Steven Verrier, born in the United States and raised mainly in Canada, has spent much of his life living and traveling abroad. He is the author of RAISING A CHILD TO BE BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL (a prizewinning book published bilingually in Japan) and various short dramatic works for the student market. His first novel, TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART, was published in the summer of 2008 by Saga Books. Currently he is living with his wife, Motoko, and four sons in San Antonio, Texas. You can visit his website at www.stevenverrier.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Steve! Can you start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

As far as novels are concerned, TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART is my first. But I’ve had other work published previous to this … in particular, short plays and nonfiction. The first volume of mine I ever saw on a bookstore shelf was actually in Japan, where the book was published bilingually.

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

My first book, a coming-of-age novel set in Japan and titled NIIGATA PORT, was written in the 1980s but hasn’t been published yet. In terms of originality and creativity, I don’t think there was much wrong with it, but my writing has become a lot tighter since then. A couple of years ago, I went back and rewrote much of the story, in the process chopping away about a hundred pages, and I think it’s ready for publication now.

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

My first prose book, the one published in Japan, actually won a competition. Since part of the prize was publication, I didn’t have to go through rejection that time around. But I’ve faced more than my share both before and since then.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

Rejections are part of the game. Even Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth made more outs than hits. If you have long-term goals that take into account the probability of failure along the way, it’s not hard to keep things in perspective.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

Again, winning that competition in Japan pretty much determined who’d publish that nonfiction book … incidentally, titled RAISING A CHILD TO BE BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL, and published by Hira-Tai Books, based in Tokyo. As far as drama was concerned, I chose Brooklyn Publishers, a leading supplier of dramatic material to the student market. This time around a search for publishers of fiction led me to Saga Books, based in an area of western Canada where I used to live. I contacted Ruth Thompson of Saga Books, sent her a proposal and sample, and things started moving forward from there.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I didn’t celebrate much. I’m usually looking ahead to the next goal.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

I’ve sent out press releases, done interviews … just generally tried to spread the word. Unfortunately, a lot of other responsibilities get in the way.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

No. This has been an interesting journey, though I’m looking forward to the part where the road becomes a little easier.

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

If nothing more, I’ve developed the patience of Job. I’m also at a point where I’m pretty much able to execute my vision of what a particular literary project should be. That’s not to say others share that vision. My most recent publication is TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART, and a second novel, PLAN B, will be published by Saga Books not too far into 2009.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

I’m still making plenty of mistakes and wondering when things will speed up. But I’m much more attentive to rewriting than I used to be. Perhaps I could have been less reluctant in earlier days to take an ax to work that really could benefit from a major going-over.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

Nothing huge … yet. But being published seems to help label you as a writer … perhaps give others incentive to refer to you that way … and that’s significant.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

Musician. I’m equally committed to that field. You can listen to a few of my songs on my myspace page (accessible through stevenverrier. com).

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

Again, I’m equally committed to both. Both define much of who I am.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Several books further into my career … and a bit wiser.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Develop a thick skin. Be The Little Engine that Could. There are few successful writers that couldn’t paper their walls with rejection letters. Set little goals along the way, and be patient when even the tiniest steps take far longer than you’d imagined. And, of course, grit your teeth and be ready to outlast every obstacle you face.

TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble. com, and other sources. For more information about TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART or about Steven Verrier, visit stevenverrier. com, and drop the author a line telling him what you think about this book!

TOUGH LOVE TENDER HEART VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘08 will officially begin on December 1 and end on December 23. You can visit Steven’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in December to find out where he is appearing!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available. The winner(s) will be announced on December 31!