Ask the Author: Joseph P. Eckhardt
Answered Questions (12)
Joseph P. Eckhardt
Hi Charlie, good to hear from you! Thanks for the kind words. I'll send you my email address via Facebook private message. I also still use my old college email. How are you doing these days? If the plague ever goes away, we should plan on lunch. Joe
Joseph P. Eckhardt
When she finally found the courage to look under the bed, Lillian discovered that the awful whispering voice she heard there came from a source worse than she could have imagined. Screaming in terror, she ran to the bedroom door, only to find it locked.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
I would go to Shangri-La and volunteer to work in the herb garden.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
At the top of my list this summer is the work, "1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History." Written by Jay Wink.
Then, on to a novel by my friend and colleague, Gerald Kolpan, "Magic Words."
Then, on to a novel by my friend and colleague, Gerald Kolpan, "Magic Words."
Joseph P. Eckhardt
When cleaning out my mother's things after her passing twenty years ago, I came across a small gold ring in its own little case. The ring is well worn but a small engraved "V" is still visible on it. When I asked my aunt, my mother's older sister, she remembered that my grandfather said he had brought the ring with him when he emigrated from Italy in 1914. It meant something to him, but he never told its story. Who did it belong to? And how and why did my grandfather end up with it?
Joseph P. Eckhardt
My favorite fictional couple would be Nick and Nora Charles, the witty and resourceful detective couple created by Dashiell Hammett in The Thin Man. However, I love them not so much for the novel, as for the way they were brought to life on screen by William Powell and Myrna Loy in the wonderful screenplays written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
Much as I enjoy the actual writing, I have to say that for me the research into a new topic is what I enjoy the most. Spending a day in an archive looking at letters or diaries that haven't been touched or read in decades is for me a huge thrill. Yes, I know I'm weird.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
Living Large: Wilna Hervey and Nan Mason grew out of my fascination for the silent "Toonerville Trolley" comedies that Wilna Hervey made in c. 1920. I wondered what ever happened to the unique young woman who appeared in the films as "Powerful Katrinka," and the story I uncovered was so unexpected and hilarious that I had to share it.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
I'm a very visual person--my books have been about the movies and art--so when I need inspiration I will go back to my files of photos or even film footage and immerse myself until I feel like I'm ready to put those images into words.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
I'm currently working on a script for turning my first book, The King of the Movies, into a PBS documentary. Having never written this sort of thing before, it's an adventure and a learning experience.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
Keep moving forward. You can always go back and change things or put aside your work. But don't actually throw anything away! You never know when something you've put in storage will come in handy.
Joseph P. Eckhardt
Since I don't write fiction, this isn't really a problem. I go where the material I've researched takes me.
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