Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have always loved “Big Picture” historical fiction, be it straight forward, think “War and Peace” or “All Quiet on the Western Front” or more oblique and satirical, think “Catch 22” or “Slaughterhouse-Five”. But having been a fan of such work, the idea of writing a “Big Work” myself was intimidating to the point of catatonia. A few years ago, however, after having read several books on creative writing, I decided to give it a go. Like anyone with an interest in current issues and events, I could not escape the current debate on climate change with all its intendant perils. Furthermore, the emerging debate on technological change further complicates our future, with fears for our material future as many dread a massive dislocation of the middle and working-class due to the possible loss of many jobs to automation. Even before the rise of reactionary political forces that have capitalized on such economic worries, to the point of reversing gains made on the environmental front, I began to read books and watch documentaries discussing the possible direction of society given these pressures.
My novel follows the lives of five young people who, having just completed their formal education, have chosen paths that may benefit them personally, but may or may not make a positive contribution to the world that they live in.
If I can, in some small way, remind readers of “The Thorns Beneath the Rose”, of our collective challenges that are threatening our very existence and the individual contributions we can each make to insure our survival, then I think the whole exercise will have been worth it.
Reading the novel, I hope my readers will additionally become aware of the fact that the five main characters, though they may have different perspectives and life-goals, are all quite accepting of one other as worthwhile human beings deserving respect and affection. This group, comprised of two straight white men, one straight white woman, one gay white woman and one gay black woman accept each other for who they are. My point is that at a time when we are facing massive environmental and technological challenges, we should eliminate the pernicious noise and distraction of hatred of “the other”.
My almost-all-knowing, almost-all-seeing gods are a metaphor for the eyes and ears of various intelligence monitoring/gathering agencies around the world who see all, or rather, presume they see all, given the mistaken assumptions often made based on the viewing of massive amount of raw data.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Thorns Beneath the Rose, Book One.
As a schoolboy, I had some exposure to the mythologies of the Greek and Norse gods which often dealt with the basic human issues of moral choice, in addition to exposure of the teachings of traditional Christian Sunday School classes that many of my generation were required, or almost required, it seemed, to take which also discussed, at some basic level, issues of moral choice.
It never occurred to me to link “Big Picture” issues of our modern times with Mythology and Fantasy, despite my love of “Slaughterhouse-Five’ until I read, in my later years, novels such as Martin’s “Game of Thrones”, Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”, Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” and last but certainly not least, given its satirical flavor, Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”.
These works as well as exposure to the current issues of the day provided the spark to write “The Thorns Beneath the Rose, Book One”.
On my author website, www.garywaltersauthor.com , I have a very short, and therefore, by no means a definitive reading list, of non-fiction works that help me and will hopefully, help others who are trying to understand both the environmental and technological challenges that face all of us and the reactionary forces that are attempting to capitalize on our fears.
Interestingly enough, I had to rack my brain to recall what inspired me to have a whole “mission” where the young friends are trained as a team to infiltrate the underwater “Hall of Shadows” in the Caribbean first to rescue their friend “Emma” and then with “Emma” to go back to the same place to destroy the “Decision Liberator” and rescue the souls trapped within the diabolical machine. Finally, it came to me that all this was inspired by the James Bond movie “Thunderball” which was based on the novel of the same name which was yet again based on a previous movie “treatment” by Fleming and two of his film writing associates, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
In my current occupation in the hospitality industry I can come home as late as 3:30 am. Sometimes I read and write until 5:30 am before going to bed or sometimes I read and write before I go to work at 5:30pm. On my days off, I stay up as late as I do on my workdays and consequently I work during those same early morning or late afternoon times.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Shakespeare, Hemingway, Dickens, Atwood and Vonnegut on the fiction side.
Jane Mayer, Peter Frase, David Suzuki and Jeff Rubin on the non-fiction side.
I like a fair variety of genres from standard literary work to mystery/thrill and increasingly, science fiction/fantasy. I must also give credit to non-fiction works on subject matter concerning creative writing, sociology, political science, economics, history and works on predicting the future.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would heartily recommend goods books on creative writing such as Sol Stein’s “Stein on Writing” as well as his “How to Grow a Novel”, especially if good creative writing classes are not available in your locale. Additionally, Keidi Keating has a wonderful and free E-Book “7 Steps to Writing Your Book & Getting It Published” available for download at her www.yourbookangel.com website which combine principles of meditation with practical steps for writing an publication for emerging authors. Of course, one should read a wide variety of fiction, but I personally find that reading as much non-fiction, on a broad variety of subjects is also quite useful and can provide you with a creative “spark”.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Learn some craft from writing classes, and good books on writing.
What are you reading now?
“The Girl On The Train” by Paula Hawkins. I do like to “mix-it-up!” And the form is fascinating, writing a novel in the first person with the added twist of the narrator/character being unreliable due to instability!
What’s next for you as a writer?
How’s this for an imaginative title? “The Thorns Beneath the Rose, Book Two”! To be followed by, wait for it, “The Thorns Beneath the Rose, Book Three”! In all seriousness, my vision and ambition point to my crafting a three-volume set based on the same theme of individual choice and the effect of that choice when gathered up with the actions of all individuals and the collective consequence of all those decisions of the future of mankind and the planet we inhabit. Again, my inspiration comes from a collection of fiction and non-fiction both in book as well as film, in addition to current events.
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