Originally published on June 16, 2020

SR – Whose work do you enjoy reading the most?

YA – I’d have to say, Tolkien. I have read him at least a dozen times. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I could live in that world. It is perfection.

SR – How important is research to you when writing a book?

YA – The first thing that will turn off a reader is inaccuracy. If the plot smells of untruths, or obvious misrepresentation, or makes no sense, the reader will lose interest quickly. It’s like watching a film about the Vikings and seeing a car drive by in the distant background, you know the director didn’t do his job. Especially today with Google maps and the vast world at our fingertips, it takes a little effort to bring up enough information to give a sense of truth to the story.

SR – Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?

YA – I can’t get enough reading. If a writer is suffering from writer’s block, he isn’t reading enough. You aren’t reading to find your voice, but to fill your brain with perspective. I love Kurt Vonnegut. I love Cormac McCarthy, Bernard Cornwell, Martin Cruz Smith, AA Milne, John LeCarré, Michael Crichton, Mary Renault, and not least of all, JRR Tolkien.

SR – What is your take on the importance of a good cover and title?

YA – So I’m browsing a bookstore looking for something to read with no clear idea who or what I want to read. Sometimes I can’t remember his or her name, or I really don’t have anyone in mind. The color of the book certainly stands out. But it’s the image on the cover, or quite possibly the design, that makes me pick it up. Then I want to know about the book, and the title should do that. James Patterson is possibly the most well-known thriller writer today. I might pick him up but the title tells me what it’s about; Take Honeymoon. Well, Patterson is not going to write about romance, is he?

SR – Any advice you would like to give to your younger self?

YA – Stop screwing around with dead-end jobs and booze and keep writing. When I had my heartbroken, I started writing, poetry mostly but a few short stories. I liked what I wrote and decided to submit one of the stories to an agent. I can’t even remember how I picked this one agent out, (well before computers) but he actually replied with a personal note telling me that though not bad it needs a bit of work to make it worth publishing. I put it aside and never wrote another word for 30 years. That is the biggest mistake of my entire life.

SR – Is there anything you are currently working on that may intrigue the interest of your readers?

YA – Well, as a matter of fact, I am writing the third Harry Thursday novel about stolen Nazi art. These stories take place in the late ’70s and Harry, an archaeologist, returns home to the States after his only living relative, his rich uncle, dies. When he finds out what he has been up to Harry’s world takes on a dangerous turn of events.

SR – Must all writers have had their hearts broken at some point in time, does that remain true for you as well?

YA – Not necessarily. But in my case, it sparked an attempt at poetry, and short stories. Melancholy tends to force one to look inward. That is where you can find stories waiting to come out like magma out of the Earth.

SR – Poets and writers in general, have a reputation for committing suicide; in your opinion, why is that the case?

YA – Yeah, I don’t know first-hand. We tend to look at ourselves too closely, and it can be ugly.

SR – Is it true that authors write word-perfect first drafts?

YA – Only in the movies. Oh hell no. I never worry about perfection until around the third draft. And then I defer to my editor.

SR – Which of your books took you the most time to write?

YA – I am willing to guess that it is the same with most authors. My first book, Fatal Snow, took 3 years to write, and only because I had to find the time to sit down and do it.

SR – How did it feel when your first book got published?

YA – I was ecstatic. I couldn’t believe it but I was so busy writing the 2nd and 3rd novel at the same time I pretty much forgot about it for a while until I actually had a copy in my hands.

SR – Which book would you want to be adapted for the silver screen?

YA – Definitely Fatal Snow. I could see Quentin Tarantino making a bloody mess of Wyoming. My unfinished novel, The Gods Among Us, science-fiction would be a real doozy of a movie.

SR – Did you ever have a rough patch in writing, where nothing in the story seemed to fit or make sense?

YA – All the time. I don’t write with an outline. I just free-for-all it. If that does happen I usually realize something is wrong a few chapters later and go back to fix it or throw it out; I’ve done that before.

SR – Do you often meet with younger writers and discuss their ideas to help polish them?

YA – Not unless I’m asked. I wouldn’t like their work anyway. One, because if it were any good, I’d be jealous and hate it, and if it were terrible, I’d hate it for being that. I used to go to a monthly group of writers who meet to critique one another’s work. Very often new aspiring writers come along. Those that stick it out usually produce something.

SR – Do you prefer being intoxicated to write? Or would you rather write sober?

YA – Hemingway said, “Write drunk, edit sober.” Works for me.

SR-A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?

YA – I have always had a hard time mixing with people I don’t know. Over the years I’ve taught myself to walk up and talk to a complete stranger. Easy enough, but once in a while some butt-head looks at me like, “Who the hell are you?” Which sends me into a fetal position in a corner somewhere to rock and suck my thumb.

SR – Have you ever left any of your books stew for months on end or even a year?

YA – Yes, I have a science fiction, The Gods Among Us, the first I have ever written, sitting in 300 pages of a nightmare. My first published novel took a backhand to that one for a while until I realized that “The Gods” needed to ferment.

SR – Do you have a daily habit of writing?

YA – At my best, I set aside time to write. I used to pump out 20 pages every morning at 6 AM, but things have changed and right now it’s approaching midnight.

SR – Have you ever taken any help from other writers?

YA – Critiquing is vital to a well-rounded book. I may not like what they say, and it helps sometimes to realize they don’t know what they are talking about. But very often there are good bits of advice. Sometimes we can’t see our biggest mistakes, and another set of eyes will point out those mistakes.

SR – Are you “there” where you wanted to be?

YA – Not yet. Not by a long shot.

SR – If you were given the opportunity to form a book club with your favorite authors of all time, which legends or contemporary writers would you want to become a part of the club?

YA – Hemingway, Twain, Vonnegut, Steinbeck. Oh, yes, Edward E Cummings, Alan Moorehead, and Will Shakespeare. Oh let’s go back a few years, how about Herodotus and Plato. And for a living author, Martin Cruz Smith, Bernard Cornwell, and Cormac McCarthy. I could go on but I think they might be a bit too busy.

SR – What are the non-fiction genres you enjoy reading?

YA – I love history. I read the entire 11 volume set of Will and Ariel Durant’s History of the World. Biographies are fascinating as well. Barbara Tuchman wrote about the Middle Ages in a great book titled A Distant Mirror.

“Those who do not learn from history, are destined to repeat it.”