This week I had the privilege of interviewing a good friend of mine and newly published author, Ronald R. Van Stockum Jr. His debut book, Markman’s Home, came out in June and is available on Amazon in kindle or paperback form.

Reggie, as his friends call him, was the person who originally invited me into the Cherokee Round Table writing group, which was the primary catalyst in starting my dream to become a professional author. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his new book, and hope the following review and interview helps more people discover and enjoy Reggie’s excellent writing.

Review of Markman’s Home

Markman’s Home is an engaging and heroic tale of humanity’s survivors, coming together to protect their friends and family, and their world. After a great disaster in the distant past, society was thrown back to an almost stone age level of technology, and must now struggle to survive in a new world of mutant foes and destructive natural forces. The protagonist and his friends have to overcome their differences and suspicions in order to not only defeat the attacking mutant army, but also race to discover the secrets of their past world, found in Markman’s home.

Though a bit slow at the start, Markman’s Home was delightful from cover to close. I loved the vivid imagery describing the natural surroundings. The characters were original and engaging, and the author’s narrative took me along with them in their adventures. There were also some very interesting plot twists that kept me guessing, and delighted me all the way to the last page.

Another thing I really liked was how the author took everyday modern things that make perfect sense to us (like a record player), and turned them into puzzles for his character’s to unravel. As you read, you’re right there along with them, trying to discover the meaning held in ordinary objects that are described by characters who have never seen such things before. It made the book a fascinating puzzle, giving you a chance to unravel it and make informed guesses about the ending if you could put the pieces together.

There were only two things about Markman’s Home that bothered me. First, the style (voice) of the writer took some getting used to. It is unusual, formal in ways, and uses uncommon words to describe very common things. However, as the book progressed and I got used to the voice, I found that it fit the feel of the story well and lent more power to making the reader experience the oddness that had become this new, post-apocalyptic world. It might make people just picking up the book to put it back down, but if you keep reading, it soon draws you in with irresistible force.

The second thing that bothered me was a part of the ending that I felt should have been expanded and explained more. The ending as a whole was well written and interesting, it just left a few story lines dangling. This seemed to set us up for a sequel, when I don’t know if the author has any intention of ever writing one. Perhaps the ending will get enough fans clamoring for a second book that, who knows, we might encourage him to write a sequel.

Interview with Ronald R. Van Stockum Jr.

Lydia: What inspired the story of Markman’s Home?
Reggie: Markman’s Home was inspired by my imagination while driving to work as a lawyer for the Commonwealth of Kentucky in Frankfort. It was based on self generated emotional themes that took form in a story line.

Lydia: When did you first start writing it, and what finally enabled you to get it done?
Reggie: I first started writing it in 1980 and it was done in first draft by 1982. Once I began to write, the details seemed to spill out from my pencil. I had no problems completing it. In 1984, sent it out to publishers, and I got a typical folder full of rejections, some of which were very supportive of the chapters I had sent in. Then my lawyer career took off and I had a family. You must take time off your artistic endeavors to accomplish the important goals of a family and a business. For a period of time, your focus shifts elsewhere.

Lydia: So what finally enabled you to self publish it?
Reggie: The experience that Jerry Deaton [a close friend and fellow author] had in publishing his first book, which demonstrated to me that publishing was now within reach of all of us. I had enough literary associates to guide me along that path, but Jerry Deaton was my navigator.

Lydia: What was the most important thing you learned in this process of writing, and self publishing, a novel?
Reggie: If you associate with those of literary experience, you quickly come to find people that support your writing efforts. For me it was the Cherokee Round Table [his writing group in Louisville, Kentucky]. You see how they express themselves, and though it differs from the way you write, you see that it is all the same statement of love. Statements based on their life experiences and projected through their stories.

That’s the external observation. You can now publish your work.
The internal observation is the real joy of publishing. It is associating with others who are taking the same path of expression. Publishing puts you out there and you discover others like yourself. And it is through others that you discover the great legitimacy of writing is as a form of love and expression. You realize you’re not alone, that there are others who are like you. And you learn the great diversity of human experience, because you hear other people read what they have written.

Lydia: Looking at the process from start to finish, what was the greatest difficulty you had to overcome?
Reggie: I had no difficulties. I never had writer’s block. Once I put the first words on paper, the rest just flowed out of the pencil. I am a fast printer. Since you’re self publishing, there’s no one to convince or persuade of the value of your story. There is just the determination to spend the time to do it….and edit it. You’ll spend as much time editing it as you did to write it.

If there’s any obstacle to over come it is yourself. You must determine to focus, both physically and emotionally. You must remove yourself from your surroundings and society. That’s a pretty lonely work environment. It’s very productive and necessary, but it’s very lonely. If you choose to be a writer for a livelihood, you will spend much of your time alone, not only in solitude but also in an environment where you don’t want to be disturbed.

Lydia: What advice would you give to other aspiring authors working on their first book?
Reggie: Write the last chapter first.
Lydia: Did you do that?
Reggie: Oh yeah, I did. I’ve done it twice, and I’ve gotten two books completed. The third time I tried outlining the book, and it just about strangled my creative spirit.

I’m an emotional writer, I’m surfing emotional themes as I write. So the story will take twists and turns based on the flow of feeling, rather than according to a defined structure line.

For me, knowing where I’m going helps me make the necessary turns to get where the story will eventually finish. So I write the ending first. But when I reach the end, almost everything has changed in detail, so I simply rewrite the ending to flesh out and resolve what I created in getting there. Very satisfying. No worry along the way as to where I am going and I am free to create along the way!

Lydia: What else can we look forward to?
Reggie: I wrote my second novel, Cosmos The Steller Stalker, in the 1980s. It’s being editing as we speak, and will be published in January, 2015. My third novel should be completed by the end of next year, although I may split it up into a pair of novels. It’s called Xortal (pronounced Ex-ortal).

If anyone wants to examine my writing style, they can read one of my short stories, “Ollie Deaton’s Breathett County Silver Mine,” in an anthology of stories by Cherokee Roundtable Members to be published in September, 2014, [In which I will also be publishing a short story and a poem] It will be available on Amazon. My books are also available on Amazon, Kindle, iTunes, Nook and from me, at [email protected].

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Thanks for joining us this week for the book review and interview!  What newly published books have you read and enjoyed?  If anyone has a newly published book and would like me to review it, or do an interview with me, please feel free to contact me on my contact page.

Stay tuned, upcoming posts include an update on my book and a guest post by David Sherrer about vampire fiction in the 21st century.

Your weekly cute…..she likes to paw my nose, apparently.