Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written about eight or nine books. Traditional published and self-published. High and low. “Too Easy” was published 20 years ago in five countries, got a front-page review on the London Times, and Simon & Schuster brought it out again a year ago. At the same time I have a little book of poetry called Theoryland, quite original, actually unique, but how many people are interested in such a thing? I’m working on, or finishing up, three or four new projects right now. I hope to find a home for everything.
I went to Princeton, was in the Army for two years, and lived in Manhattan for 30 years, where I ran my own little ad agency and worked on novels. Manhattan was very exciting during those years, type and graphic design, digital everything, all these things were breaking through all the time.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Boy Who Saves The World” grew out of my 20-year interest in robotics and AI. Machines will get very smart. The question is whether they will be loyal, become superior, and/or end up destroying us because of tangled motives.
“The Boy Who Saves The World” (and another novel I’m working on now) are based on the idea that AI and unintended consequences are going to be a very dangerous stew. As you give robots more brains and autonomy, they will be more like teenagers. Are you going to give your car to one of them for the weekend? What couldn’t go wrong?
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I work eight hours a day, six days a week. On the other hand, I’m in the gym an hour every day. I work on many different kinds of projects so I don’t get bored. Half my day is spent on education, the other half on literary projects.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
A great range from James Joyce to Raymond Chandler. I would love to combine a high degree of beauty and of toughness. When I find that in another author, I always respond to it.
What are you working on now?
“The Boy Who Saves The World” just appeared as an e-book (only). This was a lucky collision where a publisher was looking for a certain kind of novel. The whole process was quick, except for finding the perfect photo for the cover. That turned out to be difficult. But the art director found a boy that is very close to what I was always imagining. He has to project a lot of different feelings at the same time.
If you like lively suspense/thriller type books, check out “The Boy Who Saves The World.” It’s technically sci-fi but that phrase is somewhat misleading. This book is interesting because of the interplay of many characters in a tense situation. The sci-fi is secondary.
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Meanwhile, “Saving K-12 – What happened to our public schools? How do we fix them?” will be officially published on November 17. This is an important book, I believe, because it will explain to the public why our public schools are as mediocre as they are. My thesis is that if we don’t save the public schools, we won’t save much else.
This is a serious book but still very lively. I’m probably the most prolific and aggressive writer on education in the country. I have hundreds of articles on the Internet. I’m very good at explaining weird sophistries, which is what our Education Establishment is good at inventing. If you want to understand what’s going on in our schools, not on the surface but down in the engine room so to speak, this is a book you will enjoy.
It’s also the best cheap gift for smart people. They don’t need another scarf or another novel about a serial killer. They need to know why phonics is necessary if we are going to save our schools. And why Constructivism is a fraud. And 25 other items like that.
So, fiction or nonfiction, I’ve got one of each. Each quite different and distinctive.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not real good at promoting so I don’t presume to give advice. I’m trying every gimmick there is, that’s why I’m here.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
You have to stay busy. Try different things. A lot of the most famous people in the world actually have very boring lives because they are working all the time.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think it was Conrad who said, “Make them see it.” That’s great advice.
What are you reading now?
Sad confession. All I do is write fiction and then I write articles about education. I rarely read something by anybody else. But hey I know I’ve only got so many strong years left. I want to make the most of them.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I finished two novels in the last two years. I like them both but I haven’t been able to place them. Meanwhile I’m starting on another complex thriller set in Virginia Beach where I live. I’m drawn toward something very ambitious and complicated. At the same time I wonder if I’ve got the brains to do it. So there’s the challenge. I think I want to feel slightly over my head, which is the way the main character is going to feel.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’ve never read Ulysses, not really. I mean the one by Joyce. I haven’t read the one by Homer either. I was an English major but I see there are all kinds of famous books I never got to. Embarrassing.
Author Websites and Profiles
Bruce Deitrick Price Website
Bruce Deitrick Price Amazon Profile