INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, RICK BARRY: THE METHUSELAH PROJECTIf you like suspense, romance, historic: you’ve gotta read this one!How about a giveaway! YES!
How about two giveaways…even better…
1-Tell us a bit about yourself.I was in fifth grade the first time I seriously thought about writing a novel. I recall wanting to pen a mystery in the style of the Hardy Boys. I sat at Dad's desk, took out a sheet of paper, made up two boys' names and jotted a couple paragraphs before hitting the wall. I had no idea what should happen next. So, I concluded I must not be the writer type and wadded up that piece of paper so no one would see that I'd "failed." Of course, I started too young for such an ambitious undertaking, but I continued to absorb books as I grew up.In college I studied French and expected to become a language teacher. Instead, I was offered a job as a textbook editor, which I did for 5 years. From there, I moved on to studying Russian and became Assistant to Georgi Vins, a Russian pastor who was exiled from the USSR to the USA in a dramatic prisoner exchange in 1979. My wonderful wife Pam also worked in that ministry as the bookkeeper. Along the way, in my spare time I began penning articles and short stories for various publications. To this day, I work in a Christian ministry active in Eastern Europe and use my Russian every day. Yet, in my not-so-secret alter ego I continue to write for publication.
2-Where did you get the CRRRazy idea for The Methuselah Project?You know, I can't exactly recall exactly how that appeared. The kernel of the idea was that I wanted to bring a character from World War II into our present time, still looking young, but without any sort of unbelievable time-travel gizmo. The more I mulled over the idea, the more answers to questions appeared out of nowhere and fell into place. There was a funny moment when I was driving down a highway and suddenly realized why the main character had grown up in an orphanage and never knew his own parents. Excited, I phoned my wife and blurted, "I just now found out what happened to Roger Greene's parents!" Silence on the line. Then, "Who is Roger Greene?""He's the main character in the new story I'm writing!"Another pause, and then my wife replied, "Uh... Okay...." Obviously she was not as excited as I was.
Well, Rick, we can’t always expect our spouses to be as excited about our work as we are.
3-Who was your fave character and why?The main character, Roger Greene, is definitely my favorite. He's a P-47 pilot in World War II. His three main goals in life are to fly fast airplanes, to serve his country, and to find the perfect girl to love. But when two German fighters jump on his tail during a mission, it looks like Roger will never achieve any of those dreams.
4-Which character was most like YOU?Lol! A number of these characters are dedicated members of the Nazi Party, so that rules them out automatically. I'd have to confess that, even though there are many differences between Roger Greene and myself, I poured a lot of myself into the mixture as I molded him.
5-What is it about the historic portion that you enjoyed the most?I've been fascinated with the World War II years since 7th grade. In that year I was at a relative's house when someone turned on the TV and started watching The Great Escape. I sat down and watched too. I figured it was all just a made-up story until the conclusion, when they rolled the words explaining the film was dedicated to the 50 escapees who had been captured and then executed. I was stunned. Of course Hollywood embellished the details for cinematic effect, but the essence of the story is true. That compelled me to read more non-fiction accounts from the war years.
6-Any ideas for future books in this genre?Definitely. Although my Russian ministry and some other short writing projects have slowed me down lately, I'm planning a sequel to The Methuselah Project.
7-Anything else you'll like to share with your readers? Yes. As I've attended book signings for my previous WW II story, Gunner's Run, many faithful readers have encouraged me to write another adventure based a war hero. I want to thank the many who asked for one and waited patiently. This is it. Thank you, everyone!
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