Here is an extensive, interesting and humorous interview with author Doug Lucas.
1. What inspired you to write your first
book?
Retirement…
retirement and boredom if the truth be known. There were other factors, but
those two are the prime suspects motivating me to write. After all…how hard can
it be to sit down and just write a story with enough skill to make folks think
you've become a literary giant?
Years ago I
watched my wife start a book, join a writer's group, and read everything she
could get her hands on about the correct way to write a novel. She had a super
story to tell, worked her heart out learning the craft, and managed to finish
half the book before putting it aside, disgusted with life in general and
writing in particular. This was to become another factor in my decision to
write and have a book published. When I say it's a factor, I mean the turmoil
she went through before she became apathetic towards the notion of finishing
her book.
I would watch her
write something she dearly loved and share it with her writer's group or
friends. They in turn would say this is great…but if you just wrote it this way the story would be so much stronger. She in
turn would take their suggestions to heart and make the suggested changes. Once
again they would read what she had liked and changed because of their
suggestions to improve or strengthen it and make even more "if you just tweak it this way"
helpful hints. I watched one evening as she shut her "faithful Tandy"
down, boxed her paper copies of the story
and floppy disks up and walk away from the whole idea.
Anyone who has
ever started a book can understand those actions and they don't require
explanation. What does require explanation is it was the very first time I'd
ever seen her fail to finish anything she’d started. When I retired I wondered
if I could finish a book, without being forced to kill my computer…because
other than my wife, no one would see it until I was done.
So you might say
it was more a stubborn determination to see if I could finish a book, than a
desire to write or publish a novel. That would change after I received three
rejection letters from literary agents.
2. What specific writing style or genre do
you enjoy writing in?
I'm not sure what
a specific style really means. If you're referring to consciously emulating a
particular author…there is only one I try to stay true to…me. Each book I wrote
is my story, therefore it should be told my way. I don't think like Stephen
King or Tom Clancy, why should I attempt to write the way they do? I also don't
have the education of most of the famous authors whose books I've read;
therefore what I know about grammar is what you'll read. I do try to avoid
grammar mistakes, but I pretty much write the way I talk. If you find a book I
wrote boring, then most likely we won't be spending an afternoon in the local
bar chatting…unless of course you're buying.
As for genre,
well that's a grave of a different depth.
Once I managed to
get the first book published, I decided to see if I couldn't write several more
in slightly different genres. I know that an author who wants to be famous is
supposed to only write in one genre to develop a following. I don't expect to
be famous, find telling the same story monotonous and I've got to admit I like
the challenge of seeing if I can get a few readers to try each different book.
At this point in
our little blog together I'll admit I didn't know there was a genre labeled pedagogy, never had any intentions of
trying my hand at non-fiction and of course didn't even want to compete with a
book titled "All About Dinosaurs."
Having admitted
to those facts, then the confusion surrounding the release of my last book, “Flats Teachers' Test," becomes a
funny story pointing out that when things go wrong…they really go wrong.
My publisher
released the book with a three day give away on Amazon, which is free
advertising as far as I'm concerned. I checked it the morning it was released
and was pleased to find it was listed as number one in its genre. Later that
afternoon I again checked on the book's progress, this time paying closer
attention to little things…like genre and category. Yes…I had to look up the
meaning of pedagogy…I'll also bet a few of you will be doing the same thing
right about now.
I'd been a little
shocked to discover I'd been beaten out of the number one slot by a dinosaur.
But must admit I was pleased I'd managed to stay ahead of "Enticing and Exciting the Non-Reader." (Just barely…but
I did stay in the number two slot!). What scares me is if my fictional
characters are listed as non-fiction…does that mean they'll be using an
absentee ballot in the next election? Now that would be an honor for not only
for my fictional characters, but me as well.
3.
How do you come up with the titles for your books?
I don't and at
this point I'd love to say something sounding like a sagely witticism from Mark
Twain. But the truth is I start a book and the title just seems to happen. I've
been told I should invest far more time seeking the Holy Grail of book titles
than I do. I also know a snappy title aimed right at the selected reading
audience…Something like All about
Dinosaurs; is an important part of catching the reader's attention.
Unfortunately…I just go with what seems to fit.
Forgotten received its title because the
folks who died and suffered in Beirut are forgotten by all but those who loved
them.
Man in the Mountain was chosen as a
title because one of the characters lived in a mountain. From the start of the
first paragraph, it had its title.
My book Conversations with a Dead Man because
the main character was dead…and still talking.
Buzz Words just seemed to fit a homicide
investigation, although one reader pointed out the buzz word perps was spelled
preps. So maybe I should have given that one just a little more thought.
The Flats Teachers' Test came from a
quip a gym teacher made to me and when I sat down to write the book I had a
title before I ever started…that time. He said the real test of a true teacher
is can they make an entire school year without killing an administrator or
hurting a student.
I'm working on a
SciFi right now have completed ten chapters. Before I've completed the last
chapter I hope to have a title….other than "what I'm writing now."
The two books I have awaiting the editors chain saw have titles…for now.
4. How many of your novels have certain
messages that you'd like readers to grasp?
Probably only the
Flats Teachers' Test has a message
I'd like to have a reader understand. I tried to use fiction to show just how
much trouble this nation's school systems are really in. We've got some good
schools and a few truly great teachers, both of which are in danger of becoming
extinct.
5. How much of your books are based on
reality or things you've been through I your own life?
If I were to
write an autobiography on all of the extraordinarily exciting events of my life
worth telling…….it would be shorter than a church bulletin and just about as
well read.
Besides…now that
I'm old, it's clear to me that no other young man could ever be as fantastic as
I remember myself being. Therefore I shouldn't depress the younger generation
by telling them just how much better I was than they are or ever could be.
As you can see
from that statement, I write fiction. I firmly believe people read fiction to
escape the pressures of everyday life. Maybe they want to experience something uncommon
or for a few hours just live in a bizarre world of fiction. It isn't unusual or
unexpected for a writer's life to sneak into the tales they tell. But I'd point
out that I wrote Conversations with a
Dead Man and to the best of my knowledge I'm not dead yet.
6. What books have you read that have
influenced you in some way?
Other than the
Bible, the two most critical literary works would be "The care and feeding
of the M-60 machine gun" and of course "the many orders and
regulations published by the Pennsylvania State Police on evidence handling and
processing.
The Bible will
send you to God, a malfunctioning M-60 will send you to hell and break the
chain of custody on a piece of evidence and you'll wish you were in hell.
7. What writer would you consider to be
your mentor?
Me…I've said it
before and like all old men will repeat myself. I want to tell the stories in
my books my own way.
The very first
Author, whose books caught my attention, was Thomas B. Costain. The man has no
idea how many tours he did in Vietnam or the loss I felt when his books The Silver Chalice and The Black Rose met with an untimely
demise in 1983. But there is no way I'd ever attempt to copy his style of
writing. He was my safety valve and secret pathway to a safer and much more
exciting world.
8. Are there any new authors you have read
that you like?
In no particular
order: Julie Powell (author of Gone and not
the author of Julie and Julia), Marissa Carmel, Lee Ann Graff-Vinson (Love
and Liberty--I read it by mistake) Dawn Colcasure. Brian Anderson, Mike Evers,
and Chris McKenna. Of course I never read
children's books or chick books. A manly man such as myself has only heard that
some of these authors can write. I'll add that I've never read anything written
by Sheila Deeth and you can't prove I have.
All of these
folks can spin a yarn in their own way and are well worth finding. Some have
books with Gypsy Shadow publishing and the rest can be found on the Great Minds
Publishing web page.
9. What's your current project and when
might it be available?
I'm trying my
hand at a Sci-Fi that at present I'm just calling Evolved Man. I thought it
might be fun to show a society in the distant future which punishes a
non-conformist by sending them into the past (via time travel of course). I
have no idea when it will be done because I'm only on chapter ten, I have
several poker games (BYOB of course) that need my attention and it's coming up
on my favorite time of year to ride motorcycles (fall foliage). As you can see
I have a few different priorities than other authors. Writing for me is a hobby…I refuse to work
myself to death over a hobby.
10. Can you give us an excerpt or tell us a
little about your current work?
Sure, Here is the
first few paragraphs from chapter one:
My name is
Daniuca West 320…the date chosen for my birth was day two twenty-one in the
agreed cycle of thirty fifteen. I was part of the last generation conceived and
born in the west wing of the old creation hall. My tissue mass was designated
as female, and I was the very last of the six hundred tissue masses for that
cycle allowed to evolve into a human.
My early years of
education and conditioning were normal. I met the female donor of my DNA at age
cycle twelve and the male donor at age cycle fifteen…I found them both to be
uninteresting. I spent the required twenty life cycles in basic courses for
enrichment required by the Committee for
Human Growth and Instruction.
The Educational Guidance Committee
recommended I study Forgotten Pre-Human
Skills. I was allowed to spend the next eighty cycles of my life learning
how dangerous life for the human race was before order and structure was
established.
I was thrilled by
the recommendation to study Forgotten Pre-Human Skills. It would mean society
had decided I would be working as a Harmony
Protector or Regulation Enforcement
Officer. I would be helping society move forward without the hindrances of
the past.
Of all the things
which have changed during my lifetime, I find my computer Companion to be the
single most disturbing. The implanted synchrony is always with you…never
dormant and leaves you with no option but to think whatever message is being
transmitted. I know our society is far better off because of their existence, a
fact my Companion constantly reminds me of.
But there are
times when I would just like to feel or discover new things on my own. I also
suspect this is the very reason I've been summoned to the Hall for Social Justice and Harmony again.
I am far enough
into the start of this story to have already had the lady sent back to 1775. I
think it will be rather unique to contrast the far future to the distant past.
11. Is there anything you would consider
challenging about your writing?
Yes…making sure
it doesn't interfere with the things in life that are truly important. Things
like afternoon naps, late night poker games (that now means anything after nine
PM) and of course long motorcycle rides.
12. Do you have any advice or anything
you'd like to say to your readers?
To anyone who may
be thinking about writing a book. First and foremost write it to make you
happy, not some friend who only wants to make it a little better. Finish what
you start; at the very least you'll be an author with one book to their credit.
If you find a publisher who wants to publish tour work, then you're a published
author. If the book is published and one person (family doesn't count here)
buys it, you are a successful author with a following.
To my
readers…keep buying my books…She Who Should Not Be Named saw another yorkie puppy
in need of a home. This means I'll may need two leashes and two pooper
scoopers.
My Dad had dreams
of sending one of his sons to West Point; I had dreams of escaping any form of
academic endeavor. Neither one of us was a total success in making those dreams
come true. He did manage to force my nonacademic, rebellious mind and body
through high school. I managed to join the Marine Corps right after high school
before he could inflict the pain of higher learning on my soul.
I began a
twenty-five year odyssey that in the beginning worked very well towards the
completion of my life ambition of not being forced to endure any more formal
education. The Marine Corp started my "reeducation" by training me to
become a machine gunner---this worked well for me because no college was
required for this position. After my first tour in the exotic Far East the
Marines waited for me to reenlist and then changed my status to Combat
Photographer, a reward for some misdeed that to this day I am still unaware of
committing.
I once again
found myself in academic situations, but with a twist that added zest to my
desire to learn. Fail a military school and for the most part your career is
over at all levels. You might say that I became a very enthusiastic student,
with a new found motivation to excel at academics.
As a reward for
completing the "schools" I was selected for, I was returned to the
Far East to apply my new found knowledge of Combat Photography in a practical
environment. I learned very quickly that
in a combat situation, taking a shot with a camera was far less rewarding than
taking one with a machine gun.
In the time that
I served in the Marines I manage to become a Drill Instructor at MCRD Parris
Island, South Carolina and serve a tour as a recruiter at RSS Long Island, New
York. I have no idea what crimes I committed that forced the Marines inflict
those punishments on me.
During this
period of travel and education I did managed to entice a lovely young woman to
share her life with me, on the condition that she controlled the purse strings.
This condition has worked very well for us over the last forty some odd years,
at least it has managed to ensure my bills were paid on time. She presented me
with two sons and a daughter.
Both of my sons
had the same attitudes toward higher education that I had. I would often tell
them that they may roll across the stage in a wheel chair on graduation day,
but they would graduate from high school.
I take all of the
credit for raising our daughter, who now has her Master's Degree in
Literature. Having read some of what I've
produced, she has requested that if I ever publish a book, I not mention her
name.
After retiring
from the Marines I went to work for the Pennsylvania State police as a Forensic
Photographer. I liked that job a lot because it was for the most part very
quiet and peaceful---you might say dead end.
After working at that for a few
years I became interested in Forensic Video analysis. I think my main reason
for interest in that field was as a way of proving to my father that you can
make a living watching television.
I am now totally
retired from all forms of work, with the exception of those small requirements
my wife now inflicts on me. Tasks that are preformed for little or no pay I
might add.
My lovely and
gentle wife added to this blend of joy and frustration by acquiring an attack
dog for home security. Very few people have the slightest conception of the
sense of failure a former Marine achieves as he walks behind a six pound
miniature Yorkshire terrier, appropriately named Trouble.
With the profits
from my book sales, I hope to be able to afford a "pooper scooper."
A stroll through an old cemetery will
reveal very little about the people buried there. Their headstones will whisper
of father, wife or lost child----but they don't sing of the lives those men and
women led. Even our national heroes are lucky to have one or two of their
life's accomplishments inscribed on their markers for future generations to
marvel at.
Cemeteries are filled with forgotten people. They were people who had lives rich with or empty of the joys that just being alive creates for us.
Once we are dead and gone, our lives quickly fade into small morsels of oral history and are slowly forgotten by family and friends as time and generations pass.
What would these forgotten souls tell us if they could talk?
THE MAN IN THE MOUNTAIN
For most of us, we have mental pictures of
just what and how our favorite authors live. Their lives must be far richer and
more interesting than ours, because they have the ability to engage our minds
and thrill our souls with their visions of what life was, is or could be.
These word smiths can hold our imaginations in a vise grip with the grace and skill they weave action, love, adventure, and science fiction genres into a whole cloth we can clad ourselves in for an hour or a life time.
This magic cloth allows us to escape our own truth and absorb realities that thrill, intrigue or titillate us. At times authors can: relieve boredom, fear or want, and offer the grace of comfort to our mundane day to day existence. Most at one time or another has sought the company of our favorite author's work to do some or all of those things.
Poets entice us to spend an hour On Walden's Pond, historians teach us the lessons of The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire, theologians interpret The Last Days of Christ for us, and humorist show us The Redneck Dictionary is really us as others see us.
We think we know these word smiths, those tellers of tales who will join, entertain and instruct us with the turn of a page or the touch of a screen. To one degree or another, we are what we read and what we read depends on the author who engages our mind.
But what would happen if a group of people found themselves in a real life web of entanglement and relied to one degree or another on their favorite author?
FORGOTTEN
Historical fiction has a foundation of
truth but that truth is often shrouded in fiction. Some claim that only time
and distance can separate the two.
We have all lived through events that have shocked or changed our nation.
The assassination of Martin Luther King, or John and Robert Kennedy, men traveling into space, and landing on the moon, and of course the bombing of the World Trade Center; these are just a few examples that have occurred in my life time. These are the pivotal events that surround us I and others think we know all of the important facts.
But do we remember? Ask yourself or a friend what date any of these events happened on, see if you or they can give the exact date or even some of the facts surrounding any of these or other major past events of your lifetime.
Americans are noted for their short memories, we invented the term "Attention Deficit Disorder" to describe it. We immerse ourselves in an event for a short time span, then quickly lay the event aside and move to the next. If those events didn't or don't affect us directly----they are quickly forgotten.
Most of us think we understand how police
investigations work. We've seen them depicted on television so often we believe
it's really only one or two hardnosed, lone wolf detectives who will shoot,
punch or intimidate criminals as they investigate crimes and apply justice in
their own way. The image fiction has imprinted on minds is one of fast paced,
rough and tumble fearless officers who are always at odds with their bosses,
politicians and the law. They also manage to solve every crime in the amount of
time allotted for the shows time slot, normally in forty-five minutes or less
after you remove the commercials.
Real life police work is not for the faint of heart, and it is work; mind numbing work that at times makes you feel more like a researcher with a weapon than a law enforcement specialist.
Those lone wolf fictional police officers would mostly be unsuccessful in real life for one single reason, lack of teamwork.
Law enforcement requires a dedicated team of people who possess many different specialized skill sets, all working towards a single goal, and the processing of evidence to aide an officer in making a solid arrest.
There are specialized segments of police work that are accomplished by shadow people. These are the ones who're given the artifacts of a crime and asked to find information to confirm facts or assist the efforts of investigators as they search for answers to who, what where when and most importantly why.
THE FLATS TEACHERS’ TEST
A great teacher is a rock jutting from and
sometimes engulfed by an ocean filled with the rip tides of passion,
ineptitude, arrogance and ignorance. They are protruding spikes of granite
which cannot be eroded easily. These are the teachers who make every effort
against tremendous odds to polish young minds into the building blocks of
society.
Great teachers are awe inspiring in their efforts to create excellence and their influence is powerful, extending beyond even their own lifetimes.
A fortunate few of us have had exceptional teachers who gifted our lives with knowledge as they challenged us and created a need to meet the potential of what we might achieve. These individuals changed the way we thought, possibly sent us down a career path or simply gave us a passion for learning. A passion which will move forward with us for all of our lives.
All of us have encountered educators.
More than a few of these educators started out to become teachers, only to be crushed at some point in their career. Those individuals have lost the desire to teach. Once this desire was destroyed, they ceased to care about anything but themselves and their retirement.
A number of these educators can and should be faulted for their effort to instruct their students. There are more than a few teachers who've simply been beaten into submission by the very system they drove themselves to become part of.
Most of those teachers who've been destroyed by our education system, toiled under the constraints of weak administrators. Administrators who care more about the system and the political realities of their own success, than education. For this type of administrator the people on the front lines of education and the children they strive to entice, excite or simply drag kicking and screaming into an academic environment are of little or no consequence.
This type of administrator creates educators out of gifted teachers. In the process, they destroy the gifts and fervor for knowledge that could have been passed to future generations.
I invite you to wander through the very foundations of our education system and spend a few hours with a few truly great teachers. When you finish I'd ask you to answer one very simple question, "Would I be a great teacher or end up an educator?"
BUY LINKS FOR DOUG LUCAS’ NOVELS:
Conversations with a Dead Man -
The Man in the Mountain -
Forgotten -
Buzz Words -
The Flats Teachers’ Test -
DOUG LUCAS’ AUTHOR LINKS:
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