I was interviewed by the As the Page Turns blog about writing and about my most recent book, An Eye for an Eye. Here’s an excerpt:
Q: What themes do you explore in An Eye For An Eye?
A: This is the story of two men. For one, it’s the story of his quest to make sense of traumatic events in his past and to find peace. And for the other, it’s the story of his quest for power and control; but when the one thing he values above else is stolen from him, it’s a story of revenge.
Q: Why do you write?
A: Most of my career has been spent in some fairly black and white fields. Finance, and earlier on, accounting—these are fields that typically do not reward creativity. Writing is what I do to find balance in my life. It’s a right brain, left brain thing.
Writing is cathartic and the journey of writing is its own reward. It’s really cool to start with a blank page and watch as the story develops and takes shape and as a character’s personality crystalizes over time. While it’s a great feeling to complete a novel, the journey of writing is rewarding in and of itself. Through the research I do, I learn many things I didn’t know, I meet many interesting people and I can see my writing style becoming more refined along the way.
Q: How picky are you with language?
A: It depends. Dialogue should be real and people rarely use proper English when speaking. So I’m not hung up on language conventions in writing dialogue. At the same time, though, descriptions of scenes need to evoke images in the reader’s mind, so language is crucial for this. I keep Dictionary.com book-marked in my search engine and the app is on my phone. When I’m writing, I’m constantly checking meanings, looking for the right synonym, and trying to find a better way to convey a particular thought.
Q: When you write, do you sometimes feel as though you were being manipulated from afar?
A: It’s funny that you mention this. I was discussing this very thing with another writer last night. It’s really cool to start with a blank page and watch as the story unfolds, sometimes taking twists and turns I never expected. Even the characters tend to develop and evolve on their own. After giving them a nudge, they tend to go in directions I never envisioned when I first began typing. I know that sounds like I’m merely a play-by-play reporter, sitting on the sidelines and describing the action as it happens before me. It’s not quite that remote but the story does tend to take on a life of its own.
Q: What is your worst time as a writer?
A: Frankly, when life—my day job, family priorities—gets in the way. Sometimes it’s tough to carve out the time to write and to make meaningful progress. But these things tend to ebb and flow so I’m learning patience.
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