Q&A (Questions and Answers)
Answers to the most often asked
questions. Read straight through or jump to
specific Q&As via the hyper-linked Indexed
topics:
°°°
Q. Your novel
(The Gray Stopgap) touched upon Arab and
Middle Eastern themes. Did you anticipate the war
in Iraq? Do you have plans to address these
issues further?
A. It is generous description to say
that I "touched upon Arab and Middle Eastern
themes." One of the novel's antagonists is a
female Arabian with a decidedly evil value system
(which is not exclusive to any nationality). The
Middle East was (and remains) an area of
political interest and in most respects
ideologically foreign to Americans. But
referencing political maneuvering and the
investing power of Arab leaders hardly qualifies
as an indicator of things to come. That is timely
in some respects, but nothing more.
I've not planned any further plots
concerning Arab, Middle Eastern or even Vietnam
War-related themes.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q. Your
treatment of the Vietnam War and its veterans
seemed grounded in reality and yet far-fetched in
some ways. (An allusion to the novel's CIA plot
to drum up interest in the war by planting
weapons associated with the enemy in the hands of
massacred villagers.) Surely not!
A. Outside the world of novels, I
recommend reading history and not indulging the
tendency to accept as fact that which is
liberally seasoned with fiction (note the
numerous books that seemed compelled into
publication by the movie, The DaVinci Code,
and which elicit the factual history from the
fictional history of Dan Brown's novel). This is
to say that my narrative concerning the
experiences and treatment of Vietnam Veterans is,
I feel, accurate. For the most part these were
men who were heroic under mind-boggling
conditions and yet when back in America, were
treated like gum on the bottom of shoes. That was
a tragedy even exceeding our national
misunderstanding of what was at stake. As far as
the CIA's employment of mercenaries
Well,
this minor part of the novel's back-story, in one
guise or another (be they mercenaries, middle men
or countries) is not exclusive to American
history. However, the key word here is,
"novel." Meaning, "fiction."
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q. What is
"bio-chemical synthetic intelligence?"
Where did you hear about it?
A. When writing The Gray Stopgap,
I wanted something that was a step beyond
artificial intelligence and imagined a
"synthetic intelligent" computer
extrapolated from my research on the human brain.
Admittedly I did not research the
"computerized concept" and have since
learned that "synthetic intelligence"
is generally associated with Artificial Neural
Networks, which is still within the realm of
Artificial Intelligence. I like to think that I
am cleverly imaginative, but obviously I was
lucky in getting it just about right.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q. What do
you look like? I saw some photographs of you--are
those pictures really you? Did you hire a
professional photographer? Are your photos
airbrushed? Did you hire a makeup artists, etc.,
etc.
A. The
only photos I've released may be viewed on the AUTHOR Page of
this site.
The answers to the other questions
regarding these photos are, "Yes. Sort of.
No. No." It's flattering to be considered
attractive by some standards, but let's not get
carried away. We're talking about pictures here!
The truth is that the the first two are older
shots. The first one I didn't even plan. In the
production of a wedding brochure of a friend and
photographer, I was at the end of the film roll
when my friend suggested we burn off the last
four or five frames on me. Every now and then
luck with lighting and angles produces something
that normally takes an entire roll of film--that
was one of those times. (Although, at a weight
range of 150 to 160 lbs. I've never been as heavy
as this first photo makes me appear.) The second
photograph shown above was one that I shot
specifically for the Gray Stopgap
cover--and it has received mixed reviews (it's on
the back of the book).The third phtograph was an
off-the-cuff number shot at a local college for a
feature story.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
Are you married? Have you been
married? Kids? Do you plan to marry?
A. No. No. No and a
qualified no (not yet, anyway). A fiction title
most approximating this area of my life: Clear
and Present Danger.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q. Do you
teach photography?
A. My few gigs were
more like temporary assignments or seminars. The
last was quite a while ago. It was an hour or so
long photojournalism session in Downtown Fort
Worth, Texas, for the Texas Community College
Journalism Association. Called "Blast From
The Past," it was hosted by Tarrant County
College. Besides, the specialized knowldege I
have regarding photography is of little value in
this ditigal. Chemcial processing, push/pulling
film development, F-stops, metering--all that and
so much more is pretty much out the window these
days. Once a person knows composition, the camera
and computer take care of the rest.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
How long did it take you to write
the Gray Stopgap?
A. Including 8
re-writes and endless editing, it was a number of
years--give or take a few hours.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
Are you writing a sequel? How long
will it take for you to come out with something
else? Are you working on anything else?
A. I've been at a
second Stopgap novel for awhile now. I also lost
nearly a half-year of time working on a
"co-authored" novel that didn't pan
out, and the screenplay for the first novel took
its own chunk of time as well. And of course,
life has had a habit of getting in the way. I've
had one or two other projects but am not at
liberty to discuss them.
Here's the skinny on what I can
tell you of the second novel: Karns Gray is
indeed back, as well as most of the characters
from the first go-around. And while there is very
little in the way of flashback sequences as used
in the first novel, reality in the sequel is
somewhat multi-layered--and it is multi-layered
even for those in the story who think they know
their own reality. I'm roughly 75% to 93%
finished (120,000 words thus far).
I expect that half the fun of
reading the next Karns Gray novel will be in plot
development. I recall an Amazon.com customer
review of The Gray Stopgap wherein a guy
wrote that it was as if I caught him reading
ahead and "tweaked" the story so that
he had no idea as to where the novel was going.
Exponentially speaking, I'm hoping that this
applies to the sequel.
After so many setbacks, I cringe at
speculating on the anticipated release date.
As for new
work... Other unrelated ideas on which I am
working (but are on hold for the time being): A
novel tentatively titled Vapor, a
Science Fiction piece, the big one I think of as
my F. Scott Fitzgerald piece (which also has
involved years of work) and La tour Eiffel,
which is a potential short story or novel based
upon a lithograph given to me as a gift by a
beautiful French girl. While I've considered
nonfiction, it doesn't provide the intellectual
and emotional gratification (or therapy) that
writing fiction does.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
What writers do you read? What are
you reading now? What titles do you recommend?
A.
Big questions. My all time favorites are
Fitzgerald and Hemingway. I love Fitzgerald's
subtle attention to emotional nuance and I think
his women have such depth that I almost know
them. Hemingway, on the other hand, I love for
the grit and sweat that I can practically see in
his work. There is a virtual litany of current
writers as well as non-fiction writers I enjoy
reading. My topics of interest include
archeology, science, history, religion, theology
(to some degree) and action/espionage, of course.
Nonfiction recommendations
(in no particular order):
The Hollywood
Standard:the Complete & Authoritative Guide
To Script format And Style
Christopher Riley
(The best book/guide of its kind, bar none. If
the goal is to produce a screenplay, this book
will plainly show the formatting that other books
are too inadequate to address. Example topics:
How to get into and out of POV shots, types of
and ways into/out of flashbacks, what is and
isn't appropriate in scene headings, quick cuts,
time cuts, hard cuts, match cuts, etc., etc.,
etc.)
The Physics of Star
Trek
Lawrence M. Krauss
Once a Warrior King
David Donovan
The Sabbath
Abraham Joshua Heschel
The Sea Hunters
Clive Cussler
(The Board of Governors from the Maritime
College, State University of New York considered
this first non-fiction Cussler title in lieu of a
Ph.D. thesis and awarded the author a Doctor of
Letters degree in May, 1997.)
The Sea Hunters II
Clive Cussler
The Case For A Creator
Lee Strobel
Darwin's Black Box
Michael Behe
Why The Jews Rejected
Jesus
David Klinghoffer
(A startling 247 pages, including bibliography,
end notes and index. This is the Jewish
presentation (by a Jew) for the reasons of Jewish
rejection of Jesus, as opposed to the non-Jewish
representation of the Jewish rejection. This book
also addresses a number of beliefs differing from
what I had expected. For example, Klinghoffer
reports that Jews believe in an eternal life in
Heaven following the resurrection of the dead,
salvation as a gift of God and not though deeds
(page 100 -101), and sacrifices being expressions
of obedience rather than deeds through which sins
are forgiven (page 32 and 100 - 101). This book
does not detail differences between Jewish groups
(for example the Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi
Jewish, communities). Judaism is allegedly not
divided into religious traditions based on
theological difference, but rather into a number
of groups practicing matters that are not
considered central ideas to Judaism. As such, I
found it odd that Klinghoffer indicated that some
Jews were wrong to think that they didn't believe
in things such as "eternal life" (at
page 100 and and meaning, "Heaven").
So, on the one hand Klinghoffer writes with the
authority of one representing Judaism's central
theology, but on the other hand he notes some
Jews don't even know what they themselves are
supposed to believe. Nonetheless, this is an
illuminating and unsettling read of the Jewish
perspective and rejection of the birth and rise
of Christianity. This is definitely not for the
timid or causal reader.)
I'm looking forward to reading The
Creature From Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the
Federal Reserve, by G. Edward
Griffin. Originally published in 1994,this is an
eye-opener regarding, "the grand illusion
called money."
Fiction recommendations
(in no particular order):
Lonesome Dove
Larry McMurtry
(A Pulitzer Prize winner that moves me to
appreciate Life's simple things--as does the
French film Amélie. The Fort Worth Star
Telegram quoted UCLA Professor of English Carolyn
See as saying, "If anybody had any sense
they'd throw out Moby Dick and put Lonesome
Dove in the center as the great American
epic novel. No question about it. His heroes in
that book are just terrific. His women are just
terrific. And he sustains it for 800 pages"
--Star Telegram, 01/08/03, p.6F.)
The Great Gatsby
F.Scott Fitzgerald
(An all time great work of fiction and personal
favorite. Buy the "Authorized Text" as
it is restored to Fitzgerald's original
version--Em dashes and all.)
Raise The Titanic,
Vixen 03, Iceberg
and other Dirk Pitt adventure novels
Clive Cussler
(As any entertaining author, Cussler mixes fact
and fiction to create a rip-roaring read. He
differs from typical authors in that he actually
discovers many of the shipwrecks and items of
historical significance featured in his novels.
With the publication of Black Wind,
Cussler is "passing the torch" of the
Dirk Pitt series to his son, Dirk Cussler.)
Trojan Odyssey
Clive Cussler
(Another in the Dirk Pitt series, seperately
mentioned here because it Includes as part of the
plot the unusual, but actual theory that the
battle for Troy as set forth in Homer's Odyssey
was not about Greeks and the Mediterranean but
about Celts in England. See Iman Wilken's Where
Troy Once Stood for more about this.
The Ashes of Eden
William Shatner
(One of the very best Trek novels I've ever
read--and I've read a shipload of them. The
follow-ups to this novel were good, but this one
was something else.)
A Separate Peace
John Knowles
The World According to
Garp
John Irving
The Chronicles of
Narnia (including The
Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe)
C.S. Lewis
(This refers to the 2004 HarperCollins edition
that contains the C. S. Lewis essay , On
Three Ways of Writing for Children, and all
seven novels, arranged in the order that Lewis
said that they should be read.)
Other books would include nearly
anything written by Tom Clancy (as long as it
isn't co-authored).
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
Do you make personal appearances or
attend book signings?
A.
"Personal appearances...?" My goodness,
exactly whose press notices have you been
reading? I attended the 2002 Los Angeles Book
Festival in California, where the occasion called
for me to sign a book or two. I'm not opposed to
signing books, mind you--I'm honored to do so.
And while it doesn't come up all that often, I
suppose the oddest incident occurred during a
commercial airline flight I took. Thrilled by a
pre-flight tour of the cockpit I gave the pilot
and copilot copies of my novel. About an hour
later the flight attendant casually mentioned the
pilot was enjoying the book. "That'll sound
interesting on the black box," I responded,
"especially when we plow into the
ground." She then assured me that the pilot
wasn't actually reading the novel, but looking
forward to doing so. However, after reaching our
destination the pilot waved me into the cockpit
to autograph their books. The pilot then reported
having enjoyed what he had read thus far. I
signed the books while remarking: "Well that
explains the turbulence..."
At any rate, that's about it as far
as "signing books" and "personal
appearances" are concerned.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q. When did
you decide you wanted to be a writer?
A. Another
big question. I don't know that I ever decided it
that way. I wanted to write a book and enjoyed
making up stories almost--but not quite--as much
as reading them. I learned the value of creative
writing while in high school and
"dispassionate" editing from my college
reporting instructor (who was also Director over
me on the college paper). Somewhere along the way
I realized that this was my thing, such as it is.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
Is writing the only thing you do,
or are you employed elsewhere?
A.
No, and sometimes. Take your pick for an answer.
My first lengthy employment was being one of a
two-person team in the Engineering Film Division
of the Universal Blueprint Paper Company--a
company now long gone.
My longest employment was about two
months shy of a 14-year stint in litigation
support.
I've since did some website support
work, freelance litigation support, teaching and
government work (see the bio on AUTHOR page). I've
not reached the level of unabashed fame and
filthy riches (I'd settle for moderate success
and mere unwashed wealth) necessary to remain out
of the workforce. I know it might be a
"bubble buster" for some people, but
the books you see in bookstores are not all
written by writers who are sustained by writing.
It's a tough business (during and after the
actual writing effort).
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
Some of the passages in The
Gray Stopgap seem very emotionally driven.
Are there personal experiences in there? How much
is fact-based?
A.
Like most writers, I often draw from experience.
Since I am by nature an emotionally reserved
individual toward most (but not all) people, the
book served as an outlet during some difficult
times. So yes, emotionally, I am plastered all
over that book. To what degree that plastering is
accurately reflective of me will remain one of
life's little unimportant mysteries.
With regard to
"fact-based" material in The Gray
Stopgap, there are four categories to
address: Hardware, people, politics and places.
The "Note From The Author" section at
the back of the book addresses hardware and only
three clarifications come to mind: The Dodge Dart
was based upon a car I had purchased to
refurbish, the red MGB was written into the story
before I even owned a white one, and Gray's yacht
existed insofar as Elco actually built a model of
that design. With those caveats in mind, any
hardware not listed in that "Note"
section is either fiction or a fictionalized
extrapolation of existing hardware.
With regard to "people" I
utilized a few "real world" names to
varying degrees, but the characterizations
portrayed are, of course, fictional.
The "Note" section also
addresses politics and I've nothing to add.
The places--or settings--in The
Gray Stopgap are most nearly always
fictionalized buildings occupying actual
locations. Specifically, the Professional
Building is a generalization of an area
containing several similar buildings; the OSCTO
airplane hanger is a fictionalized building on an
actual site, as is the Nova Complex, Sam's Boat
Yard and all the private residences. And lastly,
Aysien Island is completely fictional, its name
derived from someone I photographed while taking
high school senior portraits somewhere in Texas.
BACK TO O&A TOP
Q.
Do you have any pointers or advice
for the would-be writer?
A.
For starters, don't look to me. However, I have
come to understand this: Whatever a writer must
do to keep the wolf away from the door, it is
like an ancillary function of being a writer. At
the moment you step back to examine your work's
veracity, you are anticipating an audience and
you should then approach writing like a job.
Whether it materialistically compensates you for
the effort expended is relevant only in so far as
if it doesn't (and it most frequently does not)
you'll need the ancillary function of a job that
does.
However, from a practical point of
view, a job or occupation outside of writing is
not something that should be viewed as merely
"ancillary" to writing. In other words,
don't give up your day (or night) job just to
write: And don't treat your "real
world" employment as though it exist only as
a layover. You may actually be a
writer--meaning that is what defines who and what
you are--but this doesn't preclude being a fine
employee for an employer. Write like nothing else
is important, but work like writing is
unimportant.
I think it is very important to not
fall prey to the idea that writers are inspired
by some Muse, or are "born" rather than
"made." I am not (yet) a Pulitzer (and
by the way, that's pronounced like the bird) or
Nobel Prize winning author, but I am qualified to
say that writing is a skill. Whether you have a
propensity toward writing, it is best learned
through doing and even better learned under the
tutelage of journalism (if possible).
Inspiration--or the Muse--is nothing more than
the second wind or "groove" a writer
falls into after being at it awhile. If you want
to know what writing is and how to "get
going at it," I suggest reading Thinking On
Paper. It's a great "myth" breaker and
had I encountered it sooner would have realized
why I wrote my scholastic papers in ways not
recommended by the instructors.
The admonishment that, "Pride
cometh before a downfall," is nowhere more
true than for the writer who wants to be perceived
as a writer. Nearly everyone has a preconceived
notion of what a writer is, what a writer does,
what a writer should be doing and how a writer
should live. Those notions usually involve
details that are more glossy than reality. The
admonishment that, "Pride cometh before a
downfall," is nowhere more true than for the
writer who wants to be perceived as a writer.
Nearly everyone has a preconceived notion of what
a writer is, what a writer does, what a writer
should be doing and how a writer should live.
Those notions usually involve details that are
glossier than reality.
The truth is that writing is a
lonely, labor-intensive, detail-oriented life
that non-writers do not appreciate. You spend
months of your life immersed in hundreds of
details that, if fictional, must mesh without
plot contradiction. And all of this is for naught
if, in the end, readers become aware of you or
your morality instead of each character and his
or her morality.
Writing is an effort in making
yourself invisible through your work. Subsequent
to that any self-characterization in
contradiction to perception is a reality falling
upon ears made deaf in proportion to the success
of your effort.
--DL Tolleson
BACK TO O&A TOP
|