Christian A. Dumais is an American working as a university lecturer in Wroclaw, Poland. He recently published Empty Rooms Lonely Countries, which collects a decade's worth of short stories, wandering through through two continents, five countries and multiple universes to explore love, loss and redemption in the 21st century. His most recent short stories have been published in GUD Magazine and Third Wednesday. He is currently promoting Empty Rooms Lonely Countries with his $1000 for a 1000 contest, where he plans to give one of his readers $1000 if he sells 1000 copies of his book by the end of the year.

1). What is your typical workday like? Do you stick to a writing schedule?

Christian A. Dumais: As a lecturer at different schools, my schedule is all over the map. These days, I tend to write whenever I have the time, whether it’s in the office between classes at the university or at a coffee shop. Ideally, I’d like to have a few hours in the late evening to write, but apparently sleep keeps getting in the way. I know once the summer arrives, I’ll be able to have a more consistent schedule. Until then, I’m happy to write when I can.

2) Do you set yourself daily, weekly, yearly goals? If so, what are some of your goals?

Christian A. Dumais: If I have any goals at all, it’s simply to finish the story I’ve started. Keeping in mind, this is a story that’s made from my notes and I’ve begun to expand on. Once it starts to take shape, I feel terrible if I can’t finish it. As long as it stays in note form, it doesn’t bother me as much.

3) When did your passion for writing begin? What kept you going?

Christian A. Dumais: My earliest memory of writing is in the third grade when I was writing monster stories. I was convinced I was writing books, but in reality, I was barely writing what could be considered as flash fiction. My first book, thanks to the help of my aunt, was finished when I was nine years old. It was “The Mystery of the Skull with a Crown,” powerful and gripping story of two nameless boys being chased by bats.

From there, I went back and forth from drawing to writing, until eventually writing won. A lot of that had to do with my mother giving me my first deadline to complete a short story when I was 14. Perhaps because she let me stay up late on weekends to write or simply because of the euphoria I felt finishing a 6,000 word short story, I was hooked.

4) How do you come up with ideas for what you write? What methods do you use to flesh out your idea to determine if it’s salable?

Christian A. Dumais: I’m always thinking of new story ideas. I have a little book that I carry for the ideas I have when I’m on the run. Ideas come from the unlikeliest of places. Lately, I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to mishear song lyrics, and my version of the lyrics have become story titles which are more than enough fuel to inspire a short story.

As for the idea being salable, I don’t think about that. I write for myself first. If I can sell the story and if other people enjoy it…well, that’s desserts.

5) Besides writing for magazines, what other writing gigs have you found profitable or rewarding?

Christian A. Dumais: I find teaching at universities and even high schools to be enormously rewarding. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to teach American literature here in Poland and it’s incredibly satisfying to be there when a student connects with a book for the first time. I can remember the books I cherished when I was younger (you know, the books that were absolutely, positively written just for you) and I’m always hoping that I can be there when someone else finally finds that book they can’t imagine being without. That’s just as beautiful as writing.

6) Why did you choose to self-publish Empty Rooms Lonely Countries?

Christian A. Dumais: Empty Rooms Lonely Countries was self-published, for reasons involving impatience and the belief that it was time for me to take control of my work.

I’d love to have an agent, mostly because I’m at a geographical disadvantage living in Poland, as I believe my core audience is in the States. It would be relieving to know someone was out there pushing my work. But at the same time, I do love the challenge of promoting myself virtually and finding ways to connect with an audience – in this case European – that I wouldn’t expect to appreciate my work. I’ve learned a lot about what my work really means to me, how readers see my work, and its strengths and weaknesses since I’ve started promoting my book, and I know I’m going to be learning a lot more before this is over. I’m confident that I wouldn’t have experienced these lessons if someone else was doing all the work for me.

7) Can you explain some of your research techniques, and how you found sources for your book?

Christian A. Dumais: Because of the nature of the majority of my writing, I write based on my experiences. Most of my research simply comes from living my life, which, fortunately for me, has been fairly interesting. With something like “Mad Dogs,” a lot of it had to do with being in the right place at the right time. In this case, I was visiting Krakow when Vice-President Cheney was there, and I managed to spend a long evening out with members of the Secret Service. 48 hours later, I’m heading home on a train writing 6,000 words in one sitting with the help of my notes. When that happens, it’s like magic.

8) What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Christian A. Dumais: The only obstacle I had was getting the nerve to finally sit down with my short stories and determine which ones would work in a collection. The writing part is so easy for me, but the extra-curricular stuff like packaging, designing and selling is like learning a foreign language. But once I finally made my mind up to pursue self-publishing Empty Rooms Lonely Countries, the path sort of unfolded on its own.

9) Do you recommend other writers find a niche or specialty? What have been the rewards for you?

Christian A. Dumais: I don’t think it’s important to find a niche or specialty, but to just enjoy what you do. If the Internet has taught us anything, it’s that there is an audience for everything. Whether you enjoy writing about Roy Orbison wrapped in plastic or meta-haikus (haikus about writing haikus: blowing your mind in 17 syllables or less), there is someone out there salivating over this stuff. If you don’t find them; trust me, they will find you.

10) Have you had any downfalls or negative experiences working with a publisher/agent, such as rejection letters? If so, how did you handle it?

Christian A. Dumais: I have more rejection letters than I’d like to count. Since I started listing all of the stories I’ve sent to magazines, I discovered that I average 23 rejections for every acceptance. It reminds me of the story of a friend of mine who used to approach women at bars with the absolutely filthiest pick-up line he knew, and he said that nine out of ten women would slap him in the face. But all he ever cared about was the one who didn’t.

11) In the last year or so have you seen any changes in the way publishers publish and/or distribute books? Are there any emerging trends developing?

Christian A. Dumais: Well, I’m no expert, but it seems to me that everyone is so focused on whether the publishing industry will stay afloat or if the book can stay relevant in a digital age or where is the next Harry Potter that no one seems to be participating in any discussions about how amazing books are these days. It feels like we forgot about how much fun this all is.

And the only people who seem to be having fun are the ones doing it on their own, either through self-publishing or podcasting or writing on the side of a building. These writers, like Warren Ellis, Wil Wheaton and the thousands of other writers whose names we don’t know yet, are the ones we need to keep an eye on.

The rest will sort itself out.

12) How have you used the Internet to boost your writing career?

Christian A. Dumais: I’ve been actively using my website (www.emptyroomslonelycountries.com or www.cadumais.com) to promote Empty Rooms Lonely Countries. I have been writing a weekly commentary of the stories from the book, as well as posting new fiction here and there.

Most importantly, I’ve been running my $1000 for a 1000 contest. If you purchase a copy of Empty Rooms Lonely Countries, you are eligible to win $1000 provided that I sell 1,000 copies of the book by the end of the year.

13) Any unique ways you'll be marketing your book that is different from how others authors market their books?

Christian A. Dumais: I’m not sure it’s unique, but I think the aforementioned $1000 for a 1000 contest has a lot of potential. We’ll see at the end of the year if it was an avenue worth pursuing.

14) Who are your favorite authors, and why do they inspire you?

Christian A. Dumais: I often rehearse this answer in my head, but when it comes down to the time when people actually ask the question, I always stumble. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the writers are always changing for me. Mark Z. Danielewski comes to mind because he’s helped me to consider the liberary aspects of the book, something I considered when I was designing the cover for my book. Danielewski is one of the most important writers working today and I’m constantly hungry for more of his work. Jim Crace is also someone I respect and admire, especially for his way of consistently defying expectation. I love how every book is completely different, and just when you think you have him figured out, the next book arrives. And then there’s Zadie Smith, who makes it look so easy and manages to mine emotion from places you’d think would be empty by now.

Those are the ones who first came to mind. I have about a dozen other names I could talk about, but I think the last thing your readers want to do is spend the next two hours reading about my literary crushes.

15) What's your advice to achieve success as a writer?

Christian A. Dumais: Keeping in mind, by no means do I claim to be successful at this. But if I were giving advice, the best I can offer is to do it for yourself first. Don’t worry about if it will sell or if the girl you’re afraid to talk to would like to read it or if it will embarrass your parents, just write it to make yourself happy. If it sells, if she reads it, if your parents love it, it’s all a magnificent bonus.

Thanks for your time.

You can learn more about Christian A. Dumais and his book Empty Rooms Lonely Countries at www.emptyroomslonelycountries.com.