BLURB
In the year 2075, after a long drought, the United States has
collapsed and California is an independent republic dominated by a powerful
corporation. "After the Parch" is a chilling vision of what we might
become.
Bran, an 18-year-old
shepherd, has ten days to keep his rural community from losing its land. He
teams up with a runaway girl, a boy with uncanny skills, and a musician with a
secret agenda. This vivid fantasy has a well crafted narrative that flows
naturally, and keeps the reader hooked. Along the way, readers will learn
something about loyalty, friendship, and trust.
EXCERPT
“The spear-straight firs
that had once covered the gentle slope and obscured the view of Templeton are
now just a memory recalled by a cemetery of bleached and rotten stumps. Templeton
is as Bran has always known it; green, slope-roofed, homely buildings, baled
like recycled newspapers by its sixteen-foot-high double barbed-wire fence.”
After
the Parch is available in soft cover and all e book formats, from Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, the publisher, and independent book stores.
INTERVIEW
What inspired
you to write this book?
A:
What I see as the rise of tribalism in the world generally and disturbingly in
the United States as well. A recent survey revealed that we don’t trust each other. Climate
change, fundamentalism, technology, the power of big business, population
demands, globalization, all combine to diminish our capacity to deal with our
problems effectively. After the Parch was my attempt to project where we might
end up.
Can you give us
an interesting fact about your book that isn't in the blurb?
A: Candide was the inspiration for the principal
character, Bran.
How did you
choose your title?
A: A sustained drought ravages California among other misfortunes.
Tell us about
the cover and how it came to be.
A: My daughter, Talia, is a working
artist. She had a multi-wall
installation in Philadelphia, which depicted the nexus of man-made and
environmental destruction. The cover design was taken from that installation.
Did you self-publish
or publish traditionally and why?
A: The short answer is that I don’t
have the patience to look for an agent and then look for a mainstream publisher
who is likely to give the book short shrift. The market for fiction, other than
for debut novelists, cash cows, and celebrities is pretty tough. So I go the
independent route. Srategic Publishing is a joint venture publisher and I think
that it’s a model with potential.
What do you
consider the most important part of a good story?
A:
One that catches the reader’s attention early on and holds it. Engaging
characters; whether or not you like them, you want to find out what happens to
them.
What is your
writing process?
A:
I start with an idea, maybe the seed of a story, and let it grow. For example
the idea for, Burnt Umber came from noticing a sculpture in an Italian
Restaurant. When I have a story, I expand it into an outline, develop bios of
characters, and do a lot of research related to time and place. Then I start to
write and let the characters interact and engage. It’s kind of mystical given
that once the characters are alive in my head they do much of the work. They
sometimes even take unpredictable turns.
The settings, landscapes, interiors, incidental characters simply appear
all out of the imagination. Then when
the work is done, I revise and revise again until I am satisfied with it.
How
long have you been writing?
A:
Most of my life.
How did you get
started writing?
A: I jumped off
the career fast track, left the country, ended up in Jerusalem and wrote the
first novel.
Are you a
plotter or a pantser?
A: I am a
careful plotter. I like to know where the novel is going, and that the
trajectory is consistent with the
characters.
What part of the
writing process is the hardest for you?
A: I don’t enjoy
revision, particularly punctuation issues. But revision, editing, embellishing
are imperative. There was one exception to that. I wrote my first published
novel, Lost and Found, without revision, and my Random House editor, said
“Don’t change a word of it.”
What tips can
you give on how to get through writers block?
A: It’s not an
issue for me. I don’t write on a schedule. One step that might reduce the
problem is to outline the book in sufficient detail with well drawn bios of the
principal characters. Then you will know from sequence to sequence what you
have to accomplish. That should make it much easier. Another suggestion, is,
don’t force the process. If you are stuck, take a nap, take a run, drink a
latte. Come back when you feel like it. You don’t have to produce two pages
every time you sit down and look at the screen. And the bottom line; if it’s
too painful, just don’t do it.
What kind of
music do you like to listen to while you write?
A: Classical,
baroque.
Who is your
favorite author?
A: I don’t have
one. There are so many fine writers, living and dead. A few that come to mind
are Marquez, Nabokov, Le Carre, Stegner.
Who is your
favorite character from a book?
A: Same answer.
Just too many. I will say that I don’t like exhibitionistic, dysfunctional
neurotics. I like characters, who deal with problems and manage their
limitations.
What is your
favorite book?
A: Similarly, I
have so many that I love. Here’s one. The Dream of Scipio, Iain Pears.
Read anything
good lately?
A: Just about
every novel. Here’s another one: Faithful Place, Tana French
What do you like
to do when you're not writing?
A: Travel,
tennis, yoga, singing the major choral works, gardening, sailing, watching live
cultural events, music, theatre, analyzing and solving problems, eating good
food, drinking good wine, spending time with people I love, and of course
reading.
What advice
would you give an author just starting out?
A:
Don’t do it unless you really enjoy it and love it. If you do decide to seriously
write fiction, write for yourself only. If other people get to read and enjoy
it, that’s icing on the cake. If one or two people feel that reading your work
made a difference in their lives, you’ve succeeded. If you win the publisher’s lottery and get a
big advance make the most of it. If you are frustrated and disappointed don’t
let it taint all other dimensions of your life.
Have you had
anything else published?
A: Yes, Four
other novels.
What's your next
project?
A: Revising the
sequel to Lost and Found, my first published novel.
Sheldon Greene is a critically acclaimed
novelist who has been called “a born storyteller” by the Los Angeles Times
for "Lost and Found" (Random
House); “immensely entertaining” Dallas
Morning News. This is his fifth novel. He is a lawyer, an executive in a wind
energy development company, and has a background of high impact public interest
litigation.
You can reach Sheldon Greene by e mail sheldon.greene7@gmail.com, Facebook, Twitter, or even sheldon greens.net
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