Welcome Robert Herold to our garden interviews

Hello Robert

lets chat about you and your books

Do you plot or let the story unfold as you write?

            I tried plotting everything once, and I found I was not having as much fun in the act of writing. Now I only plot minimally. I always come up with an ending first, to provide direction, then have at it. Later, as I realize I’m juggling too many ideas in my head, I jot them down, but only as beats along the way. The details I save for the moment.

Are your characters based on real people?

            Yes and no. I have actual people in my supernatural series, notably William James , the father of psychology in America & brother of the famous writer William James (author of Turn of the Screw). William James heads the team of ghost hunters followed in The Eidola Project novels. He was actually a paranormal investigator and wanted to apply the scientific method to a search for the afterlife.

What's your favorite book you've written? 

            So far it’s the second book in the series, which involves a werewolf, titled Moonlight Becomes You (I’m hoping to have it out before Halloween of this year). I’ve always been interested in werewolves and wanted to be one as a boy!

How did you do in English as a kid?

            It was a mixed bag. I always struggled with spelling (hey, I hear that F. Scott Fitzgerald did too!) so I was always dreading spelling bees and would only advance due to attrition at the top. When I finally got an English teacher in junior high who loved my creativity I was in heaven. (In fact, the idea for The Eidola Project began as a story I wrote for that teacher!) I was always a voracious reader.

When did you decide to become an author?

            I flirted with it earlier in life, but set it aside in favor of music, raising a family, and my career as a middle school history teacher. Once the kids were grown, I realized how much I wanted to put writing back into my live. I decided to pursue becoming an author about seven years ago. I first began writing pilot scripts for television and did well in several contests. I had lots of script requests from agents and producers, but didn’t get much further. A former television writer and showrunner suggested writing a novel as a way of breaking in. As it turns out, I love writing novels. I’m having a ball!

now for a bit of fun

What's the most blatant lie you've ever told?

       

     I landed a job in college delivering pizzas in a pickup truck, when I hardly knew how to drive! I had managed to get a driver’s license two years earlier, but hardly drove in the meantime. Driving around an unfamiliar city delivering pizzas, often in the rain or fog, made me a hazard. (I did bump into a few things—a parked car in a narrow alley, and a bush—fortunately no people.) The worst was when I was relying on a map to get to a house on a foggy night. I turned right as the map indicated and ended up in someone’s soggy front lawn. (The road didn’t exist.)

Who do you see as a hero/heroine in your life?

            Especially in this time of the coronavirus, my wife, who runs a homeless women’s day program in Seattle and is exposed to many people daily. Likewise, healthcare workers and the local checkers at the grocery. Heroes all.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

            I wanted to be a werewolf. As I mentioned in my bio, when it snowed, I would walk halfway out onto neighbors’ lawns and then make paw prints with my fingers as far out as I could stretch. I would then work my way backwards out to the street and fetch the neighborhood kids, trying to convince them someone had turned into a werewolf right here on this lawn. Most were skeptical.

            Alas, I never became a werewolf, but came as close as possible by growing a beard as an adult.

Do you have a favorite quote?

            “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” Groucho Marx

If you came with a warning label, what would it say?

            WARNING: Incurable punster.

Do you have any hobbies?

            I play saxophone and flute in a local blues group. I collect albums, especially jazz or those with wacky covers (e.g., Snack Attack by Godley & Creme). I also collect books, toys and cultural oddities.

Where can we find out more?

Website: https://robertheroldauthor.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/RobertHeroldauthor/

Twitter:  https://robertheroldauthor.com/

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52742958-the-eidola-project

Download The Eidola Project on Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/Eidola-Project-Novel-ebook/dp/B07YRB4F99

and other online retailers