When Angels Have Risen was more sci
fi and The Heretic more historical. The Heretic is quite a bit
different than When Angels Have Risen. How did the idea come about?
When The Angels Have Risen relates to the dynamics between
spirituality, politics, religions and ETs. This was my attempt to
emphasized the underlying truths of ETs, politics, spirituality and
religion within humanity while also projecting the need for self-esteem
and self-worth within each individual and society as a whole. The
Heretic while being an adventure during the times of Alexander explores
the ideas of regression and past lives, but at the same time show what
is normal now wasn't normal then... Ultimately The Heretic would to
show a cultural reversal of what would be considered norm or okay in a
society; here Aias is the minority-a heterosexual in a society that is
more homosexual or more correctly bisexual. I tried to display how what
a society considers morally bad might be morally good or okay in
another culture. I also tried to show that how people tend to show
their prejudices based upon what they conceive is culturally okay, but
in reality have no basis in what is really morally good. We tend to
judge upon our own misleading concepts of what we devise as moral but
in reality are just cultural differences. Thus Aias is placed as The
Heretic of his society not just for his religious concepts but for his
cultural as well. But then the question is how I came to these ideas in
both. With When The Angels Have Risen, I believed for some 30 years
since my college days a connection w/ ETs and the Bible... The Heretic
was the partly my interest in Alexander the Great and the ideas of past
lives and how they may relate to us in our present lives.
Will there be more books featuring
Jerry Fletcher? If so, will it be yet another theme-type?
Yes, a prequel to When The Angels Have Risen... It will be more of
in-depth of Jerry from his experience when his father passes away to
his great clashes with authorities to his emancipation of his spiritual
truth.
When Angels Have Risen had a very
strong good/evil story line under the
surface but it didn't seem as strong in The Heretic even though it was
there - was there a reason?
When The Angels Have Risen was more politically themed while The
Heretic related to a social and cultural theme while showing an
in-depth of Jerry's past life and how it relates to his present life.
Again When The Angels Have Risen was more of a motivator for the
individual while The Heretic was a fun adventure while going back in
time but with a social and cultural question- what is moral?
In When Angels Have Risen why when mentioning God did you always us
"G-d" (only done once or twice in The Heretic) - why did you do that in
one and not the other?
In When The Angels Have Risen from the beginning I wanted to establish
the infinite of G-D and our universe... In The Heretic, Aias only
comes to terms of his belief of what he believes is G-D during the
course of his life... So in The Heretic it was an evolution of Aias
toward his eventual understanding of the infinite G-D. But ultimately
his belief is counter to his peers; Hence he is The Heretic. And most
important: Since no one really knows his/her name, it would show
respect to G-D as well....
After a book is published, it is
too late to return to it to revise or
edit anything you wish to change. If you could revise one detail
of this book now, what would it be?
None. When I finally brush my last stroke on the canvass, its done...
A book is like a life. You have to be happy for the experience it gave
you in writing it. Once you send it to print, you give it your blessing
and move forward - no regrets...
What do you think makes a good writer good?
Be genuine to yourself and write from the heart and soul... Be the
artist that brushes his/her canvass creating the reflection from your
heart, mind and soul. And finally say something that you truly believe
in without worry what others might think....
If you could give one copy of your
book to one person, who would it be
and why?
I would give Steven Spielberg - When The Angels Have Risen, because he
would make a movie as deep and rewarding for each individual, so they
could relate to its theme which I had elaborated in my preceding
answers while keeping close to the line of the story.
The Heretic I would give to Ridley Scott who directed "The Gladiator"
because he would greatly identify with my book in its depth and theme
while being one of most capable to create from my book to film in its
entirety.
One of the questions on the mind of
young writers is how to break into
print. What can you tell aspiring writers about the process of
publication and acquiring an agent? What advice would you give to new
writers?
First its only an idea if its in your head. Put it in print... make
notes.... write it down even on a note pad... And type it! Think of a
writing as an adventure as if you were there experiencing every
element. Never give up!!! If you want an agent - get a legit agent -
never pay up front for anything.... And its okay to self-publish, Edgar
Allan Poe did it.... And again finally I reiterate- "Be genuine to
yourself and write from the heart and soul... Be the artist that
brushes his/her canvass creating the reflection from your heart, mind
and soul. And finally say something that you truly believe in without
worry what others might think...."