Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Charles William Wrightson author of Stories for Oliver.

Good day Charles and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

Please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background.

Charles:

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and lived there for my first 21 years. For most of my adult life, I lived in Falls Church, Virginia. My wife and I have resided in Sonoma County, California since June 2008.

I attended Johns Hopkins University and graduated in 1970 with a B.A. in mathematics. I attended graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley and earned three degrees: M.S. (Operations Research, 1971), M.P.H. (Health Care Planning, 1975), and Ph.D. (Operations Research, 1976).

I have worked for Actuarial Research Corporation, a small research and consulting firm, for over 32 years – I’m now semi-retired. Midway through my career, I wrote two technical books that were published by Health Administration Press (Chicago, Illinois): HMO Rate Setting & Financial Strategy (1990), and Financial Strategy for Managed Care Organizations: Rate Setting, Risk Adjustment and Competitive Advantage (2002).

Norm

Why did you feel compelled to write Stories for Oliver? How did you decide you were ready to write the book? Whom do you believe will benefit from your book and why?

Charles:

In retrospect, I wasn’t prepared when I became a grandfather. Not that I resisted in any way. I simply underestimated the flood of emotion that hit me when I saw the newborn in my daughter’s arms. Oliver became a magnet. I made eight trips from Virginia to California during his first year of life, spending about 60 days at my daughter’s home. What if something happens to me before he’s old enough to remember me? That thought kept running through my head. I don’t know why, but I wanted a way to establish a linkage with him. My initial idea was to write a few stories so that he would have something in writing that would give him a sense of who his grandfather was – warts and all – as honest a picture as I could draw. I’ve wanted above all else for our relationship to be based on honesty and authenticity. That’s never a problem for him. When I’m with Oliver, I can honestly say that I laugh more than I have with any other person I’ve ever had a relationship with. I can’t get enough of his sense of humor, approach to life, and perspective on everything from spiders to pre-school to pine cones. He brings out the crazy/eccentric/funny side of me, and I love it. Three years later, I have a collection of 50 stories and 11 poems on a wide range of topics. From my heart to his.

Norm:

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Charles:

I learned a lot from the process of writing this book. And it turned out to be a very meaningful experience for me.

Norm:

What books have most influenced your life most and why?

Charles:

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, and The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle are probably my three favorite books of all time – I’ve read each one at least three times. I have always read mysteries for pleasure, starting with Agatha Christie. I now have a fairly large stable of mystery writers that I enjoy and follow, including Michael Connelly, Lee Child, John Grisham, Peter Robinson, Sue Grafton, Donna Leon, James Lee Burke, Henning Mankell, John Harvey, Scott Turow, Jonathan Kellerman, Janet Evanovich, T. Jefferson Parker, John Sandford, Dennis Lehane, and P.D. James.

Norm:

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Charles:

Although I had done a substantial amount of technical writing during the course of my career, I had never tried my hand at any type of creative non-fiction. From participating in a memoir/life writing class for the past three years (and reading books on the topic), I’ve learned that there are many similarities between fiction and creative non-fiction in terms of scene development, use of dialogue, showing vs. telling, etc. Early in the writing process, I realized I needed to decide if I was going to write the stories for Oliver as a child or as an adult. I decided to write the stories from an adult’s perspective.

Norm:

What do you think makes a good memoir or biography?

Charles:

The author’s detail and honesty. It helps greatly if you have a compelling and interesting story to tell, but I think a good writer can take any slice of his or her life and create a solid and interesting memoir.

Norm:

What are you upcoming projects?

Charles;

My current writing projects include a collection of personal essays, a guide to healthy aging, a 1960s’ coming-of-age memoir, a book of poetry, a mystery novel, and a family history based on genealogical research. No doubt that wish list will be enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life. Of greater importance, though, I have a brand-new granddaughter who was born in December, and two more granddaughters on the way in May and June – I’m sure it’s obvious that my grandchildren are the lights of my life.

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you and Stories for Oliver?

Charles:

To find out more about me and Stories for Oliver, check out my website at CharlesWilliamWrightson.blogspot.com.

Norm:

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Charles:

Most of all, I hope you enjoy Stories for Oliver. I think my family’s experience is representative of the American experience, and many of my personal stories were common for many baby boomers. Regarding one of my concerns for the book, I told my editor to be on the lookout for sections where I might have a preachy tone. Although I think she did a fantastic job overall, there are still a couple places where I wished she toned me down a little more. So, I apologize in advance. Please feel free to contact me on the blog if you have any questions or comments (CharlesWilliamWrightson.blogspot.com). I will try my best to respond promptly.

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

Click Here To Read Norm's Review of Stories for Oliver