Official Interview: Don M Chance

[kandscreeley]

Today's Chat with Sarah features Don M Chance author of The Assignment.

To view the official review, click here.

To view the book on Amazon, click here.

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1. Can you tell us about your "aha" moment when you knew you needed to write a book?

There wasn’t a particular moment. I created the story over a period of a couple of years on various nights when I was awake in the middle of the night. I told the story to some people, and they said I should write it.

2. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I really can’t think of one. I’m sure I have plenty but what’s a quirk to someone else is normal to another.

3. How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

I’ve written five non-fiction books and they usually take at least a year each. This fiction book probably took two to three months to get it down, but I spent far more than a year on editing.

4. Let's talk about your book The Assignment. How did you decide your protagonists were going to be an economist and a biochemist?

I teach finance, which is closely related to economics so I know a lot about economics. The biochemist husband of hers could have been from any discipline but I needed one with an instense research focus.

5. The reviewer mentions that the story is character driven and even states that the secondary characters are well-drawn. How tough was it to write them realistically?

I’ve been in a university environment for several decades. The characters are not modeled after anyone I know, but I know so many people in academia that it was easy to create characters that were realistic.

6. As you were writing the story, was there anything about it that surprised you?

I was really surprised that I was able to twist the story so many times. I had originally thought there’d be maybe one or two things that the reader would say, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming.” But there are actually at least six things that happen that the reader won’t see coming. When I started I had no idea there would be that many but they just kept coming to me.

7. What would you say is the book's emotional impact?

I think people will feel considerable emotion over the fact that they too could be a very successful and likable person of high moral and ethical character and yet could somehow get in the mess she gets in.

8. What's next? Another book? Is there somewhere we can see anything upcoming?

This character is a very likable person. She’s a strong woman who has been very successful in a profession dominated by men. She has her problems and that’s much of the story, but I believe this character can live on through some more novels. I am working (very lightly) on a sequel, but I need to see how this one plays out in terms of popularity.

I like to end on some fun questions.

9. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I could probably live just about anywhere. If I had to answer it might be Utah or Wyoming but it’s not a dream of mine.

10. What's one of your pet peeves?

So many. Where to start? How about having to identify my pet peeves? Just kidding.

(a) People who don’t use turn signals or turn them on as they’re turning (a bit late)
Tied with
(b) People who don’t RSVP and/or don’t know what it means.

11. What makes you laugh?

Humor that relates to things that happen in everyday lives, as with jobs and family. Like this joke I heard from an unknown comic who warmed up the crowd for a mega-star comedian. The crowd didn’t know there would be an opening act. He starts off by saying, “You know when you go to a deli and order a sandwich, you get a pickle. You didn’t order it and didn’t know you’d get it. Well, I’m your pickle.” Everyone has had that experience. (And he was better than the mega-star.)

12. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Two, only because I only have two. I would sleep with many more if I had them.

[kdhutchinson]

This fiction book probably took two to three months to get it down, but I spent far more than a year on editing.

Isn't that the truth

I love hearing authors say "real" things like this, it makes the writing process sound so much more like an adventure and less like a chore.

Thanks for the interview!