Ask the Author: John Conrad
Answered Questions (9)
John Conrad
Hello Marie. It is so nice to hear from you. It's been a long time! This is my third book. Besides the first one that you are very familiar with, I wrote a book about our peacekeeping missions called Scarce Heard Amid the Guns. I do intend to write more books as my full time job and rresponsibilities allow--fiction included. I use this site to keep track of the books I a must reading and writing. Are we friends on Goodreads? Happy Remembrance Day and thank you for your service. John
John Conrad
I am still building the summer read list but books I am looking forward to include Adam Montgomery's new Canadian military overview on psychological trauma and PTSD called the Invisible Injured. This book is going to be a blockbuster given what I have read if it so far. Others include Canada's Great War Album which came out over a year ago but I have only recently acquired a copy. I also have found a copy of Ernest Hemingway's Under Kilimanjaro which is the last of the posthumously published manuscripts of the great writer. I was unaware of its existence until I found it at one if my favourite used book stores in Edmonton. As a big Hemingway fan, I was thrilled and embarrassed at the same time--like finding a wallet you never should have lost. This is my list so far. Still searching for some crime fiction to tack on, maybe even an old Chandler for good measure. Sometimes readers forget that before Philp Marlowe, Chandler was a Canadian soldier too.
John Conrad
I think my favourite fictional couple would be King Arthur and Guinevere from Sir Thomas Mallory's La Morte d'Arthur. They both had incredible strengths and gifts yet clear vulnerabilities that brought about tragic ends to their love affair and their lives. Incredibly interesting characters and I suppose in fairness to your question, not entirely fictional. So many archetypes and literary patterns are derivatives of this couple.
John Conrad
When I see things in my long army career or on the news that really work against my sense of right and wrong-- or dare I say social justice, I find inspiration to pick up the pen. I have a lifelong detestation of the bully and in my story telling, I strive to shed some light on the little guy, the little gal..
John Conrad
Stay positive. You can attend a lot of workshops and read a lot of books on how to be a writer. I think that workshops are great if you can attend them but they will not get you there. If you want to be a writer, get out there and write. For me not writing is not an option. It has been a lifelong habit. Don't get frustrated by rejection letters and what you might perceive as lost opportunities. These sorts of things are part of the journey. Finally don't wait for that time in your life when you feel you will have the time to be a writer. That day is now or more than likely never to arrive.
John Conrad
The idea for the most recent book has been with me since my last overseas tour as an officer in Kandahar Afghanistan in 2006. My first book--What the Thunder said, touched on the subject of PTSD but only gently. In this book, which I originally wanted to handle through fiction, I meet the beast known as PTSD head on and the effect this disorder has had on those I love the most, my family and the soldiers I served around. The germ for this book would not leave me in piece. I felt very strongly that I had to write this book to gain a better piece of mind.
John Conrad
I am currently in the final stages of polish on my manuscript for my newest book--Among the Walking Wounded. Soldiers, Survival and PTSD. You can read more about it here in Goodreads or on Amazon. Handing the manuscript in to the publisher last August is only one step. I feel that excellence in writing comes only through a courageous editing process and so much hangs on the quality and capacity of your editor. The near final copy edition of this manuscript is in Toronto now but this is my current writing focus until I have the published product in my hands.
John Conrad
Sharing experiences and stories. I find it rewarding to be able to make another place or time come alive for my readers. In my forthcoming book in April, that place is the Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan--the King of the FOBs-- as most of my readers have never seen it. I cannot design skyscrapers, I cannot build log cabins nor can I sculpt or paint (though I would like to try the latter!). Writing is my small way of leaving my fingerprints on the planet.
John Conrad
Writers block hits all of us but its treatment is as varied as all of us. For me, I find doing something physical whether it be a run, a walk or something as mundane as cleaning the kitchen will normally shake it. Also, going back on previously written material and reading forward is a good way to get the creative wheels turning once again. The key, I think, is to not force words onto the page if they are not moving. Better to invest energy in an alternate activity to unjam writers block.
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