Ask the Author: Chuck Carr
Answered Questions (9)
Chuck Carr
Corrine,
First of all, I need to thank you. It means a lot to me when people write to me like this. I enjoy the engagement. Writing books is one thing, but meeting the people that read them is a much better thing, and I love getting to know my readers. That is what it's all about, connecting with people on a level that only "story" permits. Thanks for the encouragment.
As far as answering your question, I wrote this book out of a deep and personal conflict that I wrestled with internally for many years. Some people know that I lost a spouse in 2008. We were young and she died in her twenties. In my recovery from losing her, one of the greatest struggles that weighed on my shoulders was the great question of "should I love again?" Being young, so many expected it of me. Others, expected the opposite. It was a lot of pressure on me as a man. I felt tossed in the ocean of a no-win situation, one that beat me up and churned me about. Should I love again? Would it be honorable? Would it be respectful? Would it be healthy for me?
Looking back, I want to help those who are in a similar boat. There really is no right or wrong answer. What works for one person is not the right answer for another. I wanted people to see that in that position, they should be free to choose and choose well. Without spoiling the novel, Alan and Brandon chose different paths yet each was the perfect path to take.
They both chased their dreams and lovers in different ways. A freedom everyone should own to themselves.
So glad you are enjoying the novel.
Chuck
First of all, I need to thank you. It means a lot to me when people write to me like this. I enjoy the engagement. Writing books is one thing, but meeting the people that read them is a much better thing, and I love getting to know my readers. That is what it's all about, connecting with people on a level that only "story" permits. Thanks for the encouragment.
As far as answering your question, I wrote this book out of a deep and personal conflict that I wrestled with internally for many years. Some people know that I lost a spouse in 2008. We were young and she died in her twenties. In my recovery from losing her, one of the greatest struggles that weighed on my shoulders was the great question of "should I love again?" Being young, so many expected it of me. Others, expected the opposite. It was a lot of pressure on me as a man. I felt tossed in the ocean of a no-win situation, one that beat me up and churned me about. Should I love again? Would it be honorable? Would it be respectful? Would it be healthy for me?
Looking back, I want to help those who are in a similar boat. There really is no right or wrong answer. What works for one person is not the right answer for another. I wanted people to see that in that position, they should be free to choose and choose well. Without spoiling the novel, Alan and Brandon chose different paths yet each was the perfect path to take.
They both chased their dreams and lovers in different ways. A freedom everyone should own to themselves.
So glad you are enjoying the novel.
Chuck
Chuck Carr
This is an interesting question. As a Christian author, ultimately my inspiration comes from the one who has graced me with salvation. In my books there are pieces of me woven throughout the stories, events that have changed me, and lessons learned that have helped me to rise above struggles and obstacles in life. Looking back, seeing how far many of us have come, it is inspiring, and causes me to want to pass that on to other people.
Chuck Carr
My list is long, and the summer is getting shorter. I am currently reading my next novel, just doing one more read over before I send it for editing. It is a fiction novel that will be coming out hopefully January of 2021. They always say an author should write the kind of book that he or she would want to read- this is definitely a book designed for my liking. I love to sail, I love the rocky shoreline of the state of Maine, and I love books that inspire readers to think deeply, ones that challenge people to get outside of their head and really take inventory of things. This new novel does exactly that, and it is so enjoyable for me personally that I've already read it four times. lol.
Chuck Carr
If I could travel to any fictional book, I would choose my upcoming novel titled "Wonders In the Deep." I love to sail. I love to be on the water. It is a passion of mine to be near the ocean, and bits and pieces of my intimate likes and desires are expressed in the characters of this book. To enjoy the beauty of the rocky coastline of Maine by boat, to enjoy the wild and precious creation that God made in that area, it would be bliss to live it out. A seaside cottage with your own personal dock and sailboat waiting down at the water's edge has an allure to the deep, personal attachments I have to the water, and an ongoing sailor's soul.
Chuck Carr
Write, write, and write some more. Write every day. Write to yourself. Write to your girlfriend or boyfriend. Write to your spouse. Journal. Buy new journals to motivate you to fill them. Treat yourself to a great mocha latte and sit in a bookstore surrounded by other people who like to do what you do. Surround yourself with the idea of writing. Then, one day, you will look back and realize what you have become.
Chuck Carr
To be brutally honest with this answer, I faced an accident in September of 2018. I suffered a traumatic brain injury that has forced me to sit on the couch for hours on end. I had to relearn how to do most things, as rehab almost felt childlike at times. I became very depressed with the loss of my health and some brain functions. It was in this dark time that the inspiration came to me that even though I couldn't do many things, I could still write. I did some praying, and the book came to me in about ten minutes. With the unbelievable amount of time I had on my hands to do nothing but try to get better, it only took a month to write the book. I hope to show others by what is happening in me that no matter what happens, something good can result of it.
Chuck Carr
My second book, titled "All That the Locusts Have Eaten," is an already copyrighted manuscript that is in the polishing phases. It is a book about myself, the journey that I've walked in life, and how the Lord has taken me through difficult situations. I expect to have it out later this year, possibly sometime in the late summer or fall of 2020. I hope to show the world that healing is possible and that even bad circumstances can be turned around for good for those who allow it.
Chuck Carr
The best part about being a writer is having a voice that can be publically expressed. Without writing, I would feel like a little, tiny creature standing in the vastness of a huge world with no voice to be heard. Especially with my new release "The Convergence," I have the opportunity to shout the message to people all over the English speaking world that there is hope. It is my greatest calling.
Chuck Carr
I like to write about the things that I am passionate about. It becomes easier to write when you engage yourself this way. I also meet what grabs me emotionally, allowing feelings to drive the words on paper. I journal a ton, and when I need to motivate the creative side of my mind and give it a nudge, I often drive to a beautiful setting such as overlooking farmland, or sitting beside a lake. The natural world God made for us to enjoy sparks me creatively.
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Mar 19, 2022 03:01PM · flag