Ed Protzel Interview

Q: How did you get your start writing fiction and what genre do you predominantly write in?
A. I started writing novels while in college, then wrote screenplays for years, before switching back to novels about 15 years ago. Even though my work is categorized by genre (historical fiction, mystery/thriller), each has elements of literary and other genres that don’t fit neatly into any category.

Q: What part of a writing career do you find most difficult?
A. It’s my everyday life that takes the brunt of the collateral damage when I’m really deep into writing. I lose track of time, forget where I put things. Besides the toll on my personal life, the demands of marketing are never-ending, and keeping up on the changes in publishing is a challenge, too. All of this eats up valuable time I’d prefer to spend writing and brainstorming ideas. It’s frustrating.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release The Antiquities Dealer?
A: The Antiquities Dealer (A David Greenberg Mystery) has all the hallmarks of a classic international thriller: brutal murders on two continents, an unknown assailant and multiple suspects, an illusive motive, and an obscure clue to decipher and follow to find a missing artifact that leads to an unexpected climax.

But The Antiquities Dealer is no traditional thriller. Here, the plot revolves around David Greenberg, a skeptic, who is recruited by a secret Israeli society to recover the only surviving nail from the Crucifixion, amid rumors that a boy in Israel may be the returned Messiah. Unfortunately for David, radical Christian, Jewish, and Muslim killers have the same objective. So through David, the reader is taken along on his quest to find the nail and the emotional journey he experiences along the way.

Q: What did you enjoy most about writing this book? Least?
A: I loved creating the suspense that runs throughout the story, inventing myriad plot twists and surprises and infusing them with philosophical, historical, and intellectual ideas, then tying them together for a dramatic, surprising, and meaningful ending. For example, the complicated clue used in the book involves the use of a famous Bobby Fischer chess game and Kabalah gematria (medieval Jewish mysticism’s use of ancient numerology). That was great fun! My least favorite aspect of writing is the business side of it — not my strong suit.

Q: What is the main theme or spiritual message of this book?
A: The book’s main theme speaks to the use of violence in the name of religion, and examines the concept of Messiah from various viewpoints. I wrote the story first-person so, through David, a secular Jewish Midwesterner, the reader is able to gain what may be a fresh perspective on the various ideas represented in the story, familiar and foreign, mainstream and extreme.

As David says on a moment of reflection: “We do, in fact, endure frantic lives imperiled at every turn, unable to escape a remorseless, perpetual check — ever listening for a clarion summons to a serene celestial stalemate that never sounds. Yet what is our choice but to listen for those trumpets, that shofar.” [Note: A shofar is a ram’s horn which, as cited in the Old Testament, will proclaim the coming of the Jewish messiah.]

Q: What does your writing space look like?
A: You’d probably describe my writing space as somewhat chaotic, filled with stacks of notebooks, research, outlines, and notes, as well as books scattered everywhere. When I become heavily invested in a novel, I seldom take time to organize my desk until the project is completed, and then only temporarily 🙂

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’ve just completed Something in Madness, the final book in my Civil War-era DarkHorse Trilogy. I expect my publisher to release it within a few months. In the story, the main characters have returned to post-war Mississippi during Reconstruction, after fighting guerrillas for the Union Army in Missouri. I’m trying to figure out the direction of my next novel. Inspiration is just around the corner!

Q: If you could have dinner with 2 people, who would they be?
A. Hands down I’d choose Bob Dylan and Barak Obama, two Nobel Prize winners. Dylan has a broad-ranging, creative mind whose spirituality includes his Jewish and Christian periods. Former President Obama faced headwinds unlike any other U.S. chief executive, including taking office on the brink of a near-worldwide depression and global climate change. However, I’d be open to an invitation from any number of fascinating folks.

Q: Do you have a favorite hobby?
A. Writing novels is my occupation, vocation, and my favorite hobby. So my days spent at the computer, however challenging and draining, are also exciting and emotionally fulfilling. I think my readers can tell how much fun I’m having when they read my work. I also am keenly interested in history, professional sports, and most forms of expressive art, including film and stage. Great architecture fascinates me, too; sometimes I wish I’d majored in it.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing you have ever done?
A. Marrying and having the wonderful family I have. After my early life filled with so much tumult, their love and support has made all the difference to me. The grandchildren give me the most pleasure and make me hopeful for the future. If only my generation doesn’t mess it up too much before they get there.