by Ifrah Daber

Creating a book is a tall task, from coming up with an original idea, making a draft, editing through the draft, making a cover, and then the actual publishing process. Despite how long the process can take, an estimated 2.2 million books are published yearly. 

Joining these 2.2 million books is The Band, a book being published by English teacher and club Creative Writing Club adviser David Kummer.

Kummer has been writing since he was a kid – he recounted writing his own stories as young as the age of 9. He would fill notebooks with his own stories, showing them to his father, with youthful drive.

It shouldn’t be shocking then that Kummer started publishing as young as 15 with his first novel She. Kummer has continued to self-publish a number of original stories. Inspired by authors like Mark Edwards, Kummer’s books “leans towards horror, mystery, thriller, and young adult fiction.” This leads to his books often being filled with twists and turns and morally in-depth characters.

The specific inspiration for The Band was Kummer’s visit to West Virginia where he went and saw a musical festival, which is a direct connection to the plot, as  the main characters in the book are a traveling cover band. 

Another large part of inspiration for the book is Kummer’s wife, who drew illustrations for the book, as  well as helping him throughout the writing process. 

However, unlike Kummer’s fun summer trip to West Virginia, the book goes in a more tragic direction. following a main character who feels in the shadows, falling in love with a bandmate, while dealing with a possible murderous end. For those who are lovers of thrillers, this book is handcrafted for them. 

When Kummer isn’t working diligently on his books, he works as an English teacher and as the Creative Writing Club adviser, a club meant to help students self-publish and grow confidence in their writing and put it out there. Many young people aspire to become authors, producing stories for the world to read and enjoy but are shackled by fear to put their work out there actively. 

“The best way to grow confidence is to start by showing your work to friends, family, or even teachers,” he said.

He also advised starting with something small and writing shorter stories before doing a larger project. Kummer talked about how experimentation with short stories is a great way to try to figure out your “core writer voice.

“Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks,” he stated. 

Kummer stated that a large part of writing is for writers to throw themselves into it and find their wings as they go. He said writers can’t be scared of being good or bad; they simply have to try if they wish to improve.

“Don’t be afraid of the first draft,” Kummer stated. He said that most first drafts are rough – they won’t be the best, but something is better than nothing. 

To conclude, Kummer’s book is available for preorder on his website, davidkummer.com, and on Amazon. For those who want to read it, the first two chapters are also free on his website.