Author: Gregory Eaves
Series: N/A
Pages: N/A
Date Published: August 16th, 2014
Publisher: N/A
Format: Kindle
Genre: Historical Thriller/Mystery
Synopsis:
SCHISM is an atmospheric journey back in time to the year 1970, when drugs and anti-war protests dominated the headlines. This psychological suspense mystery follows the life of a middle-aged college professor, Jackson Boone, as he tries to unravel the truth about his girlfriend. He is in danger of losing his job, and perhaps his life, when he takes on a violent radical group in the process. Haunted by a past mistake, Boone tries to do the right thing in a world of increasingly ambiguous moral shadings.
~Guest Post!~
How should writers decide what to write about? That’s a question I struggle with every day, and I doubt if I’m the only one. Both fiction and non-fiction writers have to make choices when it comes to genres, settings, occupations of the characters, plotlines, themes, time-periods, socio-economic status – the list could go on. For novels, I generally want to go with what I’m deeply interested in, so that my interest will last throughout the year or two, or more, that it takes to write it. But is that enough? What if nobody else has any interest in that? Does it matter? Well, if you have any desire for financial remuneration for all your hard work, it does, and if you want others to read your books, it does.
My brother told me of a surprising experience he had last week. He is auditing some college classes for his own enjoyment, as something to do in retirement. In one class, they were talking about the sixties, the culture and music, all the social change and upheaval going on at that time. All of the other students were young people, and they were bored to tears by the subject, asleep with their heads down, talking on cell phones, making grimaces like it was painful to sit there. I was shocked – it would have been a fascinating subject for me, something I would have been on the edge of my seat about. In fact, my current novel, Schism, is a mystery set in the sixties (1970, to be precise, but still the sixties).
So, how far do we go, as authors, to strive to write books that will be popular and widely read? If your main interest is to make money, then figuring out what people want to read will be of utmost importance. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but if your focus is on good writing alone, you will feel differently.
There is an old adage often mentioned in the books on how to write, that goes something like this: “If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it, publishers will want to publish it”. I’m a little tired of that saying, because I don’t think it’s true. That “field of dreams” concept doesn’t always work. Many good writers never make money or get published, and many of the published works out today aren’t that good.
At some point after he wrote Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger became a recluse, and would tell aspiring writers they should write for themselves and not publish anything. He said they should just lock it away and not show it to anyone, which is what he did with his own writing after Catcher in the Rye and one or two others were published.
There is no easy answer to my original question. My own path has been to try to strike a balance between following my own interests and giving the public what they want. I tend to agree with Salinger in a way, but I do have the desire to share my work. I’m not even sure why. I suppose part of it is the little kid in me, “mommy, look what I did”.
My brother told me of a surprising experience he had last week. He is auditing some college classes for his own enjoyment, as something to do in retirement. In one class, they were talking about the sixties, the culture and music, all the social change and upheaval going on at that time. All of the other students were young people, and they were bored to tears by the subject, asleep with their heads down, talking on cell phones, making grimaces like it was painful to sit there. I was shocked – it would have been a fascinating subject for me, something I would have been on the edge of my seat about. In fact, my current novel, Schism, is a mystery set in the sixties (1970, to be precise, but still the sixties).
So, how far do we go, as authors, to strive to write books that will be popular and widely read? If your main interest is to make money, then figuring out what people want to read will be of utmost importance. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but if your focus is on good writing alone, you will feel differently.
There is an old adage often mentioned in the books on how to write, that goes something like this: “If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it, publishers will want to publish it”. I’m a little tired of that saying, because I don’t think it’s true. That “field of dreams” concept doesn’t always work. Many good writers never make money or get published, and many of the published works out today aren’t that good.
At some point after he wrote Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger became a recluse, and would tell aspiring writers they should write for themselves and not publish anything. He said they should just lock it away and not show it to anyone, which is what he did with his own writing after Catcher in the Rye and one or two others were published.
There is no easy answer to my original question. My own path has been to try to strike a balance between following my own interests and giving the public what they want. I tend to agree with Salinger in a way, but I do have the desire to share my work. I’m not even sure why. I suppose part of it is the little kid in me, “mommy, look what I did”.
I hope the readers like it too.
~Try an Excerpt!~
Next Canto addressed the small, but well-lit kitchen. The
refrigerator created a deep hum that might have been soothing in a larger
space, but was irritating here. The lieutenant shook his head when he heard it.
They opened all the cabinet doors and peeked inside the refrigerator. No dice.
Miller was losing patience. He flipped on an old Magnavox table radio out of
boredom.
“That figures. It’s dead.”
“Forget it, Miller. Help me move the fridge so I can see
behind it.”
Miller checked the plug, and then he lifted the radio up to
move it. “Something’s not right here, sir.”
“Let me see it,” Canto demanded. He picked up the radio. A
heavy object was definitely loose inside which wasn’t original equipment.
Miller produced a screwdriver from a kitchen drawer, and they removed the back
panel.
“What in God’s name is this doing in here?” Canto asked. He
pulled out a soldering iron, coils of wire, and a blasting cap from the empty
shell of the radio. “It looks like there may have been more to Miss Riley’s
life than just college classes and coke dates.”
~Meet Gregory!~ 
Gregory Eaves
was born October 18, 1950, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended Speedway High
School and Indiana University. In his twenties, he traveled extensively
throughout the United States, with an eight year stay in San Diego, California,
where he studied and practiced meditation.
Gregory moved
to Florida and completed a master’s degree in Library and Information Science
from the University of South Florida.
Library
school rekindled his interest in reading, which had been his favorite activity
as a child growing up. Mysteries had been his first love, and he devoured his
first mystery books with singular passion and zeal. Nothing else seemed to hit
the sweet spot like reading The Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes, and Poirot. He
later enjoyed authors like Raymond Chandler, John D. McDonald, Graham Greene,
Patricia Highsmith, and others.
SCHISM is
Gregory’s first novel. His prior
experience with writing included poetry and short stories. One of his
short-shorts won runner-up in a contest in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
He now lives
on the east coast of Florida, and when he isn’t writing, he enjoys playing
guitar and collecting vintage stereo gear and vinyl records. He is a member of
American Mensa.
Gregory will be awarding $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour and the Review Only Tour. A $15 Amazon GC will be awarded to a randomly drawn host also between this tour and the Review Only tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteI'd like to thank the host for having me here today. I'll check back in later this afternoon to see if anyone has questions or comments.
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt and giveaway; the book sounds interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteAn enjoyable excerpt.
ReplyDeleteinteresting time period
ReplyDeleteIntriguing excerpt!
ReplyDeleteThank you all, for your comments. Hopefully some of you folks will get a chance to read the book in its entirety. An excerpt just isn't enough! I know my excerpts are shorter than some of the other author's excerpts, but I didn't want to reveal too much. Maybe next time I do this sort of thing, I'll think about longer excerpts. This is my first time.
ReplyDelete