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Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Ray Melnik, author of The Room.

Good day Ray and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

What made you interested in the string theory and why did you want to write a novel that would be influenced by the string theory?

Ray:

Thank you, Norm.

I have always been interested in science. I enjoy reading books on astronomy, earth sciences, evolution, quantum physics, basically all sciences. The novel is a work of imagination, but the extraordinary twist, for me, had to be based, however loosely, on real science. String theory fit perfectly. To think that there would be no need to feel angst from those decisions we most regret. Somewhere we made the right choices. I wrote to Leonard Susskind, professor of theoretical physics at Stamford University and author of ‘The Cosmic Landscape’ to ask for permission to print a quote from his book on my inside jacket cover. I took great liberties in my use of string theory so I apologized in the email for stretching string theory to fit my story. He wrote back, “Strings are meant to be stretched.”

Norm:

You include some very detailed dialogues in The Room, where did that dialogue come from?

Ray:

Harry was going through an emotional time so the dialogue had to be reflective. These are the times that we open up the most. It was a great opportunity to talk about things that bother me and things that I just wish could be said. But it was also important I make it clear that despite the sad events, Harry, looks at life as a wonderful journey. These parts I most tried to bring out in his conversations with Lacie.

Norm:

How did you go about creating Harry Ladd?

Ray:

I started with the age of thirty six, which for me was pivotal, and gave him my existential views and my love for science. I wanted him to grow up in a simple place and live in a place I would enjoy describing. It was important that although he hadn’t finished college, the reader would see that Harry had learned a great deal on his own. His troubled childhood was what gave him his overdeveloped sense of empathy.

Norm:

Do you agree that to have good drama there must be an emotional charge that usually comes from the individual squaring off against antagonists either out in the world or within himself or herself? If so, please elaborate and how does it fit into you novel?

Ray:

Yes, I do. In, The Room, they are used to portray the expected or at least tolerated views and then contrast them to Harry’s. These confrontations helped me illustrate that there is no one way to look at things. The conflicts within Harry come from the indecisiveness we all feel, at least anyone with a conscience.

Norm:

How much real-life did you put into The Room? Is there much “you” in there?

Ray:

None of the people in the novel reflect anyone in real life with the exception of Harry. With Harry, I gave him my sense of reason and empathy as well as existential view of life. In addition, his wife Sarah leaves him at the same time it happened in my own life. It helped me work through some of the issues I was going through. Although the people in the town are fictional as well, the areas of the Hudson Valley, New York described in the novel are real.

Norm:

What obstacles did you have in trying to tell your story? How did you overcome them?

Ray:

I needed a better way to illustrate the things that shaped Harry and his brother. Ed Hayman who proofread and provided me with some interesting ideas, suggested I use flashbacks. I used a sequence of three which also gave me the opportunity to foreshadow other events as well.

Norm:

Was there anyone who really influenced you to become a writer?

Ray:

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write, poetry, short stories, lyrics then technical articles, but I was ready now to write my first novel, ‘The Room’. I will never stop writing novels now.

Norm:

How have you used the Internet to boost your writing career?

Ray:

The Internet is a great medium to use now. I use everything from creating a promotional site theroomnovel.com to networking on myspace. To bring the introduction to life I also created a multimedia introduction to The Room and posted it on all the public video sites such as youtube. The photographs and video are taken from the area where the novel is set. In addition, I created podcasts using the prologue and excerpt then listed my RSS feed on all the podcast sites.

Norm:

Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice? Did you have a writing mentor?

Ray:

I do belong to writers groups such as Authors Den and few others. I like to post short stories and exchange ideas with the other writers. The writers that I most admired were the existential writers such as Sartre and Camus. Ed Hayman who I mentioned proofread and provided guidance, is the one I have looked to most for support and advice.

Norm:

What are your hopes for The Room?

Ray:

My hope for The Room is that it entertains, but also leaves the reader with some new thoughts about a naturalistic view.  The possibility that only they can make a difference, that they may not be able to control what happens to them, but they do control how they react. And lastly that, what goes wrong in life sometimes matter as much as what goes right.

Norm:

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us and what is next for Ray Melnik?

Ray:

I have begun to write a series of short stories while I toss around some new ideas. I’m also compiling ideas, character profiles and snippets for a continuation of ‘The Room’ which would take place twelve years in the future. I look forward to writing many more novels.

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors. 

To read Norm's Review of The Room CLICK HERE 

To learn more about Ray Melnik and The Room CLICK HERE