Hey Irv! Welcome to our…cozy retreat.
It’s really dark in
here.
Ozone-friendly lighting.
Oh…sure. What’s
that?
What?
Sounds like, moaning
cats.
That? Just our guests. The treatments get a tad intense.
What treatments?
Sit here, Irv.
What’s with all the
rope?
Construction. Something to drink before we get started?
I don’t think so.
But ear plugs would be nice.
In the bag…over there. Maybe one or two aren’t used.
Uhhh… Thanks.
Okay, let’s begin. For starters, I usually ask authors to
tell us about their book. In your case it would be a series.
Yeah. A trilogy
covering five years of Irving Podolsky’s twenty-something life, set in the
seventies. Irv’s the hero who tells his story in the first person, which makes
him the author of a fictitious memoir narrated by a fictitious young man.
But you’re Irving Podolsky.
I know. Confusing.
Irv the character, Irv the author. But I loved that geeky name so much, it’s
now my nom de plume for everything.
Okay, so I’ll call you Irv.
Exactly! That’s how Moby Dick starts! “Call me Ishmael.” I was gonna start book one that way, “Call me Irving,” but it didn’t have the
same ring. So I changed it to, “My name
is Irving Podolsky, and I don’t fit in. Anywhere.”
Still don’t.
Sorry. How did the idea for the books come to you?
In the shower. Warm
water makes me think.
You into squirting?
What?
Never mind.
Which character, in your opinion, should everyone be in
love with?
Well if it’s not
Irv, that’s a serious problem, since the entire story is told from his
point-of-view. But so far, the feedback and reviews tell me he’s comin’
through. Ya see, he doesn’t want to hurt anybody, or get hurt. And he wants to
be loved and love others. And he wants to make a positive difference in the
world. So I guess he’s a…Nice Jewish Boy...who ends up directing porn.
A “Nice Jewish Boy” in porn, how did you write that?
Why is everybody
dressed in black around here? Somebody die?
Tell us about your writing challenges, Irv. The hardest
scene to write.
The hardest scene to
write? Humm…
I suppose that would
be the part where Irv has a spiritual awakening. I rewrote that four or five
times, hoping I’d get across the experience of someone exploding into an
expanded awareness and a deep sense of knowing that, ummm… Everything Is, As It Should Be. I expected to carry all my readers
into that zone if I built all the bridges leading up to it.
Did you?
Nope. Only a few
readers got it. Writing about a “Revelation” was a revelation for me.
How so?
Well, during the
polish phase, when I sent out the book for comments, I discovered that my words
on the page were only catalysts. They coaxed a reader’s experience, but only as
long at the reader believed the scene and added to it with his or her
imagination.
Now I knew that, but
I didn’t really understand the total process until I pushed the envelope.
Get this. What
brings a scene and character to life, is the life of the reader. If an author can get readers inside his hero’s
head and flesh out that personality in their own minds, the book’ll work. But
the reader’s actually connecting the
dots. That’s the skill of writing lean; getting the reader inside your story to
help you with it.
Still, there are
some authored experiences that are too much of a leap to build with just
words…or pictures…or anything other than what it is.
I found that the
epiphany scene became a detached fantasy for those who didn’t have a similar
perspective. My description was interesting but not enlightening. They couldn’t
relate to the shift-of-consciousness.
But I suppose we can
apply that principle to all fiction. The reader’s gotta have at least some
personal experience to understand what’s going on. That experience can be
emotional, not necessarily physical. Can we feel the rush of a plane crash on
the page without having to actually fall from the sky? Of course. It’s the
emotional truth we share, not necessarily the physical event.
Interesting. Did you heat up your sex scenes like that?
Irv’s sex scenes,
and there are many, weren’t erotic or explicit. Irv wasn’t looking for fire and
lust. He wanted personal connections and feelings of belonging. And he also
felt morally obligated to share a sexual encounter rather than take it. There
are a few scenes where Irv turns down fantastic potential lays because of his
moral convictions. The sex scenes described attitudes, not just orgasms.
Are there any of these in your books?
(Hands Irv a box filled with
vibrators, blindfolds, ball gags, handcuffs, clothes pins, lotions, rubber
masks, etc.)
Oh boy! Party favors!
No Irv, they stay here. Did you write about any of these
things?
That one looks
familiar, the long plastic thingy with the knob on the end.
A dildo.
Yeah, that’s it.
Irv’s first romp with a porn star had one of those in the scene. But it
wouldn’t stop buzzing and Irv couldn’t understand why she wanted that and not him.
Maybe it had something to do with the size.
Huh?
YOU wrote these books?
Yeah, why?
Well you’re… Forget
it.
Will you be writing anymore stories for this series?
With Irv the
character? No. The three books resolved his questions. But Irving Podolsky, as
my pen name, he’ll be authoring more stories outside the common genres, as is Irv’s Odyssey.
Can you tell us what you’re working on?
You know, actually,
I’ve been reluctant to continue my next idea because it’s so out there. I had problems getting people
to read this series because it isn’t specifically about fantasy and paranormal,
or romance, or Young Adult, or historical drama. And yet it’s all that.
But once people get
into the books, they really like’em. It’s been tough though, getting attention
for a coming-of-age story. They’re not popular now.
That must be frustrating.
Sure. But most
writers starting out deal with rejections. I have no justification to complain
about it. And I’m not. But I do have to consider marketing next time.
So will you tell us about the idea you’re reluctant to
write?
Okay. It would be a
comedy about the who we are on the inside, as opposed to our appearance or the
way people want us to act. It would examine the hurdles transgender folk go
through. And I don’t mean vampires.
Not exactly mainstream.
Nope. Here’s the
concept.
The spirit of a younger Jewish dude is imprisoned in a college girl’s body,
and he falls in love with a middle-aged shiksha trapped in a fifty year-old
Rabbi.
Shiksa?
A non-Jewish female.
An added complication.
Sounds like a fun read. Where can I find you for updates?
Well, there’s my
blog, www.IrvingsJourney.com. If I get the nerve to write a wacky but deep
transgender comedy, I’ll let everyone know.
Or…if some publisher
reading this post says, “Yeah Irv, we’ll give you a shot at that,” I’ll be
typing away. Maybe it’ill happen.
Anyway, super thanks
for inviting me into your… What IS this place, anyway?
Irv, it’s been a pleasure interviewing you. I’ll walk you
to the door.
lol...Let me get Irv out of here before he becomes someone's lunch...or appetizer!!! Let's take a look at the book:
