Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Kurt L. Kamm author of One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story.

Good day Kurt and thanks for participating our interview.

Norm:

Has your environment and/or upbringing influenced your writing? As a follow up, please tell us something about yourself.

Kurt:

When I was in college (Brown) I wanted to be a writer. I got diverted for 35 years on Wall Street and 5 more years as an elite masters bicycle racer.  When I retired, I moved to Malibu. You can't live in Malibu more than 12 months without seeing, smelling or living through a wildfire. My book has nothing to do with my upbringing, but everything to do with the fire environment in Southern California.

Norm:

In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell a good story or make a point. But how much is too much and how does this apply to One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story?

Kurt:

The part of my book about the abusive father and dysfunctional family is complete fiction. The fire training, firefighting, and the entrapment death is 100% fact with a fictional story to support it. I thought the details about firefighting were so interesting to the uninitiated that there was no need to embellish or create any fictitious accounts.

I have had an interesting discussion with someone who teaches in an MFA program. He contends that everything you write is true, because you have created it from your own life experiences or knowledge.

Norm:

Have you had anything published prior to your first novel and what has been your overall experience as a published author?

Kurt:

My life as a published author is, at this point, 10 weeks long. My book just came up on Amazon today, so I can't give you much insight. I can say that when I held the first copy of my book in my hand, it was one of the most exciting events of my life. I spend a lot of time with CALFIRE, LACoFD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in connection with the book I am writing now about arson. When I flash my first book at anyone, no more questions are asked. That's a nice feeling. When someone asks, "Have you written anything?" I can say yes.

Norm:

What motivated you to write One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story? How did you decide you were ready to write the book?

Kurt:

I was riding my bike home on Pacific Coast Highway. When I passed Pepperdine University, which has acres of grass, I saw a fire helicopter on the lawn. Next to it were half a dozen firefighters in full yellow Nomex wildland gear. That was the coolest, most macho thing to see. I began wondering what their lives were like. What would it be like to be part of a (helitak) crew dropped on the top of a mountain to fight a forest fire?

I just sat down and wrote a couple of pages. 30 months later, and hundreds of visits to fires and fire crews, I finished the book.

Norm:

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Kurt:

Meeting the firefighters. They are the nicest, most selfless group of people I have ever met. It was also a lot of fun to go to wildland fires and learn about how and why fires burn. (My own house almost burned down in the Malibu Canyon Fire in October 2007. My neighbour lost his house and the church below me also burned to the ground.)

Norm:

Where did you get your information and ideas for One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story?

Kurt:

CALFIRE and LACoFD adopted me. I attended their training academies, and spoke to hundreds of firefighters from Battalion Chiefs to the lowest grunts. I also looked at  Forest Service videos and read reports of firefighter fatalities. I read some fiction, including Norman Maclean's Young Men and Fire.

Norm:

How did you develop the plot and characters? Did you use any set formula?

Kurt:

I shouldn't admit this, but I didn't have much of a plot to begin with. I had this idea about a kid leaving home in Michigan and coming out to California to be a firefighter. As I started going to fires and meeting people - events, scenes, and situations started filling my mind, and I was writing them down. About halfway – 150 pages and 12 months

later - the whole story seemed to come together.

Norm:

How did you celebrate your novel's completion?

Kurt:

Honestly, there were so many times I thought it was completed, and I read it so many times, the real completion just slipped by. It's in print, but is it completed??

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your book? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query publishers who would most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections? Did you self-publish?

Kurt:

I began by sending my query letters to agents. I also had a couple of high level introductions. My genre – abused kid turns firefighter and comes of age when his mentor is killed in a burnover – didn't seem to fit into anyone's category. I got plenty of rejections. After 8 months, those who were interested were still dithering with my first 3 chapters or my first 40 pages. In the meanwhile, we had these devastating fires in October and November in Southern California. I decided I didn't want to wait another 6 months, I wanted to have my book for sale. (Should I say I wanted to strike while the iron was hot?)  I elected to self publish, through Lulu. The Wildland Firefighter Foundation sold my book on their website and I gave them the profits. I got a lot of publicity in the professional fire journals.

As an aside, I found the Lulu process very efficient and prompt. Once you get your book, however, you've got to market it.

Norm:

Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)

Kurt:

My new book is about arson. It is both dark and funny. One of the characters is a priest who believes that arsonists are possessed by the devil and must undergo exorcism. As proof of the possession, he cites the loss of so many telephone poles in fires. He contends the devil is destroying them because they look like crosses. Once again, the factual overlay of the investigations, the incendiary devices, the fires, is better than anything I could make up.

Norm:

How have you used the Internet to boost your writing career? Will there be any unique ways you'll be marketing your book that is different from how others authors market their books?

Kurt:

I'm new to Internet marketing, so I don't have much advice to give. I did find, however, that there were firefighter related publications, charities, blogs, etc, which were interested in the book because of the subject matter.

Norm

Where can our readers find out more about you?

 Kurt

I will have a website in   8 – 10 weeks. Author information has been uploaded to Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but it appears to still be somewhere in cyberspace. Lulu.com has a storefront for my book, with some excerpts

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Kurt:

If you live in an area that is prone to wildland fires, I promise you will never think of these fires in the same way after you read the book.

Also, you should know that the title, One Foot in the Black, is a firefighting phrase. It is a position on the fireline, which is next to an area already burned (“the black”). It is at once the most dangerous place, usually close to the flames, and the safest place,  a safe zone into which escape is possible.

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story

Click Here To Read Norm's Review

Click Image Below To Find Out More About This Book (Note: May not work with all browsers)