Tell us a bit about yourself.
Traveling the world in the US Air Force during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the war in Vietnam meant landing in many exciting locales--some great, some not, and some almost too exotic to survive.
I used the GI Bill to graduate from university with a degree in English and History.
Following graduation, and as always looking for excitement, I moved to Tehran, Iran to work as an analyst focused on the Middle East. When the Shah of Iran's flag started to droop, I returned to the United States to find employment with a major international air carrier. That led to much more travel and enough excitement to satisfy me.
Describe the plot of your new book in a few sentences.
The plot starts when a boy "awakens" to find that he doesn't know where he is, who he is, where he came from, or any other important information about his life. This story is told when the boy has become a man—not just any man—but one who thinks he's 150 years old. He knows that he has killed a large number of very bad people throughout his long life, starting shortly after he awakens. He doesn't understand why he feels obligated to rid the world of bad people, only that he does. He knows, too, that he has done the same thing in past lives. Now, even though he is old and tired, he has to try to do it one final time before an innocent person is murdered by the bad people standing before him.
Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
Readers who enjoy suspenseful stories with thrills, action, and romance, with a bit of off-kilter historical adventure.
What inspired you to write a book about a self-proclaimed 150-year-old man with a case of deja vu that involves murder and saving lives?
From reading about several people who lived extraordinarily long lives and the many things they encountered. My great grandfather was one of those people who lived for over one hundred years and he had many tales to tell.
Tell us a bit about the protagonists, Henry and Spangle.
Although Henry can't recall much of anything about who he truly is, he shrugs off the mysteries in his life and tries to live a life that helps himself and other people—especially those who are about to become victims.
Spangle is a rich young woman raised by a sinister grandmother. She wants to become a writer and Henry has agreed to let her interview him about his long life, and the many people he has killed. She is morbidly fascinated by his extremely strange life—and more than a little leery of him, but also feels a certain kinship that she can't explain.
Henry, although he cannot remember much about his alleged 150 years of life, says he managed to kill a large number of very bad people. Without giving too much away, what does Henry remember about these killings?
Henry doesn't remember anything before he "awakened" but he has a vivid memory of each and every killing—the who, the why, and the when. He retains every detail, even though some of the killings took place over a hundred years earlier.
Who was your favorite character to write?
Henry, without a doubt. He's kind, resourceful, loving, very humorous, not a mean-spirited person even when provoked, but he's not someone a sane person wants for an enemy.
Are there any authors who have influenced your writing style?
Too many authors, from Ray Bradbury to Barbara Kingsolver to Annie Dillard to Barry Eisler, all have made significant impressions on me in the way they structure their writings and select their words.
Tell us about your creative process, from initial idea to published manuscript.
I write in a journal most every day—just doodling, mostly. But that's when my best ideas appear and I jot them down and later come back to expand on or discard them. I spend a great deal of time on character development, more than any other aspect of writing. The actual stories (plots) grow all on their own. Then I rewrite and edit, over and over until the story is as polished as I can make it.
How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
I'm such a big fan of ebooks that I have decided to only publish for ebooks and stop writing for print. To me, it seems wasteful to print hardcopies of books when electronic copies are so economical and handy to produce.
What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
My primary goal is to keep writing. Stopping doesn't compute for me.
Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
No. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of the entire process, even rewriting. When I first started I had an agent, and I soon became very tired of all the opinions and other input from publishers who were only concerned with their own interests—never mine. Self publishing made my life much better.
What do you have in mind for your next project?
It's already in progress. It concerns the sad state of our planet, the hyenas that inhabit our political system, and a certain teenage girl from another planet who wants to rescue us before Earth implodes.
Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
Yes, I think readers will be surprised to learn that even a person who has killed a large number of (bad) people has so much pure humanity in them.
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Buy "The Deja Vu Boy" on Amazon
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