Author's Interview with Stan G Duncan.

1. Could you please introduce yourself to us? 

Hi, my name is Stan Duncan, and I'm a retired economic development advisor, social worker, church pastor, van driver, ghost writer, restaurant owner, short-order cook, and a few other things I can't remember. 

2. Congratulations on your book! What inspired you to write it?

I lived in El Salvador for several years bck in the 80s, during their civil war and for years since I thought novel set in that painful era would be important and engaging to a good many readers. While writing I realized that El Salvador was attempting to become a democracy and we in the US are attempting to keep ours, and many of the similarities seemed very strong. 

3. What is your book about?

David, the protagonist has suddenly and tragically lost his wife and in his dispair and depression a colleague in the states, but from El Salvador, offers him a job working with nonprofits in El Salvador. On a desperate whim, he takes it and then finds himself in a turmoil of war and oppression and people struggling to be resilient in the middle of it all. Among others, he meets a young widow, Sara, with two young boys, and through the novel they become increasingly fond of one another. Eventually he goes up into the mountains where much of the fighting is happening, but while away the capital explodes in violence and retribution, and he has to rush home to find his Sara and her family. 

4. Why did you choose this genre for your book?

Literary is the best description because much of it is about the internal, reflective sense of lostness and forgiveness that David has to go through. However, it also is about war and intrigue and danger. So, it is hard to categorize. 

5. How long did it take you to complete the book?

About two years, plus responses to many beta readers and then rewrites. 

6. What makes your book special? 

I think the combination of the personal working through grief and the global fighting of war makes it an almost unique story.

7. When can we expect your next book?

I've started on it, but there's no way of knowing when I can work on it full time and finish it up.

8. Did you experience writer’s block while writing? What advice would you give to others who face it?

Once I got into it, there was very little writer's block. But if I ever left it for a few days, it was hard to get back into it. For others, I would only say, don't let the logic of Writer's Block become a believable "thing." Take Ann Lamott's advice and take it "Bird By Bird" (title of her book on writing). Take it small piece by small piece and don't stop. The small pieces can some day be arranged into long pieces and eventually a book emerges. 

9. Besides being a talented author, what are your other hobbies?

I used to be a runner and a tennis player. Until I tore a meniscus on my knew. I also have run for political office a couple of times, led delegations to developing countries, lobbied Congress for poverty and hunger issues and learned how to bake a frozen pizza.

10. Last but not least, how did you feel during this interview? 

Anxious, but fine.

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