Why do you feel like you're qualified to write a book?
Well, actually I don't feel like I'm qualified at all. I don't believe that I'm a great writer by any stretch of the imagination. I do feel that my story is interesting, unusual and I may have a unique way of looking at things that I hope translates onto the pages of my book.
What prompted you to write a book?
It truly started when telling stories to my kids and I thought that it would a good idea to write them down so that they could read them to their kids one day and perhaps they might find the stories amusing. As I was writing, I'd find myself chuckling and thinking, "maybe other people may find this amusing and perhaps I'll put it out there and see what happens."
What's your goal with the book?
I don't have any delusions about becoming a NY Times Best Seller. This is just a fun project that took WAAAAY too much time and effort and I'm happy to finally complete it. It isn't about making money. I can't see a scenario where there is a good return on the time I invested unless I sold half a million books because this was ridiculously time consuming.
How long did it it take?
Geez... years! From a really rough form, it's been in the works for at least 10 years. I'd work on it when I had a few minutes here or there, at lunch or before work and then I'd put it away for 6 months and pick it back up, work on it diligently for 3 months, put it away again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. You have to do it that way, at least I do. It's like letting the pot simmer with ideas and you add layers to the story each time you put it away and then pick it back up. After you put it away for a bit, you pick it up again and you've forgotten certain parts and you find yourself laughing out loud. It's weird. Fun but grueling process.
Why are there two books?
I felt like cramming it all into one book would be way too much and would be overwhelming. I'm no JK Rowling who can hold the attention of a reader for 700 or 800 pages. I intentionally wrote small chapters for that very reason; thinking that if the chapter is short and someone is reading it and (hopefully) enjoying it, that they may think, "well, the chapters are short so maybe just one more chapter before I go to sleep."
Do you feel like one book can stand on it's own, independent of the other?
I hope so and I believe they do. You could pick up one and feel like it was complete though the two flow so nicely together and tie in perfectly. That being said, if you just read the second book, you're missing a lot of context and the very last part of the last chapter will have less meaning if you didn't read the first book. If you read only the first book, you'd miss out on a whole new trajectory that my life took in high school that nobody could have anticipated.
What are the differences between the two books?
Well, the story follows my life chronologically, in a similar way that Frank McCourt's story does with Angela's Ashes and then 'Tis and finally Teacher Man. So, in the first book, I'm a little kid and it takes you through my unique life up until the rapture, the end of the world on New Year's eve of 1980. The second book, Just a Small Town Ninja, documents my teenage years and all the awkward stories therein.
The first book probably has more references to God than the second book. The second book is more about being a kooky teenager. In both books, I'm trying to overcome my female-dominated name and prove to the world that I'm a man. that's a common thread between them. The second book has way more pop culture references, specifically 80's pop culture.
Which is your personal favorite between the two books?
Fair question. I will think that it's one of them until I re-read the other and then, I think for sure it's this one. The truth is, they are both really fun so my favorite of the two is the one I'm currently reading and I hope the readers will feel the same way but I'm curious to hear their perspectives.
Is writing a book a way to "brag" about yourself and your life?
I could see how that could happen but not in my case. I talk a lot about my shortcomings and share terribly embarrassing stories. I don't even think I'm the hero of my own story. I make a lot of mistakes and wish I had been a better person as a kid and teenager.
If you're not the hero of your own story, who is?
Most likely, my mom. I have great admiration for her. She was small in stature, just a tiny thing but she was brave and kind and supportive and strong when she needed to be. Granted, she'd probably admit that she was pretty naive about a lot of things, had a limited view of the world but she was always up for an adventure. She had six kids to tend to yet she always gave us individual time and made us feel special. We may not have had a lot of money growing up but we were loved and we felt it through her actions.
I see that God and Christianity are frequently referenced in your stories. Is this a "Christian book" or is there a religious agenda?
There's no religious agenda. I simply talk about my life. My parents were spirit filled Christians who raised us in that way, who associated with others who believed the way they did. If you read the book, you can see that religion is confusing to me and I'm trying to figure it out and sometimes it's frustrating for me, so my goal isn't to use the books to "witness" to readers or to push them one direction or another. I'm simply telling the story of my childhood and there's a lot of God in it, sometimes in unusual and even comical ways. I didn't enjoy tent revivals, prayer meetings or going to church and that's pretty evident in the book.
Who are your favorite authors?
I love Frank McCourt, James Clavell, Steinbeck, some Hemmingway (for Whom the Bell Tolls is my favorite), Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Dickens among others. I wasn't much of a reader until I was in my 30's and that is when I just fell in love with reading. Some of my prized possessions are signed and/or first editions of my favorite books by my favorite authors.
I love classic books and admire the craft of the writers. WRITING IS HARD!!! Man, so hard and time consuming. I bet each of these first two books represents at least 200 hours of work. For the authors I mention, that can just crank out the books in such a beautiful form, I have ultimate respect for them.
Did you try to copy another author's style?
No doubt. Two actually. Frank McCourt and Kurt Vonnegut. I connected with Frank McCourt because he had a tough life, he endured many challenges yet when he tells his horrific story, it has a comedic twist and I love him for that. That's the way I see the world anyway so it totally resonated with me. With Kurt Vonnegut, it's more about the short, fast, interesting chapters in rapid fire succession that intrigued me and I did my best to emulate that style.
I'm a huge fan of audiobooks and love it when authors read their own work, especially Frank McCourt. That Irish accent, the way he sings the songs, it's perfection. Interestingly, there were times that I'd be writing and in my head, I could head Frank speaking the words.... not necessarily that he was providing the words to me but he was reading them as I wrote him and maybe a little of both sometimes. I don't know. Somehow, Frankie inspired me in unexpected ways and hearing him read my words was/is so cool. I can read some part of my book and hear him every time. Is this the first stage of mental illness?
What's the hardest part about writing the books? Coming up with the verbiage?
Not really. that part comes pretty easy. I'm not detail oriented and I'm shocked as I edit and re-edit how many times I miss punctuation marks. The time element is another challenge but it's a little easier now that my youngest child is off to college.
What do you hope the readers will take away from your stories?
I hope they feel inspired to write down their own stories because each life is beautiful and unique and should be shared. It's my genuine hope that I can make them smile and laugh when they read the book, maybe shake their heads and wonder if what I wrote really happened or not. I think in some ways we're all "different" or weird in some way. Oddly, I believe that is what we have in common. As a kid, the last thing in the world that I wanted was for anyone to know how weird I was or how different our beliefs are. Now, I don't know. I guess I'm more confident and I recognize that we're all the same with slight differences. We all want to love and feel love in return, to feel appreciated, to be seen, to be taken seriously, to matter.
I hope that readers find my story to be uplifting and if nothing else, perhaps a distraction from the every day routine of life that is so easy to get sucked into. I hope readers laugh because life is too short not to laugh as often as possible.
Any surprises when you were writing?
As I was about to publish the books, I had a feeling of panic, thinking, "Oh man... do I really want everyone to know these stories? Am I making a big mistake by writing and now publishing them? Some of them are embarrassing for me personally or may be for my parents, family members or friends. What’s really strange is that I don't really care if complete strangers read my story or if family members read my story. It's my friends and co-workers that I feel most nervous about for whatever reason. I'm telling you, I broke out in a sweat and thought about it for a few days before i hit, "submit."
My goal is to write the story of my childhood, which may appear to be strange to some but I feel like it's important to be honest. The stories actually happened and I wrote them to the best of my recollection. Of course, you're seeing the world through the lens of a child so the world looks different.
The last thing I'd want to do is alienate someone I care about, so I hope they understand the stories were written with love and with no negative intentions. It's easy to second-guess decisions after the fact but I believe my parents did their best and frankly, everything turned out great. I love my childhood and wouldn't trade any of it. It was a different time and a different world in the 1970’s and 1980’s. I relish these experiences, good, bad or otherwise. Life is not perfect and if it was, that would be just way too boring and predictable.
So what's next? Any more books in the future? Your hero, Frank McCourt wrote three and Jesus is part of the holy trinity. Three is the magic number?
HA! SOLD!!! Actually, I do have a third book in a mostly outline form, tentatively titled "Seriously" that picks up where the second one ends, as I finally begin my life as a man in the Air Force. Don't expect anything, any time soon. I need a break. I'm not sure how Dan Brown or the Game of Thrones guy could crank out so many books. It's exhausting!
It will be nice to finally take a break from reading/editing my books over and over and read some other stuff for a change.
I'd love to finish the screen play that my brother Levi and I started some time ago. He has a great sense of humor and his own, unique perspective that I really love. The two of us work well together. Unfortunately, life is busy with jobs, kids, spouses, etc... We're just going to have to make time and knock it out.
Well, actually I don't feel like I'm qualified at all. I don't believe that I'm a great writer by any stretch of the imagination. I do feel that my story is interesting, unusual and I may have a unique way of looking at things that I hope translates onto the pages of my book.
What prompted you to write a book?
It truly started when telling stories to my kids and I thought that it would a good idea to write them down so that they could read them to their kids one day and perhaps they might find the stories amusing. As I was writing, I'd find myself chuckling and thinking, "maybe other people may find this amusing and perhaps I'll put it out there and see what happens."
What's your goal with the book?
I don't have any delusions about becoming a NY Times Best Seller. This is just a fun project that took WAAAAY too much time and effort and I'm happy to finally complete it. It isn't about making money. I can't see a scenario where there is a good return on the time I invested unless I sold half a million books because this was ridiculously time consuming.
How long did it it take?
Geez... years! From a really rough form, it's been in the works for at least 10 years. I'd work on it when I had a few minutes here or there, at lunch or before work and then I'd put it away for 6 months and pick it back up, work on it diligently for 3 months, put it away again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. You have to do it that way, at least I do. It's like letting the pot simmer with ideas and you add layers to the story each time you put it away and then pick it back up. After you put it away for a bit, you pick it up again and you've forgotten certain parts and you find yourself laughing out loud. It's weird. Fun but grueling process.
Why are there two books?
I felt like cramming it all into one book would be way too much and would be overwhelming. I'm no JK Rowling who can hold the attention of a reader for 700 or 800 pages. I intentionally wrote small chapters for that very reason; thinking that if the chapter is short and someone is reading it and (hopefully) enjoying it, that they may think, "well, the chapters are short so maybe just one more chapter before I go to sleep."
Do you feel like one book can stand on it's own, independent of the other?
I hope so and I believe they do. You could pick up one and feel like it was complete though the two flow so nicely together and tie in perfectly. That being said, if you just read the second book, you're missing a lot of context and the very last part of the last chapter will have less meaning if you didn't read the first book. If you read only the first book, you'd miss out on a whole new trajectory that my life took in high school that nobody could have anticipated.
What are the differences between the two books?
Well, the story follows my life chronologically, in a similar way that Frank McCourt's story does with Angela's Ashes and then 'Tis and finally Teacher Man. So, in the first book, I'm a little kid and it takes you through my unique life up until the rapture, the end of the world on New Year's eve of 1980. The second book, Just a Small Town Ninja, documents my teenage years and all the awkward stories therein.
The first book probably has more references to God than the second book. The second book is more about being a kooky teenager. In both books, I'm trying to overcome my female-dominated name and prove to the world that I'm a man. that's a common thread between them. The second book has way more pop culture references, specifically 80's pop culture.
Which is your personal favorite between the two books?
Fair question. I will think that it's one of them until I re-read the other and then, I think for sure it's this one. The truth is, they are both really fun so my favorite of the two is the one I'm currently reading and I hope the readers will feel the same way but I'm curious to hear their perspectives.
Is writing a book a way to "brag" about yourself and your life?
I could see how that could happen but not in my case. I talk a lot about my shortcomings and share terribly embarrassing stories. I don't even think I'm the hero of my own story. I make a lot of mistakes and wish I had been a better person as a kid and teenager.
If you're not the hero of your own story, who is?
Most likely, my mom. I have great admiration for her. She was small in stature, just a tiny thing but she was brave and kind and supportive and strong when she needed to be. Granted, she'd probably admit that she was pretty naive about a lot of things, had a limited view of the world but she was always up for an adventure. She had six kids to tend to yet she always gave us individual time and made us feel special. We may not have had a lot of money growing up but we were loved and we felt it through her actions.
I see that God and Christianity are frequently referenced in your stories. Is this a "Christian book" or is there a religious agenda?
There's no religious agenda. I simply talk about my life. My parents were spirit filled Christians who raised us in that way, who associated with others who believed the way they did. If you read the book, you can see that religion is confusing to me and I'm trying to figure it out and sometimes it's frustrating for me, so my goal isn't to use the books to "witness" to readers or to push them one direction or another. I'm simply telling the story of my childhood and there's a lot of God in it, sometimes in unusual and even comical ways. I didn't enjoy tent revivals, prayer meetings or going to church and that's pretty evident in the book.
Who are your favorite authors?
I love Frank McCourt, James Clavell, Steinbeck, some Hemmingway (for Whom the Bell Tolls is my favorite), Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Dickens among others. I wasn't much of a reader until I was in my 30's and that is when I just fell in love with reading. Some of my prized possessions are signed and/or first editions of my favorite books by my favorite authors.
I love classic books and admire the craft of the writers. WRITING IS HARD!!! Man, so hard and time consuming. I bet each of these first two books represents at least 200 hours of work. For the authors I mention, that can just crank out the books in such a beautiful form, I have ultimate respect for them.
Did you try to copy another author's style?
No doubt. Two actually. Frank McCourt and Kurt Vonnegut. I connected with Frank McCourt because he had a tough life, he endured many challenges yet when he tells his horrific story, it has a comedic twist and I love him for that. That's the way I see the world anyway so it totally resonated with me. With Kurt Vonnegut, it's more about the short, fast, interesting chapters in rapid fire succession that intrigued me and I did my best to emulate that style.
I'm a huge fan of audiobooks and love it when authors read their own work, especially Frank McCourt. That Irish accent, the way he sings the songs, it's perfection. Interestingly, there were times that I'd be writing and in my head, I could head Frank speaking the words.... not necessarily that he was providing the words to me but he was reading them as I wrote him and maybe a little of both sometimes. I don't know. Somehow, Frankie inspired me in unexpected ways and hearing him read my words was/is so cool. I can read some part of my book and hear him every time. Is this the first stage of mental illness?
What's the hardest part about writing the books? Coming up with the verbiage?
Not really. that part comes pretty easy. I'm not detail oriented and I'm shocked as I edit and re-edit how many times I miss punctuation marks. The time element is another challenge but it's a little easier now that my youngest child is off to college.
What do you hope the readers will take away from your stories?
I hope they feel inspired to write down their own stories because each life is beautiful and unique and should be shared. It's my genuine hope that I can make them smile and laugh when they read the book, maybe shake their heads and wonder if what I wrote really happened or not. I think in some ways we're all "different" or weird in some way. Oddly, I believe that is what we have in common. As a kid, the last thing in the world that I wanted was for anyone to know how weird I was or how different our beliefs are. Now, I don't know. I guess I'm more confident and I recognize that we're all the same with slight differences. We all want to love and feel love in return, to feel appreciated, to be seen, to be taken seriously, to matter.
I hope that readers find my story to be uplifting and if nothing else, perhaps a distraction from the every day routine of life that is so easy to get sucked into. I hope readers laugh because life is too short not to laugh as often as possible.
Any surprises when you were writing?
As I was about to publish the books, I had a feeling of panic, thinking, "Oh man... do I really want everyone to know these stories? Am I making a big mistake by writing and now publishing them? Some of them are embarrassing for me personally or may be for my parents, family members or friends. What’s really strange is that I don't really care if complete strangers read my story or if family members read my story. It's my friends and co-workers that I feel most nervous about for whatever reason. I'm telling you, I broke out in a sweat and thought about it for a few days before i hit, "submit."
My goal is to write the story of my childhood, which may appear to be strange to some but I feel like it's important to be honest. The stories actually happened and I wrote them to the best of my recollection. Of course, you're seeing the world through the lens of a child so the world looks different.
The last thing I'd want to do is alienate someone I care about, so I hope they understand the stories were written with love and with no negative intentions. It's easy to second-guess decisions after the fact but I believe my parents did their best and frankly, everything turned out great. I love my childhood and wouldn't trade any of it. It was a different time and a different world in the 1970’s and 1980’s. I relish these experiences, good, bad or otherwise. Life is not perfect and if it was, that would be just way too boring and predictable.
So what's next? Any more books in the future? Your hero, Frank McCourt wrote three and Jesus is part of the holy trinity. Three is the magic number?
HA! SOLD!!! Actually, I do have a third book in a mostly outline form, tentatively titled "Seriously" that picks up where the second one ends, as I finally begin my life as a man in the Air Force. Don't expect anything, any time soon. I need a break. I'm not sure how Dan Brown or the Game of Thrones guy could crank out so many books. It's exhausting!
It will be nice to finally take a break from reading/editing my books over and over and read some other stuff for a change.
I'd love to finish the screen play that my brother Levi and I started some time ago. He has a great sense of humor and his own, unique perspective that I really love. The two of us work well together. Unfortunately, life is busy with jobs, kids, spouses, etc... We're just going to have to make time and knock it out.