The Interview - John
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What’s your favorite book that you’ve written, and why?
My favorite book used to be "Camino: Laughter and Tears Along Spain's 500-mile Camino de Santiago." Now, my favorite is the new one, "Cancer Diaries," which is available on Amazon beginning January 28th.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Writers write. Write every day about something.
What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am working on promoting my new book, "Cancer Diaries," the story of my 20-month journey from diagnosis to successful completion of treatment.
How do you balance writing with the other aspects of your life?
That is one of the challenges of being a self-employed writer. I work pretty much all the time, whether it's working on a book, writing a story for the newspaper, setting up meetings and interviews, all that good stuff.
What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your work?
The best compliment I can receive about any of my writing is that it inspired someone.
What do you want your legacy as an author to be?
He was an honest writer who wrote from the heart and inspired people.
How do you handle negative reviews or criticism?
Honestly, negative reviews sting a little, but not much. To each his own, eh?
Do you write by hand or use a computer?
Always on a laptop.
What’s your favorite piece of writing advice?
Keep it simple. My literary hero is Ernest Hemingway and he said somewhere that a writer should always use simple words. I'm pretty sure he even went so far as to say that a one- or two-syllable word is always better than a long, difficult word. Learning new words is a good thing, but nobody wants to have to have a dictionary at the ready when reading.
How do you stay motivated to write?
My motivation for writing is pretty much like my motivation for breathing. I couldn't live without either one.
What’s a fun fact about you that most readers wouldn’t know?
I am a Masters pole vaulter. Started learning to pole vault for the first time ever the summer I turned 60 years old.
What do you love most about connecting with your readers?
I love writing about people and sharing their stories with the world, whether that world is the local community or a wider audience.
What’s a writing challenge you’d like to tackle someday?
I have started but never completed a book researching my family tree as far back as I can to pass along to my kids and grandkids.
Do you outline your books, or are you more of a ‘pantser’?
I don't outline anything. I sort of treat everything like a newspaper story. Books are kind of the same, only longer.
What role does research play in your writing process?
I write non-fiction, and I like to interweave research with the narrative in alternating chapters. That gives the story a smooth readability and keeps the reader interested in what is coming next.
How do you find the perfect balance between dialogue and narrative in your books?
I'm also a freelance journalist and somewhere along the line, I learned to use a lot of "dialogue" in my stories. Someone once told me that the people you are writing about can tell their story better than you can, so let them!