Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have actually written 4 books, although this is the second to be published.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sign Changes is the name of the book. I have studied language and symbols my entire adult life. This is the story of four important eras of symbol use: the time of first speech, the era of the printing press, the modern-day computer age, and the coming time of artificial intelligence.
The novel is about how symbol use helped to make us human, and how the different ways we have used symbols have changed us.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love computers. I try to write stream-of -consciousness style, then go back and edit on another day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
A wide and eclectic group. Robert Pirsig, Ernest Hemingway, Frederick Barthelme, John Sandford, Robert Parker.
What are you working on now?
I have just finished a suspense novel, which is quite different from Sign Changes. I have always loved the genre.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think these promotions are great.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I don’t feel qualified, but I would say to persevere.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hemingway’s immortal “Write one true sentence.”
What are you reading now?
I just finished Incomplete Nature not long ago, and I am reading the latest John Sandford novel, one of the Konrath Jack Daniels novels, and just finished The Racketeer by John Grisham.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know. I would like to do something else on language and symbolism, maybe a sequel to Sign Changes.
What is your favorite book of all time?
That would be Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Author Websites and Profiles
Bart Hopkins Jr. Website
Bart Hopkins Jr. Amazon Profile