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Five questions with Christopher M. Divver...

What do you think makes a good story?

Anything that keeps my interest. I read mostly any genre but the one thing I despise, the one thing that makes me put the book down and never pick it up again is a poorly written plot. The story must keep my interest and I must have some type of connection, in some form or fashion, to the characters. I need to care what happens to them, good or bad, or it's just not worth my time.

What is the hardest part of being a writer?

Rejection. The time and the energy involved in putting together a manuscript is almost immeasurable. To some it's truly a blood, sweat and tears kinda thing, and to have that rejected, by an agent in a query letter or by an unknown reviewer can be emotionally overwhelming. Every writer, myself included, thinks theirs is the "greatest story ever told," but the real test comes when people you don't know read it. That is a writer's only true barometer, and sometimes the truth hurts.

Is the book always better than the movie?

Absolutely. A movie has a time limit, and not just because of production scheduling, but simply because of the average person's attention span. Three hours is the limit to which a person will willingly sit still and watch anything! So movie's are restricted to how much plot, conflict and resolution they can produce in under three hours, whereas a book can be nearly endless i.e. War and Peace. Pulp writer's have much more leeway when it comes to character development than screen writer's do.

What is your perfect Sunday?

A blue sky, perhaps with a spotty puffy white cloud or two; warm, but not hot with a calm, gentle breeze. My wife and I together, along a trail shrouded in thick trees and vegetation. A deer, a few yards off, chews a leaf, ignoring us as we pass. Miles later the trail bends and the trees suddenly open to a rocky outcropping along the edge of the mountain and there, laid out for miles beneath us, is the valley. We sit along the edge, share a bottle of water and a light snack and silently take in the splendor, each of us wishing it wouldn't end.

What is on the floor of your bedroom?

Carpet, eggshell colored, once plush and vibrant now well worn. A cat or two napping in the warmth of the sun that covers most of the bedroom and an article or three of clothing, mine, that my wife politely asks me to pick up but I say to her "the floor is the largest shelf in the house," and smile.