Today I am pleased to present to you all the 97th in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the praise-loving, techno-geek, Hal Rappaport, and our conversation went something like this:
Paul: I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?
Hal: Yes,
I do. I get out of the house! I go to
either a coffee shop or a nearby diner. Nothing is more important than freeing
myself from the distractions of home and work. Also, headphones with something
loud, like Rush, AC/DC, etc. is essential.
Paul: If someone had the power to step into your
creative mind what would they see?
Hal: Wow! I love this question. They might either find
themselves trapped in a haunted house, a Photon Arena, or on the bridge of a
starship. In the background, I’d be grumbling about how someone did this
already, but enjoying it just the same.
Paul: How do you find the time to write?
Hal: It
isn’t easy. It’s not my day job so, I set aside an evening here and a few hours
on a Saturday there. My last book took me a year to write.
Paul: What is one thing you hope I do not tell the
readers?
Hal: Do
not tell anyone to give me a glowing review because they like me. As much as
anyone I LOVE praise. As a writer, I thrive on it. It keeps me going, but I
grow as a writer from well considered criticism.
Paul: Do you plot your stories or do you just get
an idea and run with it?
Hal: Write an outline! It doesn’t have to be pretty, but know
basically where you are going on paper before you start up your word processor.
SO many projects get lost by hoping for inspiration from a flashing cursor.
Paul: What do you do when you’re not writing? Do
you have any hobbies or party tricks?
Paul: Sleep!
My day job takes up a lot of my time. I do write for the SyFy Channel’s
technology site, DVICE. So when I’m not writing…I guess I write. Boring,
huh? Still, I wish I could do it as my
main job.
Paul: Do you have to do much research for your
stories?
Hal: I
did a lot of research into Voodoo and their practices. One of the themes in the
book is the common threads between the magickal disciplines. They have more in
common than not. Like learning a new language, if you know one, you can
translate it to another.
I also had to do some research into
demonology and even Satanism.
In
adapting the practice of magick and incorporating a supreme deity out of
mythology, Satanists are essentially creating and living the fiction that was
spread by the Catholic Church in order to assimilate and ostracize the pagans
(Pagan’s were simply nature worshiping country dwellers, and witches among the
pagans were simply regarded as “wise ones.”) in the first place. The practice
makes about as much sense as if NASA built a space ship in the shape of the
Starship Enterprise and then told everyone that Gene Roddenberry’s stories were
all actually real. Like Star Trek, there is a great deal of background and
mythology behind their practice.
These
groups, whose rites are often similar to that of Wicca, either ignore the rule
of three or strangely embrace it as an obeisance to the one they call their
dark master. Both use the same fundamentals of what we call magick, in much the
same way two opposing armies might use the same weapons or tools. Even one who
doesn’t understand the implications of magick can use it. Again, this is just
as a child might understand how to operate a firearm but not understand the
consequences of actually shooting and killing someone.
Paul: What inspired you to write this book?
Hal: It would have to be, the Wiccan Rede
(pronounced “reed”). It’s part of an understanding that any witch or magick
practitioner should understand. Any energy you put out in the universe
(magickal or otherwise) will come back to you times three. Similar to Karma,
with its balance, the Wiccan and Pagan beliefs are just multiplied by three. It still comes out to be a balance, so it
doesn’t strictly conflict with Karma, just that it shows its results with
“broader strokes.”
Paul: What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect
of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?
Hal: My favorite thing would be, Getting in “the
zone.” The semi-hypnotic state when the
story just can’t seem to get out fast enough. It’s clearly a high akin to what
some pro-athletes say they feel when they push themselves beyond normal
expectations.
My
least favorite thing is definitely, Editing!
You need to do at least some of this yourself. Even if you hire someone
to fix your grammar, only you can make sure your story holds together.
When
people ask Stephen King how he writes, he says “one word at a time.” It sounds cliché, no? Except it means more than what it sounds like.
I’m not going to pretend to be Mr. King, but I’d like to think I might one day
play in his ball park. But, to his point, writing a book…really CRAFTING a book
is not like typing an email. It can’t just flow. You have to stop and assemble
it, at least somewhat, lovingly.
Paul: What is your most recent book? Tell us a
little about it
Hal: Hath No Fury - Mystery and realistic magic combine in this,
sometimes heart wrenching tale about friendship, love and evil. Growing up in
the innocent 1970s, amidst a world of magic practitioners Mark and Amy live a
life of discovery and wonder.
Just
as they are growing into young adulthood and discovering a new facet to their
friendship, their worlds are suddenly rocketed out of control by a destiny and
a source of evil that has been waiting patiently for a generation. Mark and Amy
suddenly and abruptly find themselves on their own separate paths separated by
forces fueled by lust and a desire for power.
Well
researched, all of the supernatural experiences, though fiction, have a basis
in the real practice of magic. This mix of fiction with interesting facts about
how magic is practiced today will make you laugh, cry and hope.
Paul: In all the years you’ve been publishing your
work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you could share so others can
avoid making it?
Hal: I spent a LONG time trying to find an agent
(almost two years), before deciding to self-publish. Don’t get that look. Getting
someone to even READ your work is like winning a lottery. I didn’t even get
read. I went and got every book on strategies for your Query letter, etc.
My
advice, try it. Do a few that are in your genre. If you don’t even get your
work read, self publish. It’s easier than ever before, and people can enjoy
your work faster than ever before.
Paul: Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or
short stories?
Hal: I’ve always been into technology. I’ve worked
in the field for almost 25 years. I wrote for the Syfy Channel’s technology
site, DVICE and several of my articles were picked up by NBC (NBC Universal
owns the Syfy Channel). I have regular articles that are science fiction
inspired, but about REAL technology. It’s been my passion to incorporate
something real from fiction. In the case of my book, it’s incorporating
something real INTO the fiction.
Before
any of the Syfy channel stuff, way back in the early days before Facebook and
before Blogs, I created a web site for Horror themes called, Frightscape.com. It’s
still in existence in its very primitive form.
Anyway,
I decided to write an article for my own site about one of the scariest places
I had ever been. It was a haunted attraction that had existed in the 1970’s and
80’s. It was called, Brigantine Castle. It was gigantic. It was five stories
tall with over 80 live actors. Through the early search facilities of the web,
I found a few of the original cast and got them together using a yahoo group
(They still use it).
It
gave me a unique opportunity to interview them and to write some great stuff
about the place, with a lot of their pictures and even some sound recordings.
The
editor of Haunted Attractions magazine read my web site and asked me to write
one for him. It was my first professional writing. I’ve written a few more
articles for Haunted Attractions Magazine since then, along with a few other
industry publications.
Paul: Thanks, Hal, most interesting. I wish you every success for the future.
About Hal Rappaport: I currently live in New Jersey, in a small town just north of Princeton. I grew up in Philadelphia. I guess I’ve been writing stories since I was about 11 or 12. I loved the idea of being able to transport someone to another place, or to create my own.
I’ve always been into technology. I’ve worked in the field for almost 25 years. I wrote for the Syfy Channel’s technology site, DVICE and several of my articles were picked up by NBC (NBC Universal owns the Syfy Channel). I have regular articles that are science fiction inspired, but about REAL technology. It’s been my passion to incorporate something real from fiction. In the case of my book, it’s incorporating something real INTO the fiction.
