02/09/2021
TWO GUITARISTS FROM CONNECTICUT!
(Pictured is my son with the amazing John Mayer seven years ago. The year before, my son was left out of the school variety show.)
If you want to know more about me, read the recent Smashwords Interview below. If you don't want to know more, then check out the many fascinating personalities in the world of professional wrestling.
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Published by Smashwords
WHAT IS AN UNDERLYING THEME TO YOUR WRITING?
Without question, I love the underdog. A character with all the odds set against him or her. Oftentimes, they are the victim of bullying as I was when I was young. I am writing for those underdogs who at times feel sad and alone. My goal is to give them hope and inspiration.
WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND YOUR LATEST BOOK?
My whole life I've loved music from rock to classical to hip hop to country to jazz to Motown. Music inspired the idea for GODS OF SOUND. About eight years ago, a local variety show was put together for Middle School students. My wife missed the deadline to sign up my son by one day. When she made an appeal to the woman in charge, the woman acted incredibly inflexible and bureaucratic, saying she couldn't make an exception for one child. I was saddened by her rigidity as my son was an amazing guitarist who was going to do a medley of Blackbird by Paul McCartney leading into Black Dog by Led Zeppelin.
DID YOU HAVE A MENTOR?
From the time I was a teenager, Herman Raucher, a popular author best known for Summer of '42, took me under his wing and offered to provide constructive criticism if I felt I could handle it. When I got his changes, he had written more red ink than I had black. But it all served as a textbook in how to improve my writing. I am forever grateful to him as he spent hours and hours with me. Of course, in return I was subjected to watching the New York Giants football team which he loved even when they couldn't play well at all.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO GET UP EACH DAY?
I love diving into my writing and rejoining my characters who live in my head throughout the whole process. What excites me is not knowing exactly how each story unfolds because it never follows the roadmap I initially set out with.
WHRE DID YOU GROW UP AND HOW DID THIS INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
I grew up in Connecticut. Although both my parents worked, my father in the advertising business and my mother a painter who also ran a small art gallery, we had a fun and creative environment at home. Not only were both my parents creative but they were also incredibly well read. My father had gone to Princeton on a scholarship and my mother to Wellesley. I journeyed to the University of Southern California where I majored in Journalism and further developed a true love of writing. I also have two younger sisters, both artistic.
WHEN YOU'RE NOT WRITING, HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR TIME?
To free my mind, I'll do daily exercise, often take a walk and/or listen to music. I am very much into Zen Buddhism which has helped me stay grounded. I have also devoted time to mentoring college students as well as being involved in saving endangered animals in Africa. My spirit animal has always been the elephant.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS?
When I was young, I loved John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway and John Updike. In fact, in seventh grade I invited Steinbeck to speak at my school as I had read almost all of his books. He wrote me a really thoughtful letter explaining how if he did that it would take time away from writing the books I love. He died a few months after I got that letter which I still possess. Today, I tend to be less loyal with authors, enjoying books from a wide range. In the fantasy and young adult areas, I love JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien and George RR Martin who I have the great fortune of knowing when I promoted Game of Thrones.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST STORY YOU EVER WROTE?
When I was about 7, me and a friend wrote a sci fi story that took place on another planet. It was highly derivative of films we'd watched and yet we got scared as we wrote it. In high school, a wrote a book that dealt in particular with the bullies there. One day, they discovered the book (I was 30 pages in) and destroyed it in front of me, telling me never to do that again. This was before the internet so I had no backup copy.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NEXT?
I have written an animated TV series as well as two movie screenplays, one in the horror genre and the other coming of age. I am excited about all of them and hope to find the right home for each. I'm also very open to writing a sequel for GODS OF SOUND and have a strong idea for that.
