Hi everyone! I'm really excited to host an interview this morning with Frederick Hosen, the author of the book I just reviewed yesterday, The Village of God. Before we get to the interview, here's a little background information:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeastern Mississippi.
Currently, my wife and I are retired in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia. In between we have lived in the Washington, DC area (2 years); Montana (7 years); and Colorado (23 years).
My career includes service in the Navy, and working as an
Economist for several federal agencies.
Besides The Village of God novella, publications include four topical compilations of Federal laws.
Current interests include writing, reading, and a little woodworking. In past years I focused somewhat on flying single engine aircraft and gliders.
Onto the interview!
1. What inspired you to write your first fiction book?
Like most writers, I find words and definitions enticing. There’s also the appeal of working within a structured discipline. The Village of God was, in part, the result of my interest in competition as it might be portrayed in fiction. Locating the story in the Amazon rain forest met the empirical need of a remote location and a remote people. The Amazon is also a place that I have been interested in, though I've never been there.
2. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
There is a sense of accomplishment inherent in creating a story that is not always part of many other mental activities. Also, there is the formulation of a series of problems to be solved. Situations are created and then have to be dealt with. It’s a challenge but a pleasant one.
3. Are there experiences in the book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Both. I have heard missionaries talk about their experiences and have had the opportunity to ask them questions. What I relate as the life and thoughts of the missionaries at work in the field, I do vicariously. As to input from my own life, I have spent many years working in bureaucracies, in the field offices and in headquarters. As an economist, I have a particular interest in competition, cooperation and employee/employer interactions.
While The Village of God is written for entertainment, it also provides an example of a business operation with a product, competition, sales people, managers, and return on investment.
4. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I think it would be to keep the story moving, and not including irrelevant thoughts or words. Also, making corrections and eliminating sentences and paragraphs that I liked but which needed to be deleted. Finally, getting the first sentence or sentences right in the sense that the reader is ready for more.
5. What books have most influenced your life most?
The most obvious is the Bible, but this is true for many of us even if it’s not recognized. Within the Bible it might be the book of Ecclesiastes which makes the reader consider that mankind has not changed over the centuries, only our toys and tools.
On a more contemporary level I would include: The Emperor’s New Clothes (Hans Christian Andersen) showing how a falsehood can be perpetuated. Henny Penny, The Sky is Falling (folk tale) deals with hysteria. Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck) depicts from a worldly perspective good and evil, love and hate, justice and injustice. Androcles and the Lion (Anatole France’s version) provides a sense of love and caring for animals, and the positive result that can come from kindness.
Thank you so much to Frederick Hosen and Book and Trailer Showcase for providing an incredible book for me to review, and such a fascinating look into it's creator's mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment