Facebook: Tobias Samuels and twitter@tobiassamuels1 links also amazon http://amzn.to/1GoUzj2 .
1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?
I decided to be a writer after many years of writing in a journal. I was inspired by Stephen Spielberg who mentioned that writing is just thoughts on paper.
2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?
I wasn't a big reader when I was younger, but if I had to pick I would say Edgar Allen Poe. In high school I enjoyed his style of writing. The books I enjoy reading are success self-help books. I love the history of business how someone has an idea and changes the world with it.
3. What was the inspiration behind your novel Letters to My Ex-Girlfriends?
There are two inspirational places. One was when I was online shopping for book covers and I saw the hearts on this pre-made book cover with the words, "love letters" right then and there something hit me. I bought the book cover and wrote a story based on it. Basically I use the book cover image as inspiration. I also was inspired by the movie, "Something Gotta Give" with Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves. In one scene Diane Keaton is heartbroken and she writes a bestselling novel. She used her failed relationship to fuel a great novel. That scene was stuck in my mind although I've seen that movie 7 years prior to writing this book. Somehow that scene of her crying and putting it all on paper helped me write. I also went through a heartbreak and used it for fuel.
4. Will we ever see Adam or even any of the girlfriends again in the future?
I have to say no or maybe. I say maybe because if one character speaks to me I might just write it. Maybe Ericka or the back story of Sky.
5. Why did you decide to write a book about reflection, past love?
It wasn't planned, it was the cover image that inspired the work. Plus it just felt right.
6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?
Yes and no. Jasmine was taken from an experience of someone I loved, but that ex is quite alive and healthy. I used the illness in the book as a metaphor to let her go so that I could move on to love again. Tanisha were a combination of two people I know. The part where Tanisha writes Adam was a sad time I drew upon when I let my ex down. I could feel the pain of sadness in her voice and how it made me felt. Remembering that moment worked well in the book, but not something I’d like to live again.
7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?
I would love to write a fantasy novel with epic worlds and deep story line.
8. What would you do if you were Adam?
If I were Adam I probably would do the same things he did. Maybe stay away from the likes of Ericka's.
9. What kind of emotions did you have to tap into or relationship research did you have to do in order to make this book so realistic and relatable?
To make this book relatable I read a few blogs on heartbreak, Also Sky came from a girl picture I saw on a singles dating site, she had a four leaf clover on her face which inspired the plot on St. Patrick parade. I had to dig deep from my emotions from some of my ex-girlfriends in real life, when I let one of them down and how I made them felt. I had to go back to happy moments when I surprised a few friends. I tapped into when I was heartbroken to make it real, especially Adam's first heartbreak. Anger was also an emotion I used from past failures, and missed attempts. I really had to go back to those places, and it was actually therapeutic.
10. Would you like to see Letters to My Ex-Girlfriends as a film? If yes, who do you want to see play your characters?
Yes I would, I always pictured Ryan Reynolds or Ryan Gosling as Adam. Even Justin Timberlake. Jennifer Lawrence as Anonymous. Meaghan Rath as Veronica, Charlize Theron or Cameron Diaz as Ericka. Keke Palmer as Tanisha, Rosario Dawson as Jasmine, and Sky could be a new up and coming actress.
11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?
In the next ten years I see myself running an online publishing company. I also see myself running various online businesses including coaching and other niche websites.
12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?
Playing video games, just kidding. I would be personal training.
13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?
I am currently working on a tale of short stories about wealth with a twist. It's a series similar to the twilight zone and tales from the dark side. And two short stories on love. One takes place in a world where people who fall in love has to give their hearts away literally, if the love is not return that person goes on living without a heart. This is a coming of age book.The other is about a girl who is cursed, but doesn't know it. Her father knows she will be the end of him if she gets her hearts broken. So he over protects her, but she ends up falling in love with a young man. But soon after her sister starts to flirt with this young man and... Well you have to read it to find out how that turns out.
14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?
Edgar Allan Poe, C.S. Lewis, Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling and John C. Maxwell.
15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?
I am a winning natural body building competitor, I was homeless two times in my lifetime and I hated reading until I fell in love with it reading due to the Bible in my early twenties.
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