James R. Callan Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I love to write and travel. I spend a good bit of time in Mexico and east Texas, and the rest of the time visit places I haven’t been. I get my writing done in Mexico and east Texas and gather ideas when I travel.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. In high school. But after college, I found I could not support a family with my writing, so I entered the field of mathematics and computer science. Only after all the kids were out of college and self-supporting did I return to my first love – writing.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?
A. I actually had a Hollywood movie producer request my first fiction book. He called a few days later and spend some time telling me how much he loved it. Then he explained why he would not be producing it. At first, this was a letdown. But then I thought about what he had said and how much he liked the book and that gave me the impetus to continue writing.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, A Silver Medallion?
A: It tells how a young, unadventurous woman, Crystal, learns a mother is kept a virtual slave in today’s Texas by threats to harm her children if she escapes and even tells anybody of her situation. Crystal would like to walk away and forget it. But her conscience won’t let her. After considering other options, she realizes she must rescue the children first, for only if they are free will the young mother be willing to escape. And the children are being held in the jungles of Mexico.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for A Silver Medallion?
A: I read a brief story in the L.A. Times about a woman held a virtual slave by threats to kill her family left behind in Cambodia. I knew I had to write a book on that subject – but fiction. A non-fiction book on the subject would have been too emotional for me to handle.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: I don’t expect anyone to undertake such a challenge as Crystal did in A Silver Medallion. But, there are people within your realm who need help. And you will feel so much better after you help them.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?
A: Tough question. But I’ll pick a scene in which a killer has Crystal trapped and she comes up with a very unusual – and yet believable – way to save herself and capture him.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. When I write a scene that brings tears to my eyes even on the fifteenth time I read it, my spirit is lifted and I am happy. When I can bring all the loose ends into a nice, neat, logical ending, I feel satisfied and content.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?
A: It is much harder than I expected. It takes great discipline and tenacity. And I never imagined there would be such a need for marketing and how difficult that is.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?
A: Begin to build “a platform” as soon as possible. Develop a following, long before the first draft of the novel is complete. (You can see how that marketing thing gets thrust on the writer.) Then make sure you have some good writers who will give you honest, tough critiques on your work as you begin, and as you continue. You do not have to follow all their suggestions. But listen to them carefully, with an open mind, and decide what makes sense for your writing.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I am working on the third book in the Crystal Moore Suspense Series. It follows A Silver Medallion. A tentative title, which I’m sure will change, is Escalation.
Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. We travel a lot – for pleasure. If at our Texas home, I find working around our wooded property very satisfying.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?
A. My website is: www.jamesrcallan.com and my author page on Amazon is at: http://amzn.to/1eeykvG

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. Don’t follow the well-worn path. There are unusual and interesting things off to the side. Explore. Not only will it bring you joy and enrich your life, it quite often makes a great basis for stories.