James Rubart's "Book of Days"

We're happy to have James Rubart with us today talking about his book, Book of Days. To learn more about James and his book, read on!

Title: BOOK OF DAYS
Publisher: B&H Fiction

Cover blurb: God’s Book of Days.
A record of the past, present, and future of every soul. Some say it’s fable. Others are sure it’s real, hidden somewhere on Earth ... if Cameron Vaux can’t find it, he will lose everything. (Full back cover copy at the bottom.)

1) How did this story come to you?
In late 2000 my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I began to live the great sadness of seeing my father slip into the chains of Alzheimer's, and watched his memories fade away. I wondered where they were going. Was God catching them as they escaped his mind? Would they one day be restored to him? When I read Psalm 139:16 I realized God had already written down every moment of my Dad's life in His book.
After that I started to wonder—what if that book was on earth? And what if we could find it and see our past, and our future? And what if my protagonist had to find it to keep his own mind from slipping away? Out of those thoughts came BOOK OF DAYS.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
ROOMS (my first novel, released in April 2010) was rejected by all major publishers in the fall of ’06 so in early 2007 I started writing BOOK OF DAYS. I thought it would be published first, then if it found success ROOMS might be published.
But I ended up signing a contract for ROOMS in the fall of ’08, thinking I’d sign a contract for BOOK OF DAYS soon after. I didn’t get an offer for BOOK OF DAYS till mid December 2009, but fortunately I already had 70% of the novel written, so I finished the rest of it in a mad push in January of 2010.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I’ve almost drowned—twice. But I still like to scuba dive. I’m an introvert (most people who meet me assume I’m a extrovert, because I love people and savor my relationships, but I DEFINITELY need my alone time. That’s how I get energized. As much as I love around my friend and meeting new people, it drains me.) And third, when I was one and a half, the fingers on my right hand were healed after a table saw fell on it.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’m finishing edits on my third novel, The Chair which is about a young antiques store owner who is forced to confront his greatest fears and greatest failure when he’s given an artifact that might be a legendary healing chair made by Jesus Christ.
I’ve started brainstorming on my fourth novel, Backspace which will release summer 2012.
I’m developing a series of online marketing courses for novelist's who need to be more proficient and effective at marketing their novels.
And I’m working on an ancillary product tied into ROOMS that will release at the same time as The Chair.
As you can probably guess, I’m not sleeping much these days. But I’m loving all the projects.

5) Parting comments?
I followed my dreams and now I’m living it. So take the chance, take the risk, and take your wings to the air.
Thanks so much for having me!

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.jimrubart.com/
http://www.jameslrubart.com/
FB: James L. Rubart
Twitter: @jimrubart
http://www.jimrubart.com/