The interview between my reporter self and writer self continues as the past and present discuss vinyl record albums.
R: What literary style did you use in writing your book?
W: Remember vinyl albums?
R: Yeah.
W: Remember when you bought an album how it was to take the record out of the sleeve, place it on a turntable, lift the needle on the vinyl and then kick back and give it that first listen?
R: Yeah.
W: How many songs on the album did you have to like to say you liked the whole album?
R: Good question. But I'm supposed to be asking the questions.
W: Roll with it, how many?
R: Probably at least three.
W: You didn't have to like all the songs on an album to say you liked the album?
R: No. There were probably some songs I didn't like at all. Or at least at the time. And then, I liked different songs better over time.
W: That's how I wrote the book.
R: Don't follow you.
W: Think of the book as an album with 12 different songs sung in three different styles. Not every style will appeal to everybody. But one of them might. Not every chapter may appeal to everybody, but three of them might.
R: OK, what you're suggesting is we don't have to like the whole book?
W: I'd be surprised if anybody did. I'm happy if you like a couple of chapters or a couple of scenes.
R: Are you getting any feedback that suggests this approach, dare we call it a novel approach, is working?
W: Yes, a first-year law student, who was a philosophy major, liked the philosophic parts, didn't read much of the rest of the book, but said he was fascinated or moved by what he did read.
R: More?
W: A young adult who likes fantasy and science fiction only read those parts and liked them, offering good suggestions for sequels. Some middle-aged readers liked the middle-aged romance that is the one of the soul centers of the book.
R: What are some other centers, or themes?
W: A daughter seeks the father she knew only from pictures, stories and dreams.
R: What is the point of view? What's your agenda?
W: Good question.
R: I only ask good questions.
W: The marketing person who read my book couldn't figure out what my agenda was.
R: If you can't discern an agenda, it may be there is none. Or that it is disguised or buried. Which is it?
W: Back to music. Remember what Jerry Garcia said about Bob Dylan's songs?
R: Yeah, I'm You, course I remember.
W: For the benefit of our readers, please.
R: Oh, yeah. Jerry said Dylan left space in his songs for others to inhabit. It's why there are so many Dylan covers.
W: I've left space for readers to inhabit. When they read the book, it becomes theirs. Remember that interview Bill Hicks gave to the BBC?
R: Yes, he said he viewed his comedy act as conversation between friends.
W: My book is a dialogue on ideas between friends.
R: What are some of the ideas?
W: Where go after we die. Whether we are reunited with those we love and how. There is an elaborate ethical system that runs throughout the book. The chapter headings sometimes give an idea of the ideas discussed, like 'Redemption' and 'Divine Justice.'
R: What was the impetus for writing the book?
W: The death of my mother. It ripped a huge hole in our family's universe. The book is my way of coping with the losses in my life of people that I have loved and cared about, from my grandparents to my friend Doug Hosier. It's also my attempt to share with others possible explanations for the after life/before life that are quite heretical.
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