Fascinating Authors

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Tell us a little bit about your book.

Author: After one lives enough life,  many ideas emerge about how things should be. I am no different, except I have put these ideas to pen. It is clear that if everyone would just use unfettered reason, life could be so much better. The only things standing in the way of paradise on Earth are unexamined beliefs, resistance to reason, and failure to live in tune with reality. The title says quite precisely what the book is about, living life as if thinking matters.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What inspired you to create a work of non-fiction?

Author: Life is more fantastic than any fiction we can imagine. I had lived an extremely varied and reflective life. Many things were learned along the way that I had wished I had known earlier. I was moved to give others the benefit of knowing wiser life choices without having to experience so many mistakes and the pain from them.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What did you do to prepare – such as research – to write your book?

Author: To begin, I simply broke down all of my life experiences into categories. I wrote what I had to say, then flushed the material out with supporting research.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: How did you decide which information to present in your book?

Author: This is a book about every important matter we face in life. I simply reflected on my own life, my mistakes and successes, and tried to leave readers with the value of that experience.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What do you hope people will gain from reading your book?

Author: It is my hope that people will learn how to open their minds, use reason, and solve life’s problems more easily. People need to be suspicious of any preconceived belief, and let reason, evidence, and reality guide their life choices. This book will also help people understand that ethic is as real as the law of gravity, and that each of us has the responsibility to be the best we can be and leave behind a better world.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: How long did it take you to write the book – (was it longer or less time than you expected)?

Author: Much longer. In fact, what was to be one book turned into two. The project has taken the better part of ten years.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Did you seek the support of a writer’s group or class?

Author: No. I just paid attention to writing I admired. Then I tried to let the writer that is within me come out.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What surprised you the most about this process?

Author: The many years and thousands of hours it took to complete, and the dozens of revisions necessary to make me somewhat comfortable with the end result. Never was I able to write something and not want to revise it after a few weeks passed.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What tips would you offer to anyone writing nonfiction for the first time?

Author: Find a subject that inspires you, that you feel you can make a unique contribution to, and that will inspire others. Do enough research to be authoritative. Write to teach, using inspiration and clarity. Get out of the way of the writer that is within. Be yourself.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What can we look forward to in your next book?

Author: My next book is Solving The Big Questions As If Thinking Matters. Using the same reasoning process as in the present book, I show readers how to answer the big questions of, How did we get here? Why are we here? Where are we going? The answers are not what most assume, because most have never approached these questions with a truly open mind letting reason and evidence speak to them. This book will truly have the potential for transforming human thought and giving people reason to be the best they can be.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What excites you most about your book’s topic?

Author: My belief that if everyone would read it and follow its counsel, their lives and the world at large could be vastly improved.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Why did you choose it?

Author: Originally, I chose this project to leave the wisdom I had gained from life to my children. Giving others the benefit of this as well seemed like the right thing to do.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: What aspect of writing the book did you find particularly challenging?

Author: Getting out of the way of myself so the writer within could appear. It is extremely difficult to simply say what you want to say with clarity and brevity.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Did you have any favorite experiences when writing your book?

Author: The shear excitement of my ideas as they unfolded, and how they could potentially reach into and transform the lives of others.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Is there anything we haven’t covered that you would like to include?

Author: Other than I wish everyone on the planet would read and heed the book, no.

FASCINATING AUTHORS: Thank you for taking the time to be part of this interview!