To read the review of The Founders click HERE

INTERVIEW WITH NORMAN CARMICHAEL AUTHOR OF THE FOUNDERS

Today Bookpleasures is pleased to have as our guest, first time novelist, Norman Carmichael, author of The Founders.

Good day Norman and thank you for accepting to be interviewed by Bookpleasures. My pleasure. I appreciate your interest.

Bookpleasures: Norman could you tell us something about yourself and your writing and business experience.

Norman: I have a lot more of the latter than the former. I have always wanted to write but life kept getting in the way. Things came up and it never happened. I have played professional basketball, owned a company that imported fine wines from France and Spain, started and run a not-for-profit program and a start-up high tech company. It has been a fun ride, and extremely interesting, with the normal ups and downs. Some days, and years for that matter, have been better than others. It is, I am pretty sure, reflected in The Founders. The places in it are drawn from memory, not research. The scenes, the food, the wines, are in my past and indelible in my mind. I write about things that are important to me and I hope that comes through. I know people with some of the traits; good and bad, shared with the ones create. I have regretted many decisions but not dwelt on them. It has been too much fun. And too engrossing. Again, I hope the book is that way.

Bookpleasures: What motivates you to write and why did you want to write and self-publish The Founders?

Norman: I needed to. It was time. Past time. I know writers and admire their ability to say what they need to, to put into concise phrases ideas, locales, emotions that touch you, draw you in and at the same time tell a tightly woven story. I thought that I could do that. At least I knew I had to try. I like The Founders. I like the characters who people it- their warmth, their caring, their uncertainties.

As for self-publishing, I need make the distinction between that and Publish-on-Demand. One is more ego, the other, as I see it, is an alternative to the very closed world of publishing. It is the only way I saw not to have to wait forever to see my book in print. I empathize with how hard it is for employees (they are employees after all, not owners) of mainstream publishers to sift through the enormous volume of manuscripts that they receive but it is the profession they have chosen. It is unfortunate that so much of what they deign to read comes only from friends or from referrals. It as if you don’t count if you are not already a part of their world. So, I have gone the Print-on-Demand route to get the book out, promote it, and hope to catch someone’s eye, whether a publisher or a reviewer. And even many reviewers at major newspapers won’t work with a POD work. It only reflects the limited that is publishing in large houses. All in all, it has been a pleasant experience.

Bookpleasures: What do you think of the following statement that had been made by John Irving? “If you don’t know the story before you begin the story, what kind of a storyteller are you? Just an ordinary kind, just a mediocre kind-making it up as you go along, no better than the common liar?”

Norman: I agree, but only in a very limited sense. I can’t see how you can write without some basic and firm idea of where you are going. You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, at least not one I would want to live in, and that applies to any endeavor in any field or profession. Still, if you really invent your characters instead of have them be plastic reflections of your own mind or ego, you have to let them evolve. How can they not take on a being of their own? In The Founders, some of the characters took on more depth and importance than I had thought they would, Cristina for example, or Inspector Lopez Abril. So I wanted to see them more, have them more involved. And I did so. I didn’t change the plot or the main story line, only how only how they developed. All in all, I think Irving’s quote is mostly self-aggrandizing. And not very fair to writers who let their emotions work in harness with their ability.

Bookpleasures: Describe your research process when you decided to write The Founders.

Norman: As I said earlier, much was from memory. Deeply held and fond memories as far as places are concerned. I did confirm that the details were still accurate. A good excuse to revisit Barcelona. As for the business parts, much comes from experience, the rest from reading. The largest portion of research was mostly about firearms, helicopters, napalm, etc. And skiing in Argentina. I love that country but had not skied there. I liked that part of the research.

Bookpleasures: Is the principal protagonist, Ian Ross, close to your own character and personality?

Norman: No, not really. He has had some of life experiences that parallel mine but is his own man, a creation not a reflection. I like some of his moods and emotions, but not all. I am much more impulsive. He is more cautious. I do share his belief that if you do things right and treat people correctly you can succeed. He hates the quasi-Samurai mentality that tends to pervade many high-level boardrooms. He appreciates that you don’t have to be ruthless to be hard. I agree. Other than that, he is an amalgam of many thoughts and people. As I said, his own person.

Bookpleasures: What was the most challenging aspect in writing The Founders?

Norman: Making the decision to do it. And scheduling the time each day. In this I have to thank my wife, Susan, who was as supportive of this as it is possible to be. I cannot tell you how much this means. Beyond that, it was in editing it, both day to day and after the draft was finished. It is hard to throw away your words, or change them, adding and subtracting. At first it was almost painful. After a while I came to see it as polishing, not defacing. My ego got in the way, and then, to the book’s great benefit, stepped aside.

Bookpleasures: What are the skills you most value in authors you admire, and are there any authors who have exerted an influence over your writing?

Norman: I admire anyone who can use few words to convey a thought, emotion or action. Someone who can find the right word or combination of words that make you think “Damn, that’s perfect”, or make you pause to reflect with a smile on your face. I admire Mark Helprin above all others. He can take your breath away with a sentence and all the while enthrall you with the story and the characters. He grapples with struggle and pain and perseverance to overcome and puts those actions and emotions in contexts and words that can overwhelm you at times. He sees the purity of the spirit and its boundless nature and lets us see it as he does. And in fiction, even in non-fiction, I like a good yarn. Pretty simple really. Does it hold me? Does it move me? Would I have been glad to have written it.

Also, and I need to say this, I have a good friend who is a writer. A very fine writer. He has taught me a way of using not only words, but eyes and ears to enhance your ability to choose the right ones. Again, concise and exact, without being dry.

Bookpleasures: How do you plan to market The Founders?

Norman: Locally at first. Lots of book signing. Even some wine dinners featuring the book and wines from Spain, which are some of the most exciting in the world. Then move to other markets. . Unlike most POD authors, we have a book buy-back program that allows books stores to stock it at no risk to them. That makes a difference. Susan has led all this and she has shown to be very, very adept at it. Surprises us both but all our feedback has been that we are doing all the right things. Also, the web site, www.normancarmichael.com has worked well for us. Step by step, always moving forward. We are also talking with AuthorHouse, the publisher, about a more driven involvement on their part.

Bookpleasures: How easy or difficult is it for you to stay focused when you are writing?

Norman: It is not only easy, it is uncontrollably so. Actually, and you can ask Susan, it is hard for me to leave it. She can tell when I have a faraway look. “You’re in the book”, she’ll say, and she’s right. I lose myself in it. Time stops. I write until I can’t any more. I love the intensity. It is more a fervor than a chore.

Bookpleasures: What is your future plans? Is there another novel in the works?

Norman: I am at work on For My Country, a sequel to The Founders. It has started well. I think it may be even more complex. As for the rest of life, I would like this to be how I earn my living. If not, I will have tried. And I will keep trying. I don’t know any other way to do things. And the feedback we have so far is very positive. It is gratifying. We’ll see.

Thank you Norman and best of luck!