Ask the Author: Jeff Foltz
Answered Questions (7)
Jeff Foltz
I don't write sequentially, so if I get blocked on a scene I'm working on, I just switch to another one that has more immediate interest for me or that I already ahve mentally written or in notes, waiting for such an occasion. If that doesn't work, I take some time off.
Jeff Foltz
I hadn't realized how close the Japanese were to having their own atomic bomb at the end of WWll. Like most folks, I thought the Germans were far more active in trying to develop a bomb. As i researched i realized that the Japanese were on pace with the Manhattan Project. They had brilliant physicists, two programs that were competitive with each other to the point of animosity, and a stroke of luck in adopting the correct process for refining the U-235 into fissionable material on their first try, while the much larger Manhattan Project exhausted three other theories before adopting the correct one.
All of this led me to question the reasons that the Truman administration gave for using the bomb as quickly as he did. In other words, i found a good reason to have the readers ask "what if", almost always a good ingredient in histrical fiction.
All of this led me to question the reasons that the Truman administration gave for using the bomb as quickly as he did. In other words, i found a good reason to have the readers ask "what if", almost always a good ingredient in histrical fiction.
Jeff Foltz
I have to find something that bugs me or inspires me and that has the potential to be an entertaining and exciting story. I dig into the subject, start my research and if the itch gets worse, I know I 've got something. Caution: be willing to throw a lot of stuff out.
Jeff Foltz
Thanks for the question. i just posted an answer to another reader about my selecction of genre, etc. that may speak to that.
Jeff Foltz
Do an honest self evaluation. I reached a point, as I worked on the first draft of Birkebeiner, where I decided I wasn't a good enough writer to make it a good story. I applied to the Stonecoast MFA progam at the University of Southern Maine. That hyper exposure to excellent writers and a tough and specific writing curriculum made a great deal of difference. Now it's practice, practice, practice.
Jeff Foltz
Easy! Being my own boss. Second, feeling characters take on a mind of their own.
Jeff Foltz
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your interest. Historical fiction is what I like to write and I don't see a departure from that soon. I don't have a favorite period or preferred type of event. I look for something that is a good story, perhaps because of a universal theme (i.e.,the courage of motherhood in Birkebeiner) or an incident where the corners of history don't quite square (the rush to use the Atomic bomb and the reasons given for doing so in Two Men Ten Suns). Right now I'm working on two projects, a sequel to Birkebeiner and another World War Two story based on what I believe was the second worst atrocity of that war. I haven't decided which to go full speed on, so it may be a while before I finish. Thanks again for your question.
Thanks for your interest. Historical fiction is what I like to write and I don't see a departure from that soon. I don't have a favorite period or preferred type of event. I look for something that is a good story, perhaps because of a universal theme (i.e.,the courage of motherhood in Birkebeiner) or an incident where the corners of history don't quite square (the rush to use the Atomic bomb and the reasons given for doing so in Two Men Ten Suns). Right now I'm working on two projects, a sequel to Birkebeiner and another World War Two story based on what I believe was the second worst atrocity of that war. I haven't decided which to go full speed on, so it may be a while before I finish. Thanks again for your question.
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