Greg Fields
Author Interview - Greg Fields
Author of The Bright Freight of Memory
In the end I believe our flaws define us more than our virtues. Shakespeare's greatest plays, the tragedies, revolved around their heroes' flaws rather than their glories.
Matthew Cooney and Donal Mannion shared their time as boys in a rundown neighborhood, without fathers, without comfort, without a sense of tomorrow, then went their separate ways, one to chase the trappings of maturity, the other to the streets. Their days shrouded in boredom, their nights filled with the thrill of the chase, each sought his place and his purpose.
Within their struggles are the challenges of escape, of outrunning the roll of the dice that placed them where they are, and, in the end, of defining what it means to be alive, to constantly strive for the things that are just out of reach.
Author Interview - Greg Fields
Author I draw inspiration from:
Pat Conroy, who helped make me a writer. The Prince of Tides carries a deeply intense and human narrative through the most beautiful, elegant use of the language I have ever encountered. I reread this book every year.
Author Interview - Greg Fields | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
The love seat in my study.
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
There was no singular moment. I've always been drawn to stories, and the music in the language that brings those stories alive. When I was a teenager I wrote extremely bad poetry and short fiction that said nothing, but I felt the fascination in bringing my imagination to life, then trying to find some universality in it. I've been fortunate to be able to grow that passion into what I hope is a more mature form.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback and paperback (or soft-cover) give a feel for the book, and, in my mind, make it more real. But then, I'm a traditionalist. Ebooks are convenient, portable and light as opposed to physical copies, but one can read almost anything digitally - news, the weather, even grocery lists. A book is distinctive, and merits the attention its physical form demands. Audiobooks have their place, especially for those who listen more attentively than they read. Still, there is always something viscerally pleasurable about holding a book, feeling its weight, and knowing what's inside is worth absorbing.
The last book I read:
I've just finished James by Percival Everett, a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective. Brilliant, lyrical, eminently human and shining a constant light on the severe brutality and dehumanization that attended those sad years before the Civil War. This was a perfect complement to Twain's work, and timely in its theme. I'll be reading Everett's other works soon.
Author Interview - Greg Fields | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I use a computer. I hand-wrote my first novel, then typed it up. Time-consuming it was, especially correcting all the mistakes that a computer would have edited right away. Some writers say there's more intimacy when hand-writing their work. Maybe so, but I think there's more efficiency in going digital. And that efficiency can clear the deck for thoughts and ideas to find their way.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
When I was sixteen, I'd have said Eugene Gant from Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River. Gant was frantic, animated and constantly in search of experience, identity and place. He awakened a certain longing to live life openly and eagerly. Now, though, I think I'd be great friends with Tom Wingo from Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides. Tom was bruised, wounded almost beyond repair, and I'd like to think that a sense of compassion and understanding would create a deep bond. He was a brilliantly drawn character about whom I'd want to know more, even the debris from his deepest crevices.
Author Interview - Greg Fields | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
The General Manager of the Washington Nationals, after completing a stellar career as the second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I can see myself in the late 18th century, wearing a thick coat that hangs to my knees, leggings and a a high-collared shirt. Not sure if I'd go for the powdered wig, but I've always seen an elegance in the way men dressed, or over-dressed, in what must have been incredibly uncomfortable clothing. It looked good, though.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I've been to Ireland a dozen times, and I'd go back a dozen more. Aside from my own bloodlines, this is warmest, friendliest country I've ever been. But as for new turf, I'd take a long, slow tour of Italy. I've been to almost every European country but here, and I need to experience the art, the food, the music and the history at least once.
My signature drink:
Sparkling water with a touch of fruit juice. (I've become incredibly dull....An occasional glass of wine is about as wild as I go these days).
Favorite artist:
The paintings of Marc Chagall - brilliant use of color to express the deepest, most human emotions; the music of John McCutcheon who's sung the soundtrack of my own life and thoughts; Daniel Day-Lewis's constant intensity and power when he's on the screen; my wife Lynn's artistry in the kitchen, where she could turn roadkill into a five-course feast.
Number one on my bucket list:
I think I can turn the bucket over. I've done almost everything I hoped to do, traveled far wider than I had ever imagined, and I'm currently living a fantasy as a writer, an editor, a husband and a father. It's time to savor it all and put away the longings. Except for maybe a Nobel Prize.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Writers are a special breed - imaginative, courageous, almost universally neurotic, and giving. The best are passionate in what they do and how they live. To be included in this special group surpasses my warmest dreams, and each day I awake to the possibilities this life allows. I'm beyond grateful.
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/GregFieldsAuthor/
https://www.facebook.com/greg.fields.121/
About Greg Fields:
Author Interview - Greg Fields
Greg Fields is the author of Through the Waters and the Wild, winner of the 2022 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction, the Independent Publishers Association Award, the New York Book Award for Literary Fiction and two other national recognitions. His first novel, Arc of the Comet, was published in 2017. He is currently an editor for his publisher, Koehler Books, and is a regular presenter at numerous conferences and workshops, including the International Dublin Writers Festival. A third novel, The Bright Freight of Memory, is scheduled for release in November 2024. www.gregfields.net.
