Author reflects...

I'm always a sucker for "process"! The following is an excerpt from an interview with a new first-time-author.

Q: How long was the novel gestating before you submitted it for publication?

John Twelve Hawks: I started writing The Traveler during a very dark period of my life. In my personal life, I felt like a complete failure. And in the larger world, it seemed more and more obvious that the American people were being manipulated by a variety of negative forces.

If anyone reading this is going through a similar period of despair, I extend my hand to you. This one moment does not define who you are. Try to be with people who will encourage you and not destroy your dreams.

After The Traveler was published, it surprised me when various critics said that I sat down to consciously write a best seller. If such a thing was possible, more people would do it. I wrote the book alone in a small, cluttered room, staring at a computer screen and trying to make sense of my past and our current world.

About six months after the third draft, I got an agent. A year later, I was published. During this time, I was continually rewriting the book with my editor, Jason Kaufman. The entire experience felt like a very odd dream.

I was impressed when I read the thoughts of the above author. I'm still not sure if I buy into the themes of his novel... but I'm definately more intrigued after reading his process. - DN