Happy Monday, readers! I’ve got a treat for you today, especially if you love reading fiction. Bryan Fagan is an author I met this year and I knew once we started chatting, I had to have him on Book Heaven for an author interview. So, grab your favorite beverage and join us. Bryan, take it away…
What is your writing process?
I write long hand. Pen to paper at the kitchen table. I wish this wasn’t the case but it’s the only way the story comes out.
Do you have any odd writing habits?
See above. Not a lot of people that I know of write an entire novel with their favorite pen and a notebook. When I finish a chapter or two I type it out. Yes, it’s a pain.
What book do you wish you could have written?
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. This is my feel good novel. It may be the most beautifully written novel I have ever read.
What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
This book, Chasing the Moon. I am a first person author. That is my strength, so I challenged myself to write a third person novel. It was hard. Several times I almost quit. Thankfully I have a great editor who kept me focused and pushed me. In the end we were able to create a fun and entertaining story.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
You have chosen a tough gig. Most of the people you meet on an average day will never write a book. But if you do it, you will belong to a special group. It takes discipline, the ability to listen and the acceptance of failure. But if you love it and you are determined, you will succeed.
Do you have a favorite spot to write? What is it?
Yes. The kitchen table. I don’t know why. I have to sit where the outdoor view is to my right. I’m sitting on a wooden chair, under a bright ceiling light, away from the comforts of my desk and comfy desk chair but for some reason I am able to create stories and do what needs to be done.
Is this your first book? How many books have you written prior (if any?)
Chasing the Moon is my second. Dempsey’s Grill was my first. I call Chasing the Moon my forgotten child. I wrote it during the pandemic. After it was published I moved on to my third and that is unfair. I love the people in this book and they deserve to have their story read.
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
My third book is Saving Iris. A murder mystery where a young woman communicates to her fiance through dreams and guides him to the person who killed her. We finished her months ago and right now I’m hoping to be signed by an agent.
What literary character is most like you?
Gibson Baker from my first novel, Dempsey’s Grill. I wanted to write about someone who I could relate to and I'd be damned if I didn’t write about me. I had no idea until after I finished, I was showing the world who I was.
What secret talents do you have?
If there was a parallel parking world championship I would finish in the top five. Don’t ask me why I have this crazy talent, but I do. For reasons unexplained, the parallel parking Gods have gifted me with this rare talent.
Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before?
Japan. And I don’t mean the big cities. I want to see the small, out of the way places. I hear Japan is a beautiful country. Hopefully I’ll be able to visit someday.
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
That’s easy. A cat. I’ve had cats all my life. They live on their terms. They write their own rules and they don’t care if you have a problem with that. I love their attitude. It’s been my lifetime goal to be 1/10th of who they are.
What do you dream? Do you have any recurring dreams/nightmares?
For as long as I can remember I have had this dream where I visit a town. It is a nice little town next to a mountain. The buildings are white. The streets are clean and everyone welcomes me when I arrive. They ask about my real life, they give me suggestions or show concerns or congratulate me on something well done. We eat and laugh, it’s all I can do not to stay. They seem to know when it’s time for me to leave. I think it’s when I’m waking up. They walk me out and wave goodbye and when I wake, I’m homesick for a little while. This has been going on since I was a kid.
Thank you, Bryan, for the insightful interview. Readers, scroll down to read more about his book.
Title - Chasing the Moon
Author - Bryan Fagan
Genre: Commercial Fiction
Publisher - Ukiyoto Publishing
Book Blurb –
A 30 year old slacker falls head first into a time vortex where he is forced to become a man.
30 year-old Sullivan Rohm has nothing better to do with his life than crash his ex-girlfriend’s wedding. But when the plan fails and Sully finds his all-time low at a late night diner, something happens that forever changes the course of his life. A lost little girl in the stormy cornfield beside the diner sends him running to her rescue, where he falls headfirst into a time vortex.
Sully wakes up in small-town Sedro-Woolley, Washington in the wartime year 1942. With a German name and no explanation of how he arrived, Sully must win over the hearts of the townspeople and find his place among them with the help of 6 year-old Ruthie, her widowed mother, and the little league baseball team Ruthie ropes him into coaching. Together, they set out to defeat the tyrannical coach of the opposing team and bring back hope to Sedro-Woolley.
76 years away from everything he’s ever known, Sully finds his purpose. But it comes at a price; the effects of the time vortex are slowly killing him. Sully must choose between staying and losing his life, or leaving and losing his home.
Excerpt
Leslie Rohm promised herself if her nephew was arrested again he was on his own. After all, he was a 30 year old man. If you can’t take on responsibility by that age you never will. She was responsible at that age. Hell, every damn member of the family was.
His parents weren't like this. They worked hard. They were wholesome, honest, hard working people. And they sure as hell didn’t do drugs. Sure, an ice cold beer hit the spot but that’s as far as it went. But they had to die when he was a baby. Did she raise him wrong? Maybe it all comes down to her. Is that the root of the problem? Stop it, Leslie, she ordered. Every time you think that you blame yourself. There’s no time for that today.
“Yes, ma’am?”
The on duty police officer stood behind the counter waiting for her reply. He was as tall as her nephew. Maybe a little broader across the shoulder and about the same age. His voice carried a level of respect, while his eyes appeared well trained in his field. He also had a career and wasn’t being bailed out by his aunt.
Maybe this was her fault.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes, I’m here to post bail for my nephew.”
“Name?”
“I’m Leslie Rohm. I think I spoke to you the last time I was here.”
“No Ma’am.” The broad shoulder policeman flashed a smile. He seemed to know the nonsense she was going through. Or was he simply impatient?
“Your nephew's name,” he asked.
“Oh.” Leslie attempted a smile of her own hoping she didn’t look ridiculous. “Sully Rohm,” she said. “His official name is Heinrick Sullivan Rohm, but I always thought Heinrick was ridiculous so I took his middle name and made it his first even though Heinrick still appears on his birth certificate as his first name. I’m rambling, aren’t I.”
She stood in front of the shiny counter with the fancy pens and bright lights and freshly ironed police uniforms. At least they appeared fresh.
Everything was clean and organized and orderly. Unlike her nephew and herself if she had to be honest. That kid brought out the worst in her. She was positive the whole world could see it.
It was all becoming routine, she admitted. That was the worst of it. That dreaded word - Routine. But today would be the day, she promised. She would get tough and do what her brother would have done had he lived long enough to raise this boy.
“Oh, damn,” she whispered. “Look at the mess I made.”
Buy Links
Ukiyoto Publishing:
Smashwords:
Armadillo Ebook:
Author Bio:
I was born and raised in Burlington, Washington. A little farming town 70 miles north of Seattle. I bummed around with odd jobs after high-school until one day I spotted a small college in Ashland, Oregon. I later settled in Eugene, Oregon with my wife and two daughters. I began my writing career with the help of my daughters. When they were little they drew pictures and created stories. One day they asked me to join them. I remember the day my four year old asked if I would do something for her. She asked if I would write a novel. And that was the day I began to write.
Social Media Links:
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@bryanjfagan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryanjfagan/
Website: https://bryanfaganauthor.com/