Interview With Author John Steven Welch
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The One Who’s Gonna See You Through is my debut novel.
I was born and grew up in Washington, D.C. during the 1960s and 1970s. I attended parochial schools there and have lived primarily on the East Coast between Washington and New York most of my life. As a graduate student studying Art History, I was faced with the choice of either becoming an academic or working in art museums. After completing my M.A. and while pursuing my doctorate, I began working in art museums because I wanted to teach the public about art. I pursued a career as an art educator in museums for some 15+ years.
I always had a love of writing and suspect I harbored a repressed dream of someday writing novels while I was pursuing a career in museums. When I stepped away from full-time employment in 2012, I began focusing on writing. First, as a consultant working on arts-related projects, then later, more exclusively on creative writing. I began writing my first novel, The One Who’s Gonna See You Through in earnest around 2022. Fortunately, with my husband’s support, I was able to completely immerse myself in a passion that had been dormant for years.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In a word, The One Who’s Gonna See You Through, is about a young gay black boy raised by a loving illiterate father and it is quite different from the usual coming-of-age story.
At ten years old GJ’s father killed a man who was trying to kill him and GJ. And GJ becomes the principal witness at a trial for his father who is then acquitted. Also, at age ten, GJ has no confusion about his sexual identity and he comes out to his father who loves, accepts, and supports him. Also, at ten, GJ has his first sexual experience with a tough older kid from the neighborhood. So, it was quite a year. But nothing to what came next. GJ’s life changed radically after that.
At 14, he began a seven-year relationship with a 37-year-old partner. He was a fly-on-the-wall of the black gay bar scene in DC during the late 1970s, and he also watched The Waltons, he loved John Boy because John Boy wanted to write, and it planted the seed in GJ that he too wanted to write. He also had a bigger dream of romance which changed his life.
At age 21, GJ ends his relationship with his first partner because GJ is intellectually curious, he wants a bigger life, and his partner wants to be comfortable. GJ is a romantic and he does not love his partner in the deeply romantic, idyllic understanding he has of romantic love and he decides it’s best to break up. And that opens the door to events that will entirely change his life.
Also, by age 21, GJ has dropped out of college and he meets an intellectually ambitious, white, Yale-educated, 26-year-old Congressional staffer who will become the great love of his life, and he begins to realize his dreams. He goes from being a college dropout to earning a Bachelor’s from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Princeton.
There were multiple aims that inspired me to write the book. I wanted to write a book that spoke to anyone who has or is now struggling with issues of identity, class, or race. I also wanted gay kids who know themselves from an early age, and who never deviate from that knowledge of self throughout their lives, to know it’s ok not to be fluid or confused about their sexuality. I wanted to explore atypical black family dynamics and explore Washington, DC in the 1960’s and 70’s through that lens. And, I wanted to explore a character with my audiences who is an anomaly, one who does not fit into any established boxes neatly but who nevertheless finds love and great happiness in life.
Two core messages to readers in my book are:
Whatever your dream in life keep it within your soul. If it remains in your soul, you will fulfill that dream;
Embrace the differences between yourself and others.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am not sure any of these are unusual writing habits. I like to write when I am fresh, well-rested, and mentally removed from other demands. I also enjoy integrating thought days into my writing process. Days are largely given over to rumination and revision of plots or scenes conceptually rather than on paper.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Three nineteenth century authors who have influenced me are: Jane Austen, George Eliot, and Mrs. Gaskell.
Among my contemporary favorites are:
Hanya Yanagihara, Douglas Stuart, Edmund White, Hernan Diaz, Barbara Kingsolver, Bret Easton Ellis, and Junot Diaz.
What are you working on now?
I am currently at work on a novel set in 2095. It is about a woman with a very human dilemma which drives the story. Though set in the future, it will be more akin to literary fiction than science fiction.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best website when it comes to promoting my book is https://jswelchbooks.com/
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Actively absorb knowledge and advice about all aspects of writing and publishing but always follow your gut in deciding your path as a writer. It’s an extremely subjective business, even when it intends otherwise.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Listen and observe far more than you speak.
What are you reading now?
Currently, I am reading The Bee Sting (Paul Murray), Blackouts (Justin Torres), and Inverno (Cynthia Zarin).
What’s next for you as a writer?
To immerse myself in writing for the foreseeable future.
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?
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Walden – Henry David Thoreau
The Sound and the Fury – William Faulkner
The Magic Mountain – Thomas Mann
Author Websites and Profiles
John Steven Welch Amazon Profile
John Steven Welch’s Social Media Links
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