 Thanks, Joe, for taking the time to chat and for writing such a wonderful book. I’m sure my readers will love it as much as I do, and authors will learn from you. My questions are crafted for both audiences, while aiming not to give away too much.
A 100-year-old man and a young boy are your two major characters. What inspired these characters, and were they drawn from your own life in any way? I think most writers would agree that the people we are close to in our lives (not to mention ourselves) tend to come out in our characters in unpredictable and often unintentional ways. But neither Jason nor Murray was based on anyone in my life...at least not intentionally. The closest to basing one of the characters on someone I know would be that, while writing Jason, I tried to remember what it felt like to be a ten year-old boy. I also wanted to push the limits of what he could get away with and still have the reader like him and root for him. Sometimes he's a bit obnoxious, I know, but I was hoping the reader would cut him some slack due to his illness and prognosis. As for Murray, I had two wonderful grandfathers who both lived into their 80's, but I wouldn't say I based Murray's character on either of them. I just remembered what it was like to be in my twenties, compared that to how I felt in my forties, and imagined what it might be like to continue to age until one hundred. Writing his point-of-view in first-person, present tense also helped me get inside his head, I think. The inspiration for the two characters came mostly from a "writer's" standpoint. I knew that the extreme difference in age would automatically create microtension in every one of their interactions (at least until they really got to know each other). The difference in familiarity with technology was one of the most enjoyable parts to write. Kiss a girl (on the lips), hit a home run, be a superhero, find a good boyfriend for Mom, etc.—Jason Cashman’s five wishes form the novel’s plot outline. They set the stage for Mr. Murray McBride’s journey. While the premise seems simple, it unfolds with deep storytelling possibilities. Did you plan these wishes before writing the novel, or did they emerge as you wrote? I really wanted to have the wishes be things that a kid in Jason's situation might wish for. So I wrote the list of wishes first, without regard for how I might resolve them...and then had to figure out how to make them come true. But it ended up being really helpful in creating both the characters and the storyline. For example, the reason I created Murray as an ex-Major League baseball player is so he'd have connections to make the home run wish come true. The reason Jason is a magician in the "bookends" of the story is because he wanted to do real magic as one of his wishes. The entire existence of Collins, which led to the writing of the "Art class chapters", was because I had to figure out a way for Jason to find a good boyfriend for his mom. So what started out as an intimidating task--figuring out how to make all these impossible wishes come true--ending up informing the creation of huge parts of the story. “They’re not just his wishes now, they’re mine, too.” This blending of life goals between two people highlights the novel’s theme of mentorship. Have you had a mentor in your own life? Although I haven't had anyone in my life I would necessarily call a "mentor", I have had many people who have played mentoring roles. From various coaches and teachers to my own parents. And I have had a chance to be a mentor myself, through a local organization called Partners, which is very similar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. And several people close to me have done a lot of mentoring. My sister has had the same Little Sister for thirty years now, and my best friend speaks glowingly about a mentor he had while growing up in poverty. So mentoring was definitely something I've always wanted to write about. How does it feel knowing this book is being used in classrooms—essentially making you a mentor to thousands, even millions, of students? Both humbling and terrifying. The funny thing about this book is that it was the first time in my life I wrote something without any regard for who might read it or like it, or what they might get from it. I'd had 17 years of failure and rejection before this book was published. Then I unexpectedly lost my dad, who I was very close to. The writing of this book became a form of therapy for me. All those "video game scenes" with Murray and Jason were created in very late drafts and were entirely there as a way for me to work through the questions and emotions I had after losing my dad. It taught me a valuable lesson about writing--that the most powerful writing I can do is writing that is authentic to myself. The moment I start writing to please someone else, things get contrived and the quality of my storytelling declines. Your book tackles emotionally complex themes: limited time, faith, gratitude vs. loss, acceptance, trust, and death. Yet, you weave them into a story with a simple structure. What did you keep in mind while writing to maintain this balance? I'm glad you asked about structure because you're right that this story has a very simple structure...intentionally so. I've come to believe that "literary" fiction is amazing because it can make you think about things in brand new ways, and "commercial" fiction is amazing because it can make you feel things in brand new ways. The best writing combines the two, but I try to lean toward creating strong emotions in the reader because I think feeling the wide range of human emotions--and feeling them powerfully--is one of the most important parts of being human. I think the accessibility of fiction that is simpler in structure (and language) is a main factor in why it's able to create such strong emotions. If the reader doesn't have to work so hard at understanding, if they don't have to think so much, it frees them to get deeper into the character's perspective and more invested in the story. And, when done well, that leads to really powerful emotional experiences. And those are the experiences that make reading worthwhile. How emotionally triggering was it for you to write this novel? Do you personally live by the themes you explore in the book? If so, how? Writing this novel was extremely emotional for me because I wrote it as therapy after losing my dad. But I wouldn't call it triggering. Maybe it's my own connotation of the word, but I think of being triggered as a negative, almost dangerous thing. Whereas I think of the emotions brought out by this story as being beautiful. Sad, sure. But not just sad. Also redemptive and hopeful (at least that was my intent). And I certainly do try to live by a lot of the themes in the book. There are several...making the most of the time we have left, being generous and thinking of others before ourselves, being "SBK". The list goes on. One of the reasons I write the kind of fiction I write is because it's the kind of thing I want to spend my time thinking about. I have nothing against other kinds of stories, but for me, I don't want to spend extended time in the mind of a serial killer, or someone like that. It's probably why most of my novels tend to be "protagonist vs. situation" instead of "protagonist vs. antagonist". Writing a novel requires the writer to spend a lot of time in their characters' heads. I want that to be a pleasant experience. While your story deals with sadness, it also offers laugh-out-loud humor that reflects human nature. How did you approach maintaining this balance for your readers? The balance between humor and sadness is key to my writing. It's something I think about constantly and something I sometimes struggle with. After all, a story that's just sad through-and-through will probably wear on the reader and make them need a break from it. And a story that's just funny gets boring, in my opinion. And the great thing about humor and sadness is that the presence of one brings out the power of the other. As a reader, my favorite stories to read make my laugh and cry both...maybe even at the same time! If readers could take away and remember just one scene from this book, which one would you hope it to be? (I know—there are almost too many to choose from, but give it a shot!) I think it would have to be when Jason hits his home run. I love the pure joy of the moment. I love the friendship and support of Tiegan, Murray, and the Cubs. And I love the visual of it. But most of all, I love how that scene, when taken in its entirety, reminds us that tomorrow is never guaranteed, we never know how much time we have left, and we need to live and appreciate every moment as if it's our last. What theme do you hope readers will carry with them as they move through their own lives? There are two themes I think are the most important. First, that it's never too late. It's never too late to live. It's never too late to make a difference in someone's life. It's never too late to make the most of the time we have left. And second, SBK. It's how I sign books and it's a motto I think everyone should adopt. Be strong, be brave, and always be kind. If everyone can do that, the world will be a much better place. I’ve heard there’s a film adaptation in the works! Any updates? And what are you working on now? I'd love to be able to say it will soon be a movie, but the truth is we're very early in that process and it's still a longshot. We have sold the "screenplay rights" to a guy who has written a screenplay and is now shopping it around to production companies to see if anyone is interested. Seeing it as a movie would be a dream come true! Unfortunately, as of now it still seems like no more than a dream. Again, thank you, Joe. It’s been a pleasure to meet you and experience this book.
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