The Music Stalker received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Bruce J. Berger.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Music Stalker was published by Black Rose Writing in October 2021.
What’s the book’s first line?
Kayla Covo emerges from her bedroom at six, listens for sounds that might indicate an intruder, and, hearing none, sighs with relief and offers up a quick prayer of thanks to Hashem.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
The Music Stalker is about a piano prodigy who must survive in a dysfunctional family, contest with severe mental illness (her own and her mother’s), and find a way to reshape her life as the world – including a real or imaginary stalker – shifts around her. She ultimately finds a new passion that saves her life: devotion to Orthodox Judaism as practiced by the Chabad community.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I was inspired by a combination of factors: (a) my fascination with piano prodigies and the difficulties that a family might encounter in trying to raise such a child; (b) my own background of having begun piano studies at the age of four and stopped formal lessons at the age of 13; and (c) a cast of characters created from my earlier stories, whom I wanted to follow with additional events in their lives.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
As the Indie Reader Review states, it’s a great story, with compelling characters, excellently written.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character?
She is a musical genius, with a passion for hard work that very few people can attain; she has an uncanny devotion and ability to making people happy with her music, plus a compulsion that drives her to practice 10 hours/day.
Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
She is unique. She reminds me of herself, because no other person, living or dead, has such a combination of musical talent and religious devotion. However, the idea of writing about a piano prodigy (female) arose because I had been watching many of them on Youtube, including Umi Garrett and Alma Deutscher among others.
When did you first decide to become an author?
When I was in the sixth grade. Even though I chose a career in law and practiced for 40 years, I always continued writing. When I retired from law practice, I enrolled in the MFA in Creative Writing program at American University. So, being a novelist and teacher is a most enjoyable second career. I hope to continue for another 30 years.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No. The first published novel was The Flight of the Veil, to which The Music Stalker is a prequel. There is also an earlier, unpublished novel about the same characters. Finally, there is an earlier story collection, published as Adel: A Novel in Linked Stories, involving the same characters. Note well: a sequel to both published novels is in the works.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I am an Adjunct Professor at American University in Washington, DC, teaching College Writing and Creative Writing, depending upon the semester.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It varies, depending upon what else I’m doing. At most, about three hours/day.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is not needing an agent; when one has direct contact with potential publishers, one can be sure that one’s message is getting across. There is no hardest part. Working with a publisher that believes in one’s work is a pleasure.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Be really careful about submitting a perfect manuscript.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I might do so just to see how different that process is. Then again, I might not.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I want to tell stories that people enjoy reading, stories that compel them to keep turning the pages, and stories that – at the same time – make them continue to think long and hard about the characters and their issues after they’ve finished the book.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I am a great fan of John Fowles’s work. [Fowles books I have read] TIMEs [number of times I have read them] == A VERY BIG NUMBER.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
In some ways, one of my favorite novels, The White Hotel by D.M.Thomas, is a book I wish I could have written, but The Flight of the Veil in many ways comes close. Similar Holocaust-related theme, similar miracle-laden story.