Ask the Author: David G. Daniel
Answered Questions (7)
David G. Daniel
Thank you for the thoughtful question.
My novel is actually about my own family's life up until the cloning discussions then it becomes pure fiction. We lost our son in an accident in 2004. I was with him through the end.
I will likely write a novel speculating on what happens to a person's awareness/consciousness when they pass away.
Best regards,
David
My novel is actually about my own family's life up until the cloning discussions then it becomes pure fiction. We lost our son in an accident in 2004. I was with him through the end.
I will likely write a novel speculating on what happens to a person's awareness/consciousness when they pass away.
Best regards,
David
David G. Daniel
Three fictional couples immediately came to mind.
Maria and Robert Jordan in Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls: Although Maria and Robert didn't know each other long, their courtship moved quickly, as may be necessary in war. Their love for each other seemed to transcend life itself. After Jordan was wounded he stayed behind to ambush the fascist calvary allowing Maria and her companions to escape. Maria wanted to stay with Robert Jordan but he exhorted her to flee to safety and to enjoy the places in Madrid they had planned to see together.
Two runners up:
Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights: Their conflictual romance, unrequited love and the reunion of their "ghosts" on the moors have "haunted" me since I read the book in college.
Winston and Jane in 1984. The Big Brother government manipulated Jane and Winston to betray each other. This was one of the most psychologically disturbing points in the novel.
Maria and Robert Jordan in Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls: Although Maria and Robert didn't know each other long, their courtship moved quickly, as may be necessary in war. Their love for each other seemed to transcend life itself. After Jordan was wounded he stayed behind to ambush the fascist calvary allowing Maria and her companions to escape. Maria wanted to stay with Robert Jordan but he exhorted her to flee to safety and to enjoy the places in Madrid they had planned to see together.
Two runners up:
Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights: Their conflictual romance, unrequited love and the reunion of their "ghosts" on the moors have "haunted" me since I read the book in college.
Winston and Jane in 1984. The Big Brother government manipulated Jane and Winston to betray each other. This was one of the most psychologically disturbing points in the novel.
David G. Daniel
A bit of solitude, maybe early in the morning before my family wakes up. Or maybe on an overseas flight. A cup of coffee or shot of espresso and i try to get into the character's heads as if i was in the dialogue.
David G. Daniel
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, after Lisa was stabilized, I wrote down snippets of David’s last day and over the ensuing weeks memories of special times like vacations and subsequently just about everything I could remember that he had said.
A few weeks after the accident I had a dialogue with a scientist who claimed to have cloned humans to very early stages. Lisa and I readily determined that attempting to clone David would not be in his interest. However, those conversations inspired the novel. I didn’t begin to systematically write the book until much later.
A few weeks after the accident I had a dialogue with a scientist who claimed to have cloned humans to very early stages. Lisa and I readily determined that attempting to clone David would not be in his interest. However, those conversations inspired the novel. I didn’t begin to systematically write the book until much later.
David G. Daniel
Write about things that you love or that give you a release from pain. Write about things you know well that may be less familiar to others and intrigue them.
Record/outline your ideas anytime they occur to you. Take time to learn the rules, structure and technical nuances specific to writing a novel before you begin the heavy duty work.
Listen to your editor!
Record/outline your ideas anytime they occur to you. Take time to learn the rules, structure and technical nuances specific to writing a novel before you begin the heavy duty work.
Listen to your editor!
David G. Daniel
Title: A Cut Above: In the 1950's a young Jewish man in a small southern town is given a lobotomy after he seeks to marry outside the faith (Based on a true events)
David G. Daniel
The writing of the imagined psychiatric sessions and spy drama was especially fun and flowed most freely, I think, because in contrast to the earlier sections of the book they were pure fiction.
In contrast, the early sections dealt with real disasters and the painful memories and complex emotions that went with them. Converting that kind of reality into fiction while remaining sensitive and true to my family’s feelings and recollections was challenging. My friends have pointed out that publishing a book based on something that happened to my family is a marked departure from my very private and circumspect style. I agree, but it is an appropriate compromise in order to try to give David a fictional life in the minds of the readers.
In contrast, the early sections dealt with real disasters and the painful memories and complex emotions that went with them. Converting that kind of reality into fiction while remaining sensitive and true to my family’s feelings and recollections was challenging. My friends have pointed out that publishing a book based on something that happened to my family is a marked departure from my very private and circumspect style. I agree, but it is an appropriate compromise in order to try to give David a fictional life in the minds of the readers.
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