Author Robert DeBurgh calls his writing style descriptive. “I try to imagine myself in the situation of the character I’m writing about and decide how I would handle that situation. I don’t use much in the way of allegory or metaphor,” he says.
Bob’s uncle and aunt, Charles and Doretta Cross were both professional pilots from the late 1920s until after WWII. He says many of the scenes and situations in both Winds of Fate and Riders of the Wind were inspired by their lives. Other parts of the books were inspired by his own experiences.
Bob’s novels are mainly historical fiction. The big challenge is getting the history right as well as correct dialogue, including colloquialisms. “Research is a key process here. I used many stories told me by people who lived in the times I was writing about as well as written material and personal knowledge. When I was writing ‘Winds of Fate’ I even did a short trip to India to visit the US air bases used in the WWII ‘Hump’ operation, which supplied China, by air over the Himalayas from India. This was to get a ‘feel’ of these bases and the lives of the men involved in flying this highly dangerous mission.”
Bob’s marketing strategy is to list his books on all sales sites possible and to take advantage of events such as book fairs, author talks to book clubs, radio interviews etc. He says the best return on investment lately has been converting his books to e-book format. “Sales are growing and I’m actually beginning to make a bit of money.”
Bob reads other indie authors including Philip Van Wulven, Nancy Lee Parish, Alex Canton, Patti Roberts, Michelle Duff, Leland Dirks, and more.
Bob’s advice to aspiring writers? “As my high school lit teacher said, ‘Write about what you know.’ Do your research and edit, edit, edit. If possible get a professional editor or a beta reader to read your book.”
Winds of Fate is by definition a war story but it is much more. The novel follows Colonel Charles Cross from the security of the civilian airlines to China, Burma and India as a civilian Air Force Service Pilot flying the deadly Hump missions over the Himalayas and supplying the Allied Forces in Imphal during the Japanese siege of that city. Winds of Fate also accompanies Doretta Cross into the world of the Women’s Airforce Ferry Service (WAFS) and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and into deadly danger herself.
Winds of Fate is a novel filled with adventure, wartime action, humor and a bit of mysticism, yet it is also a love story; a story of a man and a woman who find each other amidst the thunder and chaos of war and the hope they embrace for a better future. Major events portrayed in the novel are actual historical events and many characters are based on real people.
Riders of the Wind is an epic novel of adventure and romance set in the scene of aviation during the turbulent times of the nineteen twenties and thirties. The book follows the lives of Charles and Doretta Cross through the era of the great depression, prohibition, the airmail, and the formation of the infant airlines. It graphically portrays the danger, excitement and romance of flight in the pioneering years before World War Two and takes the reader into the cockpit with the airmail pilots of the twenties and the airline route survey pilots flying the heart of the Amazon jungles. The reader will experience the golden age of aviation including the great air races, rumrunning, the birth of the airlines, exploration in the jungles of Brazil and much more. This novel is filled with romance, adventure, humor, sadness and mysticism, something for everyone. A “must read” for anyone interested in aviation or, for that matter, anyone who is merely interested in the history, dress and lifestyle of the pre-WWII era. This is the first novel of the epic Riders of the Wind series.
Both titles are available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Breakthrough Bookstore. You can find author Robert F. DeBurgh on Facebook.
Very nice article, thanks Steve!!
Thanks Greta! 🙂 Robert did all the work.
Nice to get to know more about one of my favorite people! TY Steve and Mr. Robert!
Thanks Nickie. I heard you were feeling under the weather. Hope you start feeling better soon. 🙂