Q&A with
Arthur Swan Author of The Encanto 1. Where
did you grow up /live now?
I grew up in
Wilson, a small tobacco town in eastern North Carolina. I now reside in Los
Angeles.
2. As
a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a very young
child, I had plethora of career ambitions ranging from garbage man (the guy who
rides on the back of the truck, not the one who has to drive it) to
veterinarian. I also recall wanting to be a biologist for a few years and a
musician.
3. What
is your education/career background?
Math Science
4. What
first inspired you to write?
In fifth grade,
“volunteers” were selected to read our writing assignments aloud to the class.
I was deathly terrified. I nearly passed out the first time I stood up there in
front of the whole class, everyone staring at me as I tried to discern the slop
I passed off as handwriting. After I stuttering through the first paragraph, a
miracle happened—the kids laughed at my joke. And hearing their laughter, the
ones who weren’t paying attention suddenly perked up. It was a transformative
experience. Now the whole class was suddenly ready to hear what came next. They
wanted to be entertained. They yearned for it. And I wanted to give it to them.
After that, the writing assignments became my highest priority pieces of
homework. I learned to type them up, so I could read them more easily, which
I’m sure my teacher appreciated, as well.
5. Where/When
do you best like to write?
I like to write
at 5:30 in the morning before doing anything else. As the sun comes up and the
days starts, I like to be writing. Then no matter how crazy things get later
on, at least I know I got some writing done.
6. What
do you think makes a good story?
A character who
readers identify with, who must undergo a transformation.
7. What
inspired your story?
All the people
in LA who lead socially isolated lives because they are so focused on their
careers, and, often, moved to LA from somewhere else, with no family or friends
or local support network. I started thinking how some isolated person’s life
could go totally off the rails with no one else even knowing. Even things that
get reported on often get boiled down of a catchy headline. Often, so much is left out that people
come to the wrong conclusion. And more often the truth is even more
unbelievable than what you hear.
Also I wanted to
write about the difference between people who can believe in something without
knowing it’s true and those who can’t.
8. How
does a new story idea come to you? Is it an event that sparks the plot or a
character speaking to you?
Character. I do
like the idea of starting from an event, but without a character who is changed
by the event you don’t have a story.
9. Is
there a message/theme in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I want readers
to think about the choices they’re making, if they’re really getting where they
want to go. And to think about all the misunderstandings that occur when people
communicate, all the misperceptions and incorrect assumptions.
10. What
was your greatest challenge in writing this book?
Getting it done.
I thought it would be fun to write a horror suspense novel where I could play
with spooky images. Something quick and easy. But now here I am after six
years, finally launching the first installment of a quartet.
11. On a
Friday night, what are you most likely to be doing?
Friday night
represents a transition from my day job to a relaxing weekend of writing
peppered with outdoor activities. I like to start it off with a good meal,
maybe a burrito from Aroma Coffee and Tea. Then, either read or watch a show. I
love Black Mirror, but sometimes it’s just too dark and too close to
reality. Right now, I’m excited about the new season of Ted Lasso.
12. What
do you like to do when you are not writing?
Read, swim, hike,
paddle board, and just sit outside and stare at the horizon.
13. Who
are some of your favorite authors?
James Lee Burke,
Michael Connelly, Andre Dubus III, Stephen King, Donna Tartt, John Kennedy
Toole, Kurt Vonnegut.
14. What’s the best writing
advice you have ever received?
“We have to
remember that the greatest triumphs and the greatest tragedies of the human
race are nothing to do with people being basically good or people being
basically evil. They’re
all to do with people being basically people.” - Neil Gaiman.
15. What
was your favorite book as a child?
The Little
Prince.
16. What
is the one book no writer should be without?
Writing the
Block Buster Novel by Albert Zuckerman. Currently, my favorite book on
writing.
17. Is
there a character you identify with more than any of the others?
I identify with
every one of them. When writing, I imagine I am that character. What it would
be like if, for example, I weighed three hundred pounds? I do know what it’s like to want to eat
even when I know it’s
bad for me or I’m not hungry. When
possible, I read something by someone with that experience, or talk to them. I
have a friend who’s overweight and I’ve seen the effect on his self-image.
Ashley is
probably the character I have the least in common with but I understand her
feeling of social isolation caused by ambition, and living in LA. I’ve seen how
isolated some people have become by their own wealth. I understand how living
with another person’s
family seeds this longing she had for one of her own.
18. What
will LA FOG part 2 be released?
Wayob’s
Revenge is currently in the editing phase. Expect it in April or May, 2022.
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