Jeff Bond
I've always been interested in ambition and the ways it affects people -- both positively and negatively, and that concern is central to The Winner Maker.
On the specific origin of "Winner" -- as a sixteen-year-old, I had a JV basketball coach tell me after a tough loss, "You're a winner. And I'll stick my neck out for you anytime." The coach wasn't much like Coach Fiske, in fact (though I will occasionally use an actual person as a jumping-off point for a character, by the time the plot is written, she/he never much resembles the original), but that sentiment, and how it made me feel, stayed with me.
Teachers and coaches have tremendous impact -- and the title character from The Winner Maker, Bob Fiske, takes this to an extreme.
On the specific origin of "Winner" -- as a sixteen-year-old, I had a JV basketball coach tell me after a tough loss, "You're a winner. And I'll stick my neck out for you anytime." The coach wasn't much like Coach Fiske, in fact (though I will occasionally use an actual person as a jumping-off point for a character, by the time the plot is written, she/he never much resembles the original), but that sentiment, and how it made me feel, stayed with me.
Teachers and coaches have tremendous impact -- and the title character from The Winner Maker, Bob Fiske, takes this to an extreme.
More Answered Questions
VT Dorchester
asked
Jeff Bond:
I recently very much enjoyed reading Dear Durwood. One of the things that I noticed, is that you took some pains to avoid spelling out obscenities in a couple of places throughout the book. Is this part of a general philosophy of yours as a writer? Or was it more a case of it being in keeping with the character and flavour of this particular book? I'm curious to learn what your thoughts are re writing coarse language.
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