Jersey Shore Scene Featured Author Of The Month: Bryan Kuderna

February is a great month to curl up with a book of fiction and fantasy- please meet Bryan Kuderna:

Question 1- When and how did you start writing?

I began writing during my junior year at Ocean Township High School as the school paper’s sports editor. I immediately knew it was a passion of mine, but the fear of making ends meet out of writing led me to major in finance and not journalism. I began writing my first book, Millennial Millionaire- A Guide to Become a Millionaire by 30, in 2013 at the age of 26 which was published in 2016.

Question 2- What do you like to write about most?

Fantasy. Up until a few years ago, everything I read and wrote was nonfiction. I knew Millennial Millionaire would serve a few purposes, sharing financial literacy, opening doors for my financial services practice, and as a launchpad for media contributions on millennials and economics. My new book and fiction debut, Anoroc, was more fun though. I was able to let my imagination run wild, while still incorporating some real-world themes.

Question 3-What do you find to be the easiest and hardest thing about writing?

The easiest part, if there is one, is when you find that rhythm and completely lose track of time. I think that’s what every author yearns for, when the words just flow. Not to deter any future authors, but the hardest part is everything else. The moments when you know what you want to write but can’t find the words no matter how hard you try, and connecting subplots seamlessly with a consistent flow requires great attention. Then the process of editing, publishing, and marketing isn’t necessarily hard but can be tedious and boring at times.

Question 4- What writers do you most admire and why?

It’s funny, I have a handful of writers I really respect for their work but have lost some of the appreciation lately as they’ve become so outspoken on other issues. Dan Brown is incredible in his storytelling and weaving in the history of secret societies and real-world artifacts but gets a little too controversial opposing religion for my tastes. I like Erik Larson too in how he retells history in such an exciting and intimate way, but again I wish he wasn’t so angrily outspoken on politics.

Question 5- How do you get your ideas for stories and what’s in the future for you in writing?

Millennial Millionaire was more of a memoir of sorts. I started dictating to Dragon Dictation on my iPad the random stories from clients and interactions I had that I found compelling, after a while I had more than enough material to construct a book. Anoroc began in December of 2018 as I was becoming a fan of fiction. I had a few overarching themes that I thought could be communicated in a fun way to teenagers. Once our offices closed due to COVID-19 and I was no longer traveling, I was able to dive headfirst into finishing Anoroc. As for the future, enough has happened since 2016 to start a revised edition of Millennial Millionaire, and if you read Anoroc, you’ll notice there’s a possible series brewing.

Closing – Can you share a memorable experience you’ve had purely because you are a writer?

I can’t point to anything memorable in the actual act of writing, but I would say it’s certainly prompted some cool opportunities. I’ve had interviews with CNBC, Entrepreneur Magazine, Success, and others about Millennial Millionaire, we even did a book signing at my alma mater, TCNJ, which was great. Anoroc has been fun in doing interviews for fantasy blogs all over the world that I never even knew existed.

anoroc To purchase Anoroc: