Ed Protzel's Blog, page 3
May 19, 2019
From the protagonist's mouth
Listen to David Greenberg, THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER, as he plays detective to locate a missing relic—and uncovers layers of mysteries centuries old. Paperback, Kindle, audiobook.
The Antiquities Dealer
The Antiquities Dealer
May 1, 2019
St. Louis Author Reading 5/6
You're invited to my May 6 reading at the U. City Library in St. Louis. I’ve chosen some insightful excerpts from THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER (A David Greenberg Mystery) to give you a peek into the heart of the story, such as...
- How David gets suckered into chasing down the last nail from the Crucifixion—thought to be in St. Louis.
- Whether he believes the rumor circulating that Jesus is alive in Israel.
- And who might be responsible for the many murders surrounding his quest—the televangelist? the Jewish extremist? the jihadi?
All in all, a real "mishegas" for David Greenberg!
The event runs from 6:30-7:30 pm. Hope see you on Monday. Info at: http://www.edprotzel.com/new-events-1...
- EdThe Antiquities Dealer
- How David gets suckered into chasing down the last nail from the Crucifixion—thought to be in St. Louis.
- Whether he believes the rumor circulating that Jesus is alive in Israel.
- And who might be responsible for the many murders surrounding his quest—the televangelist? the Jewish extremist? the jihadi?
All in all, a real "mishegas" for David Greenberg!
The event runs from 6:30-7:30 pm. Hope see you on Monday. Info at: http://www.edprotzel.com/new-events-1...
- EdThe Antiquities Dealer
March 16, 2019
Trivia Challenge: THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER
If you can name the chess master who won “The Game of the Century" at the age of 13 you could win a paperback copy of THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER, the new scifi thriller filled with references to inform and amuse as you follow David Greenberg on his quest to locate a missing artifact. Reviewers have drawn comparisons to Dan Brown's novels. Email answer by Monday, March 18, to: media@touchpointpress.com. The winner will be drawn by the publisher.
The Antiquities Dealer
The Antiquities Dealer
March 1, 2019
March Giveaway: The Antiquities Dealer
Take THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER Trivia Challenge for a chance to win a paperback copy of this new thriller filled with references to mythology.
1. Name the Greek goddess of mischief.
2. Name the Greek goddess of love.
3. Name the Roman goddess of chance.
4. Name the Greek god of sleep.
5. Name the Greek goddess of night.
6. Name the Greek son of Zeus and the nymph Plouto.
7. Name the Old Man who created the world, Ute, Native American.
8. Name the Roman goddess of love.
Email your answers BY MONDAY to: media@touchpointpress.com. The person who submits the most correct answers will win. In case of a tie, the publisher will draw for the winner. The Antiquities Dealer
1. Name the Greek goddess of mischief.
2. Name the Greek goddess of love.
3. Name the Roman goddess of chance.
4. Name the Greek god of sleep.
5. Name the Greek goddess of night.
6. Name the Greek son of Zeus and the nymph Plouto.
7. Name the Old Man who created the world, Ute, Native American.
8. Name the Roman goddess of love.
Email your answers BY MONDAY to: media@touchpointpress.com. The person who submits the most correct answers will win. In case of a tie, the publisher will draw for the winner. The Antiquities Dealer
February 27, 2019
Take THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER Trivia Challenge
Each Friday in March offers a chance to test your knowledge and win a paperback copy of THE ANTIQUITIES DEALER, my new thriller packed with references meant to inform and amuse as you follow David Greenberg on his quest to decode a mysterious clue and locate a missing artifact.
Each Friday will pose questions in a different category:
• March 1: Name the Mythology
• March 8: Translate the Yiddish
• March 15: Translate the Hebrew
• March 22: Decode the Clue
• March 29: Name that Tune/Line
Instructions will be posted each Friday in March on The Antiquities Dealer Facebook page. The person who submits the most correct answers will win a paperback copy direct from the publisher. In case of a tie, the winner will be drawn by the publisher and announced the following Monday of each week.
If you haven’t already done so, you can “Like” the page now by clicking here.
Good luck!
February 18, 2019
“Reconstruction: The Era Few Know” by Ed Protzel
When I began writing my fictional trilogy about the South, I, like many Americans, felt Ep1well-informed on the subject. As a student of history, researcher, and writer, I felt particularly well-versed in the period before the war (Antebellum) through the war years (1861-65). But as I began the final book in the trilogy, I soon found out how little I knew about the immediate aftermath of the war (Reconstruction) and the shocking depredations spawned during this critical transition.
The Civil War ended in 1865, freeing from slavery four million blacks (freedmen and freedwomen) who owned no land and had little money or education, which was often proscribed for slaves. Believing education would keep them from returning to slavery and enable them to prosper, freedmen immediately began establishing schools for themselves. “They sprung up like mushrooms after a rainstorm,” as one Southerner described the phenomenon. Creation of these schools was aided by the Freedmen’s Bureau, established by Congress to help the impoverished black population with food, medical care, and education. By 1870, over 4,000 of these schools had been established throughout the South, attended by a quarter million children and adults.
Legal Obstacles
The legal challenges blacks faced proved far more daunting. Abraham Lincoln was shot five days after the war ended, to be replaced by a Southerner, Andrew Johnson. Johnson wanted the Southern states restored to the Union as quickly as possible, requiring new state constitutions be established. Because Johnson’s plan only allowed whites to vote for convention delegates or to participate in drafting the new state constitutions, not one of the states granted the right to vote to blacks. As the provisional governor of South Carolina made clear at his convention: “this is a white man’s government.”
And who was called upon to create these new constitutions? Politically powerful former Confederates. In Mississippi, for example, the 1865 constitutional convention included twelve men who had been delegates to the secession convention of 1860, including the president who entered the motion for secession; a number of Confederate generals; a Confederate senator; and a Confederate governor. Subsequently, many ex-Confederate leaders won elections for state government offices and for Congress.
Black Codes Instituted
State legislatures quickly moved to restore de facto slavery throughout the South, in EP2essence, reversing the verdict of the war by passing laws called Black Codes in various forms that limited the freedom of former slaves. These laws replicated colonial statutes, restricting blacks from voting, serving on juries, traveling freely, or working in jobs of their own choice. Even their marriages weren’t considered legal.
For example, the severe penal codes for slaves were retained, merely replacing the EP3word “slave” with the word “freedmen.” South Carolina’s Black Codes even established a racially separate court system for all civil and criminal cases that involved a black plaintiff or defendant. It allowed black witnesses to testify in court, but only in cases affecting “persons of color.” Crimes that whites feared freedmen might commit, such as rebellion, arson, burglary, and assaulting a white woman, carried harsh penalties. Most of these crimes carried the death penalty for blacks, but not for whites. Punishments for minor offenses committed by blacks could result in forced labor (“hiring out”) or whipping, penalties rarely imposed on white lawbreakers.
Ed ProtzelThe Supreme Court’s 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” decision, ruling that separate schools for blacks and whites were unequal, and Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped put an end to the most egregious of these practices.
Dr. King stated that “history bends toward justice.” Looking back at the troubled Reconstruction era, and in light of Black History Month 2019, we can see how far social justice has progressed in the United States. We must do our best to maintain and advance that progress.
Ed Protzel is a novelist and author of the Civil War-era DarkHorse Trilogy: The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts, Something in Madness (late-2019). He lives in St. Louis. Find him at: www.edprotzel.com.
The Civil War ended in 1865, freeing from slavery four million blacks (freedmen and freedwomen) who owned no land and had little money or education, which was often proscribed for slaves. Believing education would keep them from returning to slavery and enable them to prosper, freedmen immediately began establishing schools for themselves. “They sprung up like mushrooms after a rainstorm,” as one Southerner described the phenomenon. Creation of these schools was aided by the Freedmen’s Bureau, established by Congress to help the impoverished black population with food, medical care, and education. By 1870, over 4,000 of these schools had been established throughout the South, attended by a quarter million children and adults.
Legal Obstacles
The legal challenges blacks faced proved far more daunting. Abraham Lincoln was shot five days after the war ended, to be replaced by a Southerner, Andrew Johnson. Johnson wanted the Southern states restored to the Union as quickly as possible, requiring new state constitutions be established. Because Johnson’s plan only allowed whites to vote for convention delegates or to participate in drafting the new state constitutions, not one of the states granted the right to vote to blacks. As the provisional governor of South Carolina made clear at his convention: “this is a white man’s government.”
And who was called upon to create these new constitutions? Politically powerful former Confederates. In Mississippi, for example, the 1865 constitutional convention included twelve men who had been delegates to the secession convention of 1860, including the president who entered the motion for secession; a number of Confederate generals; a Confederate senator; and a Confederate governor. Subsequently, many ex-Confederate leaders won elections for state government offices and for Congress.
Black Codes Instituted
State legislatures quickly moved to restore de facto slavery throughout the South, in EP2essence, reversing the verdict of the war by passing laws called Black Codes in various forms that limited the freedom of former slaves. These laws replicated colonial statutes, restricting blacks from voting, serving on juries, traveling freely, or working in jobs of their own choice. Even their marriages weren’t considered legal.
For example, the severe penal codes for slaves were retained, merely replacing the EP3word “slave” with the word “freedmen.” South Carolina’s Black Codes even established a racially separate court system for all civil and criminal cases that involved a black plaintiff or defendant. It allowed black witnesses to testify in court, but only in cases affecting “persons of color.” Crimes that whites feared freedmen might commit, such as rebellion, arson, burglary, and assaulting a white woman, carried harsh penalties. Most of these crimes carried the death penalty for blacks, but not for whites. Punishments for minor offenses committed by blacks could result in forced labor (“hiring out”) or whipping, penalties rarely imposed on white lawbreakers.
Ed ProtzelThe Supreme Court’s 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” decision, ruling that separate schools for blacks and whites were unequal, and Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped put an end to the most egregious of these practices.
Dr. King stated that “history bends toward justice.” Looking back at the troubled Reconstruction era, and in light of Black History Month 2019, we can see how far social justice has progressed in the United States. We must do our best to maintain and advance that progress.
Ed Protzel is a novelist and author of the Civil War-era DarkHorse Trilogy: The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts, Something in Madness (late-2019). He lives in St. Louis. Find him at: www.edprotzel.com.
February 13, 2019
A Writer Whose Interests are Too Varied to Pigeonhole
I'm introduced on the MultiTalented Writers blog as a St. Louis writer whose interests "are too varied to pigeonhole.”
In the interview I give a shout out to my St. Louis favs - the Cardinals, Gateway Arch—as well as authors Tennessee Williams, T.S. Elliott, Maya Angelou, Kate Chopin, Jonathan Franzen, Mark Twain, and more), plus details on my multi-genre novels: The Antiquities Dealer, The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts and soon, Something in Madness.
Find the interview at Ed Protzel at: https://www.multitalentedwriters.com/...
Ed ProtzelThe Antiquities DealerThe Lies That BindHonor Among Outcasts (DarkHorse Trilogy)
In the interview I give a shout out to my St. Louis favs - the Cardinals, Gateway Arch—as well as authors Tennessee Williams, T.S. Elliott, Maya Angelou, Kate Chopin, Jonathan Franzen, Mark Twain, and more), plus details on my multi-genre novels: The Antiquities Dealer, The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts and soon, Something in Madness.
Find the interview at Ed Protzel at: https://www.multitalentedwriters.com/...
Ed ProtzelThe Antiquities DealerThe Lies That BindHonor Among Outcasts (DarkHorse Trilogy)
February 4, 2019
“Reconstruction: The Era Few Know”
When I began writing my fictional trilogy about the South, I, like many Americans, felt well-informed on the subject. As a student of history, researcher, and writer, I felt particularly well-versed in the period before the war (Antebellum) through the war years (1861-65). But as I began the final book in the trilogy, I soon found out how little I knew about the immediate aftermath of the war (Reconstruction) and the shocking depredations spawned during this critical transition.
The Civil War ended in 1865, freeing from slavery four million blacks (freedmen and freedwomen) who owned no land and had little money or education, which was often proscribed for slaves. Believing education would keep them from returning to slavery and enable them to prosper, freedmen immediately began establishing schools for themselves. “They sprung up like mushrooms after a rainstorm,” as one Southerner described the phenomenon. Creation of these schools was aided by the Freedmen’s Bureau, established by Congress to help the impoverished black population with food, medical care, and education. By 1870, over 4,000 of these schools had been established throughout the South, attended by a quarter million children and adults.
LEGAL OBSTACLES
The legal challenges blacks faced proved far more daunting. Abraham Lincoln was shot five days after the war ended, to be replaced by a Southerner, Andrew Johnson. Johnson wanted the Southern states restored to the Union as quickly as possible, requiring new state constitutions be established. Because Johnson’s plan only allowed whites to vote for convention delegates or to participate in drafting the new state constitutions, not one of the states granted the right to vote to blacks. As the provisional governor of South Carolina made clear at his convention: “this is a white man’s government.”
And who were called upon to create these new constitutions? Politically powerful former Confederates. In Mississippi, for example, the 1865 constitutional convention included twelve men who had been delegates to the secession convention of 1860, including the president who entered the motion for secession; a number of Confederate generals; a Confederate senator; and a Confederate governor. Subsequently, many ex-Confederate leaders won elections for state government offices and for Congress.
BLACK CODES INSTITUTED
State legislatures quickly moved to restore de facto slavery throughout the South, in essence, reversing the verdict of the war by passing laws called Black Codes in various forms that limited the freedom of former slaves. These laws replicated colonial statutes, restricting blacks from voting, serving on juries, traveling freely, or working in jobs of their own choice. Even their marriages weren’t considered legal.
For example, the severe penal codes for slaves were retained, merely replacing the word “slave” with the word “freedmen.” South Carolina’s Black Codes even established a racially separate court system for all civil and criminal cases that involved a black plaintiff or defendant. It allowed black witnesses to testify in court, but only in cases affecting “persons of color.” Crimes that whites feared freedmen might commit, such as rebellion, arson, burglary, and assaulting a white woman, carried harsh penalties. Most of these crimes carried the death penalty for blacks, but not for whites. Punishments for minor offenses committed by blacks could result in forced labor (“hiring out”) or whipping, penalties rarely imposed on white lawbreakers.
Within two years, these specific Black Codes were rescinded by Congress. Nevertheless, new state laws and practices were instituted to replace them, reproducing the same effect. Eventually, of course, Jim Crow would further enshrine into law the black community’s subservient status.
The Supreme Court’s 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” decision, ruling that separate schools for blacks and whites were unequal, and Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped put an end to the most egregious of these practices.
Dr. King stated that “history bends toward justice.” Looking back at the troubled Reconstruction era, and in light of Black History Month 2019, we can see how far social justice has progressed in the United States. We must do our best to maintain and advance that progress.
Ed Protzel is a novelist and author of the Civil War-era DarkHorse Trilogy: The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts, Something in Madness (late-2019). He lives in St. Louis. Find him at: www.edprotzel.com.
The Civil War ended in 1865, freeing from slavery four million blacks (freedmen and freedwomen) who owned no land and had little money or education, which was often proscribed for slaves. Believing education would keep them from returning to slavery and enable them to prosper, freedmen immediately began establishing schools for themselves. “They sprung up like mushrooms after a rainstorm,” as one Southerner described the phenomenon. Creation of these schools was aided by the Freedmen’s Bureau, established by Congress to help the impoverished black population with food, medical care, and education. By 1870, over 4,000 of these schools had been established throughout the South, attended by a quarter million children and adults.
LEGAL OBSTACLES
The legal challenges blacks faced proved far more daunting. Abraham Lincoln was shot five days after the war ended, to be replaced by a Southerner, Andrew Johnson. Johnson wanted the Southern states restored to the Union as quickly as possible, requiring new state constitutions be established. Because Johnson’s plan only allowed whites to vote for convention delegates or to participate in drafting the new state constitutions, not one of the states granted the right to vote to blacks. As the provisional governor of South Carolina made clear at his convention: “this is a white man’s government.”
And who were called upon to create these new constitutions? Politically powerful former Confederates. In Mississippi, for example, the 1865 constitutional convention included twelve men who had been delegates to the secession convention of 1860, including the president who entered the motion for secession; a number of Confederate generals; a Confederate senator; and a Confederate governor. Subsequently, many ex-Confederate leaders won elections for state government offices and for Congress.
BLACK CODES INSTITUTED
State legislatures quickly moved to restore de facto slavery throughout the South, in essence, reversing the verdict of the war by passing laws called Black Codes in various forms that limited the freedom of former slaves. These laws replicated colonial statutes, restricting blacks from voting, serving on juries, traveling freely, or working in jobs of their own choice. Even their marriages weren’t considered legal.
For example, the severe penal codes for slaves were retained, merely replacing the word “slave” with the word “freedmen.” South Carolina’s Black Codes even established a racially separate court system for all civil and criminal cases that involved a black plaintiff or defendant. It allowed black witnesses to testify in court, but only in cases affecting “persons of color.” Crimes that whites feared freedmen might commit, such as rebellion, arson, burglary, and assaulting a white woman, carried harsh penalties. Most of these crimes carried the death penalty for blacks, but not for whites. Punishments for minor offenses committed by blacks could result in forced labor (“hiring out”) or whipping, penalties rarely imposed on white lawbreakers.
Within two years, these specific Black Codes were rescinded by Congress. Nevertheless, new state laws and practices were instituted to replace them, reproducing the same effect. Eventually, of course, Jim Crow would further enshrine into law the black community’s subservient status.
The Supreme Court’s 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” decision, ruling that separate schools for blacks and whites were unequal, and Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped put an end to the most egregious of these practices.
Dr. King stated that “history bends toward justice.” Looking back at the troubled Reconstruction era, and in light of Black History Month 2019, we can see how far social justice has progressed in the United States. We must do our best to maintain and advance that progress.
Ed Protzel is a novelist and author of the Civil War-era DarkHorse Trilogy: The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts, Something in Madness (late-2019). He lives in St. Louis. Find him at: www.edprotzel.com.
January 21, 2019
Reflections on Dr. King Day & the DarkHorse Trilogy
With profound feelings on this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I near the conclusion of researching and writing my DarkHorse Trilogy of historical novels (spanning 1859 to 1865), whose characters—black, white, and mixed-race—form a deep friendship to challenge an unfair and un-free world.
Over the years spent researching and writing the trilogy, I’d take time on MLK Day and during Black History Month each February to reflect on the plight and progress made by society over the past 150 years and how my fictional characters would have felt had they seen it.
My characters didn’t experience the civil rights enjoyed today. They had to use their wiles to endure the horrors and indignities of slavery in antebellum Mississippi; try to free their people by forming a colored regiment in Civil War Missouri; and return from war to Mississippi, only to face overwhelming suppression by unregenerate supremacists in post-war Reconstruction.
But the long, hard journey to real freedom never fully ended, did it? Unfortunately, in too many cases my characters’ historical struggles still rear their heads today. So, like Sisyphus who pushes that rock up the mountain for eternity only to see it roll back down, each generation must put its shoulder to the struggle for equality so that liberty can survive. As Dr. King knew, if citizens of every generation and all races embrace their responsibility to confront racism, our nation will endure and prevail.
My DarkHorse characters would have been proud. https://www.facebook.com/TheDarkHorse...Ed Protzel
Over the years spent researching and writing the trilogy, I’d take time on MLK Day and during Black History Month each February to reflect on the plight and progress made by society over the past 150 years and how my fictional characters would have felt had they seen it.
My characters didn’t experience the civil rights enjoyed today. They had to use their wiles to endure the horrors and indignities of slavery in antebellum Mississippi; try to free their people by forming a colored regiment in Civil War Missouri; and return from war to Mississippi, only to face overwhelming suppression by unregenerate supremacists in post-war Reconstruction.
But the long, hard journey to real freedom never fully ended, did it? Unfortunately, in too many cases my characters’ historical struggles still rear their heads today. So, like Sisyphus who pushes that rock up the mountain for eternity only to see it roll back down, each generation must put its shoulder to the struggle for equality so that liberty can survive. As Dr. King knew, if citizens of every generation and all races embrace their responsibility to confront racism, our nation will endure and prevail.
My DarkHorse characters would have been proud. https://www.facebook.com/TheDarkHorse...Ed Protzel
December 18, 2018
INSIDE THE CREATIVE MIND OF A FICTION WRITER
Wide-ranging interview of Ed Protzel, by his publisher, TouchPoint Press,
How do you answer the question, “Oh, you’re an author? What do you write?”
I’m hard to pigeonhole as a novelist, since each of my works is a combination of genres –genre-stretchers I call them. All my novels, historical drama and contemporary thriller, contain elements of mystery, humor, twists, and even tragedy.
How would you describe your writing to someone not familiar with your work?
While my stories are written to be entertaining experiences, with lots of plot twists and surprises, they are at the same time meant to give the reader an emotional experience that reveals deeper themes. Stylistically, I’d define my narration as a form of “impressionistic realism,” meaning I use imagery in a concise, economical fashion—making the story progress faster.
Which of your characters would you like to have as a best friend and why?
Oh that’s a tough one. I’d have to pick Big Josh from my DarkHorse Trilogy. On the surface, we’re complete opposites. Josh is black. Josh is big. While he is overlooked in a slave society—one of the themes in The Lies That Bind—Josh is uncommonly wise, focused, and highly competent. And Josh has a huge heart—the most important quality for a true friend!
If you had to switch places with one of your characters for a week, who would you
choose and why?
I believe I’d like to be David Greenberg, the main character in my mystery/thriller, The Antiquities Dealer. David leads an interesting life, associating with low-life gamblers on occasion, playing chess, but primarily dealing with archeologists, historians and other antiquities traders in Europe and the Middle East. He follows his interests, from modern to ancient religions and questions everything. Of course, he has his share of angst, including having been divorced twice and being troubled by his solitary bachelorhood. Who doesn’t have personal burdens to suffer through!
Which character has been the most difficult to write and why?
Frankly, I’ve never had a problem writing any character. More than feeling great empathy for each of them, I submerge myself into them in each dramatic situation in which they find themselves. This includes characters that are not sympathetic, like Mrs. French, the reclusive (slightly mad) unethical widow in The Lies That Bind. When it comes to my female characters, I depend on a lot of feedback from my wife and others to give me a complete perspective on the female point of view.
Would you say your writing style is more character driven or plot driven?
Can I say both? I try to develop well-rounded characters, as well as clever, labyrinthine plot twists. If I had to weigh them, I think I’d lean more toward the characters; but the surprising twists and turns make for fun reading.
Which of your books did you have to do the most research for? What does your research process look like?
I already had pretty extensive knowledge of American history, the South and the Civil War for The Lies That Bind (book 1 of the DarkHorse Trilogy). Plus, I’ve read a great deal of Southern literature, including a lot of Faulkner. But when it came to the war in western Missouri for book 2, Honor Among Outcasts, and Reconstruction for book 3, Something in Madness, I had to do extensive digging. I also got a lot of detail from history books and biographies, and visited several parts of the South and mid-Missouri for background and to absorb the atmosphere and landscape. The Internet, of course, is convenient; but I rely on it very little.
The Antiquities Dealer (A David Greenberg Mystery) was a whole other experience. Since the novel is part futuristic/sci-fi, part thriller, part love story, part mystery, I was again able to draw on my personal background and experience to varying degrees. By that I mean my mixed heritage as a secular Jewish man, my knowledge of strategy games, ancient history, mythology, religion, Israel and current events. I also got input from rabbis and other experts. And I infused the story with my belief/philosophy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for themes that develop. A visit to Israel aided in my understanding of this amazing land and its people.
Do you have any set rules for yourself about how or when to write?
Few rules, but just try to get me away from my keyboard when I’m on a roll! Having strong momentum, where lots of new ideas are popping, produces the best writing, too.
What helps spark your imagination when writer’s block hits or you’re just looking for a new idea?
I can honestly say I do not suffer from writer’s block. If anything, I can get distracted with too many ideas invading my head. When that happens, it’s important that I put them aside for future possibilities.
What have you learned about yourself from your writing?
For better or worse, I have come to see that all my characters—men, women, black, white, historical or contemporary—are in some form a part of me, even the most flawed among them.
What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
Not to give up. Which sounds cavalier from where I sit. But if you love writing, write. But learning the craft matters as much as the art.
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer and how different is the reality from what you had expected?
I knew I wanted to write seriously while still in college. Becoming published took a bit of a wait to say the least!
With self publishing being an option, what made you choose to publish with TouchPoint Press?
I take my writing seriously, and have always felt that as a professional, I wanted to go with a traditional agent and publisher. Besides, I am not obsessed with the business side, so I wanted and needed the guidance of a publisher. Sheri at TPP saw what I was saying with the first book (The Lies That Bind) and appreciated the story enough to contract for the trilogy. I’m so grateful!
What are you currently working on?
Besides polishing Something in Madness (DarkHorse Trilogy, Book 3), I’ve been toying with the idea of another David Greenberg mystery. So I’m a bit up in the air. I started converting my sci-fi screenplay, Earth Excursions, into a novel a while back, but had to put it aside. So that’s a possibility.
When can we expect your next release?
That will be Something in Madness next year. It will be hard to say goodbye to characters I’ve lived with for so many years. I expect there will no doubt be a period of mourning.
You obviously love history, so, if you could have a dinner party with five historical figures who would you choose?
Easy. I’d like to meet Albert Einstein, Leonardo de Vinci, Bob Dylan, Dr. King, and Gandhi, with Bobby Fischer stopping by for a game of chess after the meal.
In one of your blog posts you bring up Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth. Do you have a favorite myth?
If you read The Antiquities Dealer, you’ll notice that I feel the Greek mythological character Tantalus reflects our existence. Plus, I am greatly influenced by Oedipus.
What amazes you the most about your life?
That I’m enjoying it so much now that I’ve reached “senior status.” My younger dreams of glory may not have materialized completely, but this stage in my life is pretty sweet.
Tell me a random fact about yourself.
That my parents divorced when I was seven, and I was plunked into an orphans home for about a year. That had a major impact on my life.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I am amazed by the human race, for good or for ill. Each person has such an interesting story and so many interesting qualities that I’ll never get enough of hearing about them.
Find it at: https://touchpointpress.com/2018/12/1...
Ed Protzel
How do you answer the question, “Oh, you’re an author? What do you write?”
I’m hard to pigeonhole as a novelist, since each of my works is a combination of genres –genre-stretchers I call them. All my novels, historical drama and contemporary thriller, contain elements of mystery, humor, twists, and even tragedy.
How would you describe your writing to someone not familiar with your work?
While my stories are written to be entertaining experiences, with lots of plot twists and surprises, they are at the same time meant to give the reader an emotional experience that reveals deeper themes. Stylistically, I’d define my narration as a form of “impressionistic realism,” meaning I use imagery in a concise, economical fashion—making the story progress faster.
Which of your characters would you like to have as a best friend and why?
Oh that’s a tough one. I’d have to pick Big Josh from my DarkHorse Trilogy. On the surface, we’re complete opposites. Josh is black. Josh is big. While he is overlooked in a slave society—one of the themes in The Lies That Bind—Josh is uncommonly wise, focused, and highly competent. And Josh has a huge heart—the most important quality for a true friend!
If you had to switch places with one of your characters for a week, who would you
choose and why?
I believe I’d like to be David Greenberg, the main character in my mystery/thriller, The Antiquities Dealer. David leads an interesting life, associating with low-life gamblers on occasion, playing chess, but primarily dealing with archeologists, historians and other antiquities traders in Europe and the Middle East. He follows his interests, from modern to ancient religions and questions everything. Of course, he has his share of angst, including having been divorced twice and being troubled by his solitary bachelorhood. Who doesn’t have personal burdens to suffer through!
Which character has been the most difficult to write and why?
Frankly, I’ve never had a problem writing any character. More than feeling great empathy for each of them, I submerge myself into them in each dramatic situation in which they find themselves. This includes characters that are not sympathetic, like Mrs. French, the reclusive (slightly mad) unethical widow in The Lies That Bind. When it comes to my female characters, I depend on a lot of feedback from my wife and others to give me a complete perspective on the female point of view.
Would you say your writing style is more character driven or plot driven?
Can I say both? I try to develop well-rounded characters, as well as clever, labyrinthine plot twists. If I had to weigh them, I think I’d lean more toward the characters; but the surprising twists and turns make for fun reading.
Which of your books did you have to do the most research for? What does your research process look like?
I already had pretty extensive knowledge of American history, the South and the Civil War for The Lies That Bind (book 1 of the DarkHorse Trilogy). Plus, I’ve read a great deal of Southern literature, including a lot of Faulkner. But when it came to the war in western Missouri for book 2, Honor Among Outcasts, and Reconstruction for book 3, Something in Madness, I had to do extensive digging. I also got a lot of detail from history books and biographies, and visited several parts of the South and mid-Missouri for background and to absorb the atmosphere and landscape. The Internet, of course, is convenient; but I rely on it very little.
The Antiquities Dealer (A David Greenberg Mystery) was a whole other experience. Since the novel is part futuristic/sci-fi, part thriller, part love story, part mystery, I was again able to draw on my personal background and experience to varying degrees. By that I mean my mixed heritage as a secular Jewish man, my knowledge of strategy games, ancient history, mythology, religion, Israel and current events. I also got input from rabbis and other experts. And I infused the story with my belief/philosophy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for themes that develop. A visit to Israel aided in my understanding of this amazing land and its people.
Do you have any set rules for yourself about how or when to write?
Few rules, but just try to get me away from my keyboard when I’m on a roll! Having strong momentum, where lots of new ideas are popping, produces the best writing, too.
What helps spark your imagination when writer’s block hits or you’re just looking for a new idea?
I can honestly say I do not suffer from writer’s block. If anything, I can get distracted with too many ideas invading my head. When that happens, it’s important that I put them aside for future possibilities.
What have you learned about yourself from your writing?
For better or worse, I have come to see that all my characters—men, women, black, white, historical or contemporary—are in some form a part of me, even the most flawed among them.
What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
Not to give up. Which sounds cavalier from where I sit. But if you love writing, write. But learning the craft matters as much as the art.
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer and how different is the reality from what you had expected?
I knew I wanted to write seriously while still in college. Becoming published took a bit of a wait to say the least!
With self publishing being an option, what made you choose to publish with TouchPoint Press?
I take my writing seriously, and have always felt that as a professional, I wanted to go with a traditional agent and publisher. Besides, I am not obsessed with the business side, so I wanted and needed the guidance of a publisher. Sheri at TPP saw what I was saying with the first book (The Lies That Bind) and appreciated the story enough to contract for the trilogy. I’m so grateful!
What are you currently working on?
Besides polishing Something in Madness (DarkHorse Trilogy, Book 3), I’ve been toying with the idea of another David Greenberg mystery. So I’m a bit up in the air. I started converting my sci-fi screenplay, Earth Excursions, into a novel a while back, but had to put it aside. So that’s a possibility.
When can we expect your next release?
That will be Something in Madness next year. It will be hard to say goodbye to characters I’ve lived with for so many years. I expect there will no doubt be a period of mourning.
You obviously love history, so, if you could have a dinner party with five historical figures who would you choose?
Easy. I’d like to meet Albert Einstein, Leonardo de Vinci, Bob Dylan, Dr. King, and Gandhi, with Bobby Fischer stopping by for a game of chess after the meal.
In one of your blog posts you bring up Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth. Do you have a favorite myth?
If you read The Antiquities Dealer, you’ll notice that I feel the Greek mythological character Tantalus reflects our existence. Plus, I am greatly influenced by Oedipus.
What amazes you the most about your life?
That I’m enjoying it so much now that I’ve reached “senior status.” My younger dreams of glory may not have materialized completely, but this stage in my life is pretty sweet.
Tell me a random fact about yourself.
That my parents divorced when I was seven, and I was plunked into an orphans home for about a year. That had a major impact on my life.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I am amazed by the human race, for good or for ill. Each person has such an interesting story and so many interesting qualities that I’ll never get enough of hearing about them.
Find it at: https://touchpointpress.com/2018/12/1...
Ed Protzel
