Today's interview is with Patrick Dilloway on his debut novel Where You Belong. Please extend him a gracious welcome to Love Romance Passion. Let's learn a bit about his book before we begin.
BLURB: Orphaned at an early age, the closest people in Frost Devereaux's life are the free-spirited Frankie Maguire and her conniving twin brother Frank. Over the years Frost's life takes him from the lush fields of the Mideast to the burning heat of the desert to the sparkling promise of Manhattan. His heart, though, never strays far from the two people who have meant the most to him. Ultimately, Frost must decide where—and with whom—he belongs.
Keira: How did the idea of Where You Belong come to you?
Patrick: First off, thanks for letting me take up a bit of space on your blog. I hope you find it interesting.
To answer your question, once I saw the media coverage of Prop 8 in California and other gay marriage initiatives in other states, I decided I wanted to write a story on the subject because it was something I felt strongly about. But at the same time I didn't want to write a story that was too preachy or a thinly-veiled manifesto on the subject. I wanted it to still be a story, but one that people could maybe take something from. In trying to think of how to do this, the question came to me: what if someone was so bad at marriage that he failed with both sexes? That was really the tiny acorn that in the end became a big oak tree.
Generally, at least for me, that's how it works. I get just a tiny idea for a scenario or a character or maybe just a title. From there it's all filling in the blanks. It's sort of like rolling a snowball downhill-it starts off small but as it keeps going it gets bigger and bigger until it's unstoppable.
Keira: I also am pretty curious about the actual writing process. As this was your first novel, can you tell readers what motivated you to start writing and then stick with it?
Patrick: In all seriousness, this is really only the first novel I've actually published in paper form. I've been writing stories that could qualify as novels in the broadest sense since I was about twelve years old. (You can read many of these in e-Book form on my D.E-Press website: http://roguemutt.bravehost.com. And you can read my young adult novel Forever Young in e-Book form on Public Bookshelf: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/mystery/forever-young/)
What motivated me to start was probably the only motivation for a kid to do anything on his own-it was fun. And it continues to be fun. Sometimes it's hard work, especially when it comes to editing, but there's not much better feeling than writing "The End" and then looking back at what you've got and saying, "I did this." It also helps that I have no other discernible talents in anything else: music, painting, drawing, singing, sports, and so on to compete with it.
Keira: The works of John Irving inspired Where You Belong, any one in particular and how?
Patrick: The one most responsible is The Cider House Rules. I first read that book about seven years ago and absolutely loved it. I loved how Mr. Irving could create a novel with a social conscience that also was a great story with great characters. Once I read it, I wanted to do something like that; it just took me a while to find the right issue to write about.
While I wrote Where You Belong, I actually re-read all of Mr. Irving's novels in chronological order to help me maintain the right overall structure and tone to my narrative. The reason Frost winds up at a private boarding school in the novel is because so many of Mr. Irving's characters like T.S. Garp in The World According to Garp go to private boarding schools, so that was kind of a tip of the cap. Of course I didn't try to mimic Mr. Irving's work exactly, so much as to do it in the style of one of his books.
Keira: What were some of the challenges in writing the book?
Patrick: The biggest challenge in a book like this that goes back 35 years is doing research. That's one area I wish I could have spent more time on, because you really want to get things right. I've read some books that have factual errors and it just drives me up the wall. The good thing is that with the Internet, especially Google and Wikipedia, you can find out a lot of historical information without even making a trip to the library. For instance, I could track down the football schedule for the University of Iowa in 1977 to find out who was playing when Frost and his mother make a fateful trip to Iowa City. Someday it'd be great if someone could invent a time machine so you could really make sure you get things in the right historical context.
Keira: How do you define love?
Patrick: I think it's important first to separate love and lust. Sex and love aren't mutually exclusive, but we all know from experience there are relationships with one and not the other. Overall, whether it involves sex or not, I think of love as when you enjoy someone else's company so much that you want to be around that person all the time. Some people say you should marry your best friend and in some ways I think that's a good idea, because the person you marry should be someone you actually want to be around and have fun with-in the bed or not.
Keira: What did you learn while writing this book?
Patrick: I think what I learned most from a writing standpoint is that old principle of "garbage in, garbage out." If you really want to create something special, then you've got to put the work in to make it happen. That means doing the research, the writing, and then the editing. I think what made this one special for me compared to others is the amount of work I put into it, especially in writing two completely different drafts.
Keira: What is your favorite scene to write in Where You Belong?
Patrick: I think that's like asking a parent which child he loves the most. The answer is always the same: "I love them all equally." It's the same for a book. I love every scene in equal, albeit different, ways because they all make up the whole. Maybe some scenes are more fun to write than others, but the scenes all need each other in order for the book as a whole to work.
Keira: What do you hope your readers will gain from your book?
Patrick: To me, the message of the book is that everyone needs to find where they fit in. Maybe if you're a man it's with a woman or maybe it's with another man. The important thing is what the two of you feel for each other and not what anyone else thinks about it. At Christmastime, my favorite special has always been the "Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" from the '60s with the puppets because I always like the idea that even though Rudolph was a freak with a shiny red nose, he still had something valuable to contribute; he still fit in somewhere. That's the same thing in Where You Belong; we all have some place where we fit in, it just might take us a while to find it. Once you find it, though, don't let anyone take it away from you.
Keira: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
Patrick: I'd just like to say to all the writers out there: don't give up. Maybe you're not going to get published and sell thousands of copies and make millions of dollars. Maybe you're not going to have the next Harry Potter or Twilight or whatever with movies and action figures and Happy Meal toys. The important thing is if you really love to write that you keep doing it because it makes you happy. Eventually, if you keep trying and working at it, maybe it can make other people just as happy, but always do it because you love it. So when you get those inevitable days where you don't want to go on, you can remember why you're doing it in the first place.
Thanks for having me today and asking such great questions.
Learn more about Patrick Dilloway and his debut novel, Where You Belong by following his virtual tour with Goddess Fish Blog Tours. (Click the graphic below.)
Originally posted 2009-07-13 03:40:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Take a Look at These Fun Posts - Review: The Greek's Virgin by Trish Morey
- The Creative Inspiration of Jane Austen
- Author Love #3
- Bring in the Clowns!
- Reader Highlight with Zarabeth
Potentially Related Websites - Emotional bank accounts
- The Self-Publisher Book Cover Design Guide
- Create Your Bibliomancy Book
- Two Books Reviews
- Review - The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
- Great Britain Countries Flags Historical Memorabilia Collectibles
- People Statues & Yard Art Garden Décor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
- For Fat People Clothing Running Deals
- Booklets Back of Book United States Stamps
- People Postcards Collectibles
Categories:
Author Interviews, D-F, LGBT
Tags:
1 comment so far ↓
Interesting concept, Patrick, a person failing at marriage with both sexes. Not usually my normal read, but I might have to check it out!
Leave a Comment