Author Interview, March 2023

1: Tell us a little about yourself and what got you in to writing.

I grew up in Michigan and Ohio, but have lived in Portland, Oregon since 1995. I have a background in social work and specialize in working with at-risk youth. I’m a very idealist and optimistic individual, and am a bit of a dreamer. I love to read history, philosophy, and have spent a fair amount of time studying religious texts. I’m fascinated by the universe and the natural world. I also have interests in art, spirituality, and music. Music has always been a particularly important part of my life, and I have been playing instruments since elementary school and writing songs since my late teens. When I was in 7th grade I began to write poetry. It was a way for me to escape to other worlds and to express myself creatively. As I entered my late teens and early 20’s, poetry started to become more of a vehicle for me to discover and connect to deeper dimensions of my consciousness, to connect to something greater than myself, and to explore the mysteries of life. For me, poetry, or the process of writing poetry, has always had an air of mystery surrounding it. I really fell in love with poetry and I began to identify as a poet. Over the years I’ve written some creative prose and have written short essays here and there, but never had any success completing short stories, plays, and the like. Nonetheless, I did eventually develop a confidence in my ability to write prose and in my ability to capture tone and rhythm. I had the desire to write a longer piece of literature that would reflect the philosophical and spiritual framework I had come to embrace, as well as my hope and vision for humanity. The idea of writing a book about a group of writers, poets, artists, musicians, and philosophers known as The Relaxists incubated inside me for many years before I actually began to embark on the project in earnest.

2: Do you have a favorite time and place where you write?

With respect to writing my novel, The Relaxists, the times and places when/where I felt most comfortable writing varied a lot. There seemed to be phases. For example, when I first started writing I required isolation and was normally writing at night. But I went through a long period when I preferred to be around others while I was writing, almost as if I needed a slight distraction. During this phase, I spent a lot of time writing at coffee shops with my laptop, most often in the late afternoon and evening. On occasion, I would wake up and start writing first thing in the morning, but this was never a consistent pattern. It’s slightly embarrassing to admit, but the book took me almost 15 years to complete, so there were a lot of phases I went through as far when I would write and where I wanted to write. I will say that I did become very comfortable writing at coffee shops, although during the later editing and revision phases I found myself needing the isolation again.

3. Where do your ideas come from?

I think a lot of my ideas come from my personal experience, from my internal world, but also from historical figures, thinkers and teachers from the past who have influenced me, as well as from certain historical episodes. I guess I could say that many of my ideas come from my imagination. And of course, some of the ideas in my book seemingly came straight out of thin air. Through the writing process I gained firsthand knowledge of what writers have long stated: the book often writes itself. I like to think that some, if not much, of my writing process with The Relaxists was guided and informed, in one way or another, by some deeper part of myself, or a “higher self.” My book is a philosophical novel, so the emphasis is on presenting a philosophical framework, or set of ideas (in my case, more of a spiritual and metaphysical framework). Two things that certainly influenced my writing process, and what I wanted to write about, are my idealism and my innate sense of wonder.

4. Do you have a plan in your head of where the story is going before you start writing or do you let it carry you along as you go?

In case of The Relaxists, although I knew I was writing about an era of great historical change and transformation, I didn’t have a clear picture of the beginning, middle, or end of the book before I put the first words to paper. I believe this is one of the reasons the book took me so long to write. For the most part, I was coming up with the story, and learning how to explain the underlying ideas of the book, as I was writing. The first few chapters, in particular, were re-imagined numerous times. As I got deeper into the book, the direction became more crystallized. I began to become clear about what I wanted to accomplish with each chapter and I started to see goal posts that I wanted to move towards. Before I begin my next novel, I will spend much more time outlining.

5. What genre are your books and what drew you to that genre?

The genre that I am writing in is called the “philosophical novel,” “philosophical fiction,” or “book of ideas.” The terms are interchangeable. Before I started writing my book, I read about a dozen books on how to write a novel. One of the best pieces of advice I received was that it was important to know what genre one is writing in. I felt that writing philosophical fiction best suited my strengths as a writer and offered me the best framework with which to accomplish my literary objectives.

6. What dream cast would you like to see playing the characters in your latest book?

I’ve actually imagined The Relaxists being made into an animated film, in which case there wouldn’t be any actors involved.

7. Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?

I’m not actually a big reader of fiction. I’ve probably only read about 15 novels in my life. I have read a lot of history, and this is my favorite type of reading to do. Some works of fiction that I’ve really enjoyed are The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Old Man and the Sea.

8. What book/s are you reading at present?

I’m not reading anything right now, but the last book I finished was Meditations by the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius.

9. What is your favorite book and why?

The book that is nearest and dearest to my heart is probably Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I’ve read the work three times. There is something about the mood of the book, the descriptions, and the context of its writing that captivates me and calms me. It gives me a feeling that I haven’t experienced with other books.

10. What advice would you give for someone thinking about becoming a writer?

I think that people who read a lot of fiction have a head start in understanding how to write good fiction. If one wants to write a novel, the two pieces of advice I would give are, 1) read some books on writing fiction, 2) be very patient with the writing process. I would recommend reading On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction, both by John Gardner.

11. What are the best Social Media Sites for people to find out about you and your work?

My Facebook author page, Instagram, and my website.

I grew up in Michigan and Ohio, but have lived in Portland, Oregon since 1995. I have a background in social work and specialize in working with at-risk youth. I’m a very idealist and optimistic individual, and am a bit of a dreamer. I love to read history, philosophy, and have spent a fair amount of time studying religious texts. I’m fascinated by the universe and the natural world. I also have interests in art, spirituality, and music. Music has always been a particularly important part of my life, and I have been playing instruments since elementary school and writing songs since my late teens. When I was in 7th grade I began to write poetry. It was a way for me to escape to other worlds and to express myself creatively. As I entered my late teens and early 20’s, poetry started to become more of a vehicle for me to discover and connect to deeper dimensions of my consciousness, to connect to something greater than myself, and to explore the mysteries of life. For me, poetry, or the process of writing poetry, has always had an air of mystery surrounding it. I really fell in love with poetry and I began to identify as a poet. Over the years I’ve written some creative prose and have written short essays here and there, but never had any success completing short stories, plays, and the like. Nonetheless, I did eventually develop a confidence in my ability to write prose and in my ability to capture tone and rhythm. I had the desire to write a longer piece of literature that would reflect the philosophical and spiritual framework I had come to embrace, as well as my hope and vision for humanity. The idea of writing a book about a group of writers, poets, artists, musicians, and philosophers known as The Relaxists incubated inside me for many years before I actually began to embark on the project in earnest.
With respect to writing my novel, The Relaxists, the times and places when/where I felt most comfortable writing varied a lot. There seemed to be phases. For example, when I first started writing I required isolation and was normally writing at night. But I went through a long period when I preferred to be around others while I was writing, almost as if I needed a slight distraction. During this phase, I spent a lot of time writing at coffee shops with my laptop, most often in the late afternoon and evening. On occasion, I would wake up and start writing first thing in the morning, but this was never a consistent pattern. It’s slightly embarrassing to admit, but the book took me almost 15 years to complete, so there were a lot of phases I went through as far when I would write and where I wanted to write. I will say that I did become very comfortable writing at coffee shops, although during the later editing and revision phases I found myself needing the isolation again.

I think a lot of my ideas come from my personal experience, from my internal world, but also from historical figures, thinkers and teachers from the past who have influenced me, as well as from certain historical episodes. I guess I could say that many of my ideas come from my imagination. And of course, some of the ideas in my book seemingly came straight out of thin air. Through the writing process I gained firsthand knowledge of what writers have long stated: the book often writes itself. I like to think that some, if not much, of my writing process with The Relaxists was guided and informed, in one way or another, by some deeper part of myself, or a “higher self.” My book is a philosophical novel, so the emphasis is on presenting a philosophical framework, or set of ideas (in my case, more of a spiritual and metaphysical framework). Two things that certainly influenced my writing process, and what I wanted to write about, are my idealism and my innate sense of wonder.

In case of The Relaxists, although I knew I was writing about an era of great historical change and transformation, I didn’t have a clear picture of the beginning, middle, or end of the book before I put the first words to paper. I believe this is one of the reasons the book took me so long to write. For the most part, I was coming up with the story, and learning how to explain the underlying ideas of the book, as I was writing. The first few chapters, in particular, were re-imagined numerous times. As I got deeper into the book, the direction became more crystallized. I began to become clear about what I wanted to accomplish with each chapter and I started to see goal posts that I wanted to move towards. Before I begin my next novel, I will spend much more time outlining.

The genre that I am writing in is called the “philosophical novel,” “philosophical fiction,” or “book of ideas.” The terms are interchangeable. Before I started writing my book, I read about a dozen books on how to write a novel. One of the best pieces of advice I received was that it was important to know what genre one is writing in. I felt that writing philosophical fiction best suited my strengths as a writer and offered me the best framework with which to accomplish my literary objectives.

I’ve actually imagined The Relaxists being made into an animated film, in which case there wouldn’t be any actors involved.

I’m not actually a big reader of fiction. I’ve probably only read about 15 novels in my life. I have read a lot of history, and this is my favorite type of reading to do. Some works of fiction that I’ve really enjoyed are The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Old Man and the Sea.

I’m not reading anything right now, but the last book I finished was Meditations by the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius.

The book that is nearest and dearest to my heart is probably Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I’ve read the work three times. There is something about the mood of the book, the descriptions, and the context of its writing that captivates me and calms me. It gives me a feeling that I haven’t experienced with other books.

I think that people who read a lot of fiction have a head start in understanding how to write good fiction. If one wants to write a novel, the two pieces of advice I would give are, 1) read some books on writing fiction, 2) be very patient with the writing process. I would recommend reading On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction, both by John Gardner.

My Facebook author page, Instagram, and my website.

Facebook Instagram

contact: info@TheRelaxists.com