Book Publishing Secrets with Bruce Forciea, author of Alan 2

Bruce Forciea is known for taking complex scientific concepts and making them easy to understand through engaging stories and simple explanations. He is an Amazon Best Selling Author and author of several books on healing and biology, along with science fiction thriller novels. His fiction writing draws on a diverse and eclectic background that includes touring and performing with a professional show, designing digital circuits, treating thousands of patients, and teaching. His stories include complex plots with unexpected twists and turns, quirky characters, and a reality very similar to our own. Dr. Forciea lives in Wisconsin and loves writing during the solitude of the long Northern winters. 

Website & Social Links:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

About the Book:

A brilliant artificial intelligence (AI) scientist, Dr. Alan Boyd, develops a new program that integrates part of his brain with a computer’s operating system. The program, Alan 2, can anticipate a user’s needs and automatically perform many tasks. A large software company, International Microsystems

(IM) desperately wants the program and tempts Dr. Boyd with huge sums of money, but when Dr. Boyd refuses their offer, IM sabotages his job, leaving him in a difficult financial situation.

Dr. Boyd turns to Alan 2 for an answer to his financial problems, and Alan 2 develops plan Alpha, which is a cyber robin hood scheme to rob from rich corporations via a credit card scam.

Alan and his girlfriend Kaitlin travel to Mexico where they live the good life funded by plan Alpha, but the FBI cybercrime division has discovered part of Alan 2’s cyber escapades, and two agents, Rachel and Stu, trace the crime through the TOR network and Bitcoin.

Alan 2 discovers the FBI is on to them and advises Alan and Kaitlin to change locations. A dramatic chase ensues taking them to St. Thomas, a cruise ship bound for Spain, and finally to Morocco. 

Will they escape detection? They will if Alan 2's Plan Beta can be implemented in time. Or is 'Plan B' something altogether different than it appears to be, something wholly sinister that will affect the entire population of the world?

Watch the trailer at YouTube!

Purchase Information:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher

Thank you for your time in answering our questions about getting published.  Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?

I became an author about 12 years ago when I wrote my first non-fiction book. I always have a number of ideas rumbling around in my grey matter and once I developed the technical skills for writing I was able to get some of them down on paper. 

Is this your first book?

Alan 2 is my 8^th book. I’ve written some non-fiction books, 2 novels and an anthology of science fiction short stories.

With this particular book, how did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you choose this method?

Alan 2 was published by Open Books, a small press. I have been with a medium-sized press and have self-published a couple of books as well. Open Books was the first to respond to my queries and I thought they had a good marketing plan.

Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey?  The pros and cons?

Sure, I could do a seminar on this topic since I’ve been with traditional publishers and have experience self-publishing. I had another book published by Open Books, The X-Cure, and my contract gave them the right of first refusal for Alan 2. They decided to publish Alan 2 as well.

For The X-Cure, I started by contacting agents, then mid-sized to smaller publishers who accepted submissions. Open Books was the first publisher to respond to my query.

What lessons do you feel you learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing industry as a whole?

 First of all, the industry has changed dramatically since my first book 10 years ago. It has become astronomically competitive since then.

One lesson I learned was to develop a social media platform and grow this as much as possible before submitting to publishers. Another, is to spend some time each week promoting your book, either through your platform, website or by scheduling personal appearances.

Would you recommend this method of publishing to other authors?

I think it depends on the book. Authors have been successful with publishers and by self-publishing. For example, a non-fiction book that targets a niche may do well via self-publishing.

What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?

That would be to get something published and become an author versus an aspiring author. I think a good way to learn about writing and publishing is by writing and publishing. This could be through self-publishing or by working with a publisher. The important thing is to get a project done and learn from it.