Fields Alive!

An Interview with the Author

What gave you the idea for Fields Alive?

The idea of The Fields is the idea that the mind is a fertile field in which anything can grow. Anything can exist there, anything made up, any person, living or dead, anything a person can conceive and live in that place. That really appealed to me. Like a blank page or an empty canvas.

I have heard you have an usual reason for writing this book, what can you tell me about that?

I found that I had starting forgetting a lot of things from my childhood. Not just small things but big things. Unfortunately, unexplained memory loss is an issue in my family. I wanted to set them down in an effort to remember them and, of course, a lot of these memories I wanted to share with my wife and kids. So I decided to sit down and weave them into a story, an entertaining narative, that I hoped would entertain them. After I completed a chapter or so, we would all sit down after dinner and I would read it to them. Their reactions were priceless. I always left them on a cliffhanger. It was so funny and they were always excited to hear the next installment. Those are good memories in and of themselves. And they are the ones that ultimately convinced me to publish.

So you are staying these are actual people and the events in this book actually happened?

As I say in the Note from the Author at the beginning of my book, the story is absolutely true except for the parts that are not and legally I have to tell you that this is a complete work of fiction, including the characters depicted in the book...legally, you understand.

If The Fields is a real place, does it still exist and do you still go back there?

I think answering that question would give too much away. You will have to read the series to know if The Fields survives.

Where did you get the title Baron?

The title of Baron de Fields was bestowed to me during my adventures. You will have to read the series to find that out as well.

Where did the idea of Pepe come from?

Everyone loves Pepe. Our best guess is that Pepe came from a short story Ronnie wrote before The Fields came to life. He has always had a taste for the more bizarre forms of fantasy. Bizarre to me, at least. He wrote a short story that had a blue woman with a penguin under her arm...like it was an everyday thing. The penguin talked but the woman didn't. That's where we think Pepe may have sprang from in his subconscious.

When will the sequel come out? And how many will there be? I am sure everyone is anxious to find out what happens to Bruce and The Fields.

As soon as I get the sequel finished, I will make it available. It is in my head, ready to be put to paper. Getting the first novel ready for publication has been more work than I expected. I just wanted everything to be perfect for supporting the series. As far as how many there will be, only time will tell. But I will say that I believe there will be at least three. I think I have at least enough stories for that.