Coffee Chat with Peter Watson Jenkins

Good morning!

Or whatever time it is where you are... In any case, it's good to have you here. Today I have a unique individual with me, author Peter Watson Jenkins, who writes...well, a whole lot of things! :)
Since he tells me he likes decaf coffee with half-and-half, I'll let you read his bio while I fix him a cup.

BIO: Peter Watson Jenkins, a Cambridge graduate, has meddled in lots of careers and jobs, beginning as a school teacher and ending as a master hypnotherapist. Born in Bath, England in 1934 he emigrated to the States when he was 48 to marry a Midwesterner. He was a freelance member of the British ‘Institute of Journalists’ in the sixties, with a column in a Fleet St. weekly.
His work as part author and part editor for the Masters of the Spirit World has resulted in seven books, since his Escape to Danger.  He has also written books on past life regression, Christy’s Journey through 12 past lives, and on the core teaching of Jesus, Training for the Marathon of Life. His latest book, a collection of 18 short stories, Found Money, was published last year and has garnered some very positive reviews to his delight. These titles can be found at Peter's bookstore.

Ally: Like most authors, your bio is all about books. Tell us something not included there.

PETER: I played the double bass at high school, and in a concert at the famous Pump Room, in Bath, England, performed the solo of The Elephant in Saint Saens' humorous piece, "Carnival of the Animals."  Nobody died as a result. Now you know all about me Ally.

Ally: Well, not quite all, but we're working on it. :) Tell us more about your work with the Masters and how you divide your time to include a writing schedule.

PETER: The quick answer is “what writing schedule?”  That reflects my total activity. As an indie publisher mainly of metaphysical books, I have to allow first call for that activity. Celestial Voices uploads daily questions from fans to the Masters of the Spirit World, a group of senior guides in the Other Side.  These are answered by our channel Toni Winninger. My role is largely editorial.
Then we have published seven of their books, and they are writing another.  Generally I start my day with a cup of decaf with milk, watch the early news and find out how the stock market is doing, then toddle off with my walker to the study. Days are quite long, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I see very few people during the week. I get my own writing done largely after lunch. At present, I just launched two new books on Amazon, Blu-Berries and the Korner Kaff (humorous) and Saved by a Tweet (YA). I have one book in peer review. It is a sort-of Sci-fi book: Rescue Planet Earth!, but it hasn’t been edited, nor has my poetry-and-prose book, Fine Writing.
That leaves me with my memoirs, Spiritual Walkabout, as my main writing job. This week I have given it about six hours over two days. I cannot do more at a time because of a back problem. This book is very demanding and needs continual re-writing at this stage. But its mine, all mine!

Ally: Authors usually talk about their heroes and heroines, but I'd like to know about your favorite secondary character, and why you chose him or her.

PETER: My first book was a thriller, Escape to Danger, set in a Britain that was being attacked by religious fanatics who had stolen nuclear warheads. Duncan Sutherland, the hero, is a car factory supervisor who has just retired. He runs off to Cornwall where he hopes to be safe. When the first bomb goes off, he attempts to “borrow” a yacht so he can sail out of harm’s way. But Graham Taggart, the boat’s owner who is an Anglo American businessman, has returned. He confronts Duncan, but sees in him the potential crew he needs to sail home across the Atlantic, and they become friends.
Graham is handsome, generous, talented, and he stocks the very best scotch for the voyage. You might expect me to identify with the older man who is a lifelong pacifist (like me) and a Unitarian (as I used to be), but no. Graham is the one who is hurt badly but keeps a stiff upper lip, who, modestly, does not complain when Duncan becomes the press favorite, when the adventure is nearly over.
There’s a little game that authors can play and not be answerable to their readers. Graham isn’t me, of course, just a dream me. I chose him to complement the hero, to provide the contrast. Which, of course, he does superbly because he is the sort of chap I would like to have been.

Ally: Peter brought us two books today that are very different, so let's have a look.
_ Duncan, a newly retired as a British carmaker, is deeply concerned at reports on the BBC News that religious terrorists are threatening to blow up Britain with atom bombs. Recently widowed, with no job to hold him back, and facing the probability of bombs going off, Duncan attempts to steal a yacht to put more distance between him and the conflagration. Graham, the owner of the boat enters and the two of them venture on the high seas into the teeth of a gale. Having run from danger, the pair are now forced to face another danger head on. In these short stories, the author enters the rough-and-tumble world where people dream of making it big. His cast includes a small boy in the London Blitz; an aging nun clutching a brown paper packet; a little family caught in Hurricane Katrina as they are leaving New Orleans; the young Queen Victoria chatting with a choirboy; a walk by a Dutch canal with an old blind poet; a baker caught up in a recent revolution in the Middle East; and, of course, people gambling on the lottery—but there's a big price to pay for that money.*

Ally's note: I've read this. A delightful, laid-back collection.
In addition to his bookstore listed above in the bio, Peter's books can be found on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. Stop back again when you're in the neighborhood!