, waiting.

8. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?

 

Probably the best peek into this book was written by best-selling author Paul Levine when he described THE WALL as “a family saga, a border thriller, and a novel of sizzling suspense.” It’s a novel that will make you feel. It elicits different emotions from people who have read it--some have cried, others have felt fear, and others have experienced joy.

 
9. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

 

I don’t belong to a critique group, but I have knowledgeable friends I send my books to for comments after finishing them. I shared each chapter of THE WALL as I completed it with a friend captive at home because of the pandemic who made excellent comments. It was the first time I’ve shared a work-in-progress with anyone. I liked it so much that I’m sending her each chapter of my new novel GOLDEN as I finish it.

10. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

 

Two years after I arrived in the United States, my English teacher in college gave the class a writing assignment. To my surprise, he called my name one day and asked me to see him after class. The literary magazine was looking for stories, and he thought I should submit the one I had written. When I declined, he asked my permission to submit it himself. He did, and the story was published. It was the first time I published anything in the United States. When the literary magazine asked for submissions the following year, I submitted another story, and it was also published. After that, I started submitting stories and novels myself.

11. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

 

The best writing advice I received, other than to believe in myself, was to allow my characters to tell the story. I thought it was excellent advice. In other words, the best writer is the one who interferes the least with his/her characters. I was surprised, years later, when I discovered that in horseback riding, the same principle applies: the best rider is the one who interferes the least with his/her horse

 

As for the worst advice, I have a pile of them. My preferred worst advice happened in college and was offered to me by an aspiring poet who wrote beautiful poetry that said nothing. I have used his words for motivation all my life. He said I would never be a good writer because English wasn’t my native language. I don’t know what happened to him, but I thank him for his motivational words every day.

12. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

 

I used to plot my books meticulously, but I found that an exciting part of writing is to let your characters take you to places you didn’t expect. Writing scenes where I knew exactly what my characters were going to do wasn’t much fun. I don’t plot so meticulously anymore. Instead, I develop a general idea in my head, and I know where I want to end the book, but I allow my characters to surprise me and dictate the journey.

BLURB:

 

THOMAS BERTRAM is an American living in San Salvador with his fiancée CECILIA. They own a popular neighborhood restaurant and plan to wed soon. Thomas's dream is to obtain a resident visa for Cecilia and return to the United States.

 

DOMINGO JIMENEZ and his wife BLANCA own a small repair shop across the street. Domingo's dream is to move to America as well so that his seven-year-old daughter NANCY can grow up speaking English and having a good education and a better life than he and Blanca had.

 

When armed gang members invade their neighborhood to demand "protection" money and threaten them with death if they don't pay, Thomas and Domingo's dreams for the future take on a new perspective. They decide to flee the country with their families through Guatemala and Mexico to seek asylum in the United States.

 

But their journey is more challenging than expected, and they face a myriad of difficulties and must overcome multiple obstacles that put not only their dreams but also their lives at risk.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

Thomas’s first impression was that Ciudad Juarez was a city suffering from schizophrenia.

 

Based on the Reforma newspaper article he was skimming before he fell asleep, the schizophrenia was even more severe than it appeared from the airplane window. According to the report, murderous dark forces moved underground through the city with impunity. Coexisting with a well-educated and law-abiding middle class breathed some of the world's most feared and violent drug cartels. And while the local police bragged about having achieved a drastic reduction in crime over the past decade, more than 1,000 women had been murdered—and over 3,000 reported missing during the same period.

 

The article hinted at a police-force cover-up—and even possible police involvement—and blamed the crimes on the transient population seeking to cross the border illegally into the United States. It ended with an impassioned plea to Mexican authorities. 

 

It all read like blah-blah-blah to Thomas.

 

As the jetliner banked for a runway approach, he spotted some of the transient population described in the article. Small groups of people dotted the protracted chain-link fence, plastic bags either slung over their shoulders or resting on the ground at their feet. Thomas wondered how much the article's writer had been paid to blame those poor souls whose only desire was to find a better life in the United States. 

 

Cecilia saw them too. “What are those people doing?” 

 

“Waiting for night,” Thomas said as the plane straightened, and he lost sight of the fence. “To cross to the other side.”

 

The pilot landed with a jolt. After a couple of bounces that elicited frightened cries from alarmed passengers, the aircraft rolled to a stop on the tarmac in front of an oblong cream-colored building. Cecilia, Alex, and Thomas deplaned and were guided toward one of the doors by uniformed immigration officials. The sun was so hot that Thomas’s skin crinkled.

 

“We have to go through immigration?” Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought we were in Mexico.”

 

“Border towns in Mexico always check your documents,” Alex said. “I don’t know why. I guess it’s in case you’re planning to cross into the United States illegally.”

 

Cecilia glanced at Thomas with concern, and he noted the dark circles under her eyes.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

David Pereda is the award-winning author of eleven thrillers and mainstream novels. His books have won the Lighthouse Book Awards twice, the Royal Palm Awards, the National Indie Excellence Awards, and the Readers Favorite Awards twice. He has traveled to more than thirty countries around the world and speaks four languages.

 

Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, Pereda had a successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Qatar, among others.

 

A member of MENSA, Pereda earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned BA degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He loves sports and has won many prizes competing in track and show-jumping equestrian events.

 

Pereda lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where he teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College.

 

Visit him online at: 

www.davidpereda.com

 

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Pereda-Writer/345490998614

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidPeredaAVL

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/davidmpereda

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

David Pereda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour,

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3791