Q&A taken from Digital Journal article, “Chatting with author Arthur Bozikas OAM: ‘The Book Glasses’ book”
Samantha Page, the protagonist in this story, is faced with a very difficult decision, what was the inspiration behind the plot theme?
Stephen King always has been my inspiration. It wasn’t until I took a creative writing course, while at university, the story was first developed of having also the dead coming after Sam for the glasses. It took me a further ten years before taking my professor’s advice of putting the idea down into a book.
It is said that a good story is all about the setting, the descriptiveness, and the raw energy that captivates, your book includes all of them and as such, what are one of the key strategies that you use during the books initial conception?
I finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Limitless by Glynn Alan at the time and was desperate to read more of the same. It was then, I decided to look no further because I thought it will be fun combining these two wonderful books as a strategy to be unique but more of the same.
I know this is probably a hard question to answer, but what is your favorite scene in ‘The Book Glasses,’ and why?
Sam meeting Billy is my favorite. It happened so naturally, they didn’t have time to think about what was happening to their lonely lives.
Can you tell us how writing first became a part of your life, where did it all begin for you and your writing?
I have always been afraid of it and did my best to keep away from any form of writing all my life. It was joining a writing group in between my university classes in my early forties, that gave me the confidence to take a few creative writing courses to understand the process.
Do you have another project or book in the works that you can share with us?
Reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale from a very young child, I have always been intrigued by what would it take for a normal family man with extraordinary skills to become an Aussie James Bond. Black Ops: Zulu (Tom Stiles Thrillers Book 1), happens to be my debut novel that I have released at the same time as The Book Glasses. I’m now currently finishing off the sequel to The Book Glasses before commencing Black Ops: Zulu Book 2.
What is one of your favorite things to do for fun after you get done writing a book or novel?
Going out in my boat, I really look forward to taking my family out in it. It also helps me with my writer’s block and it is a reward I give myself once completing a section or the entire book.