Ask the Author: Jim McGarrah
Answered Questions (10)
Jim McGarrah
Many of the fictional worlds that I'm curious about are worlds that actually existed in one form or another. On adventurous days, I'd like to join the Musketeers in their quest for justice. On party days, I'd like to travel with Jake Barnes and his crowd from The Sun Also Rises. Days of reflection cause me to want some time in a pub with Leopold Bloom and Stephen Daedalus. I've never had much interest in the vacuum of space, so that rules out much of the sci-fi world. But, when I feel brave, very brave, I will often visit any of Cormac McCarthy's worlds.
Jim McGarrah
The Collected Poems of two poets - Borges and Neruda, Sellout by Paul Beatty, Political Ideals by Bertrand Russell, anything new by James Lee Burke and David Sedaris just for fun, Two Years, Eight Months and 28 Nights by Salmon Rushdie, and Achieving Our Country by Richard Rorty. I have to plug my own new book as well - Misdemeanor Outlaw by Jim McGarrah.
Jim McGarrah
This is a good question and one that drives much of my writing already. I would say the mystery of random circumstance. How did I end up in certain situations that had different outcomes for me than other people in those same situations. It was something other than choice in many cases. For example, my time in combat in Vietnam. How does an artillery shell go off an kill the person next to you, but leave you without a scratch? Is there a why beyond the how?
Jim McGarrah
My favorite fictional couple might be Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley in "The Sun Also Rises." Unfortunately, the reason comes from being a disillusioned romantic. They are literary proof that being in love with someone is simply not enough.
Jim McGarrah
I feel that writer's block is an excuse to not write. Writing is hard. If I reach a stopping point on something, then I assume it's not working. I move on to something else. If I have nothing new to say, I revise, revise revise.
Jim McGarrah
I like the freedom writing provides. On the page I am master of the universe. I also like the way writing forces me to become more self aware for better or worse.
Jim McGarrah
READ!! EVERYTHING YOU CAN.
Jim McGarrah
I am currently under contract for my third book in a nonfiction series. This one is called "Off Track" and deals with the time I spent working on thoroughbred race tracks. It will be released in October of 2015. I'm also working on my fourth collection of poetry and publishing some individual poems from that collection as I go along.
Jim McGarrah
By living as much as I can rather than simply existing.
Jim McGarrah
Mostly, I write from an autobiographical perspective. Events from my past that I have participated in or witnessed often provide a starting point, especially if I see a connection to current events.
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