A few weeks ago I told
you about a novella called Soldier
Hill and its author, Phil Rossi. At
the time I told you that there would be an interview and, more importantly, a
giveaway in the future. Well the future
is here. Phil is with me, and he’s going
to answer a few questions. Ain’t that
right, Phil?
PR: Absolutely.
Thank you Jonathan for inviting me to
share on your blog—great being here. It's a great blog, and I enjoy the privilege.
Thank you sir! Stroking my ego isn’t a prerequisite for
appearing on the blog, but it sure is appreciated.
In addition to singing sweet
nothings in my ear, Phil here was also nice enough to put up some swag for all you
gentle readers. In the process he’s
managed to raised the bar on the giveaway front. Instead of putting up one or two or any other
finite number of copies of his work, he’s offering what amounts to an endless
free lunch. If you want an electronic copy of Soldier Hill, all you’ve got to do is
say the word. Comment on the post and
tell me you want that puppy, and I’ll pass your info along the Phil. Or hell, tell him yourself. Next thing you know, you’ll have a nice
little present waiting in your inbox.
Right now, though, there’s
this whole interview thing we’ve got going.
Speaking of which—you ready, Phil?
I promise it’ll be quick and painless.
Well, mostly painless.
PR: Ha—I hope
it's painless for you. I'm out of house
money. My three strikes are up. I read the review too, my man.
Q1) Alright, give us the “about the author”
spiel.
PR: Been
writing fiction on and off for some time. The 'off' time spent writing screenplays, and
raising money to make independent films. Unfortunately, nothing materialized, and I
never completed a feature--only a six minute crime/noir short film ('Ten Large') which
could be viewed on my website, as well as on YouTube. That said, fiction is my strength, passion,
and comfort zone. As my last film
project was falling apart, intuition kicked in, pointing out the fiction route.
Glad I'm here.
Q2) Well for what it’s worth, it fits you like a
glove. Now, there’s my
synopsis of course, but in your words, what is Soldier Hill really about?
PR: Honor and
sacrifice in it's most core form. People that sacrifice are very special. They
do it for love of country, and believe in what they are doing. It's private,
sacred stuff, and should always remain so.
Q3) And what inspired you to write Soldier Hill? It seems to be a big change from your
previous work.
PR: True events that seem so mind-boggling in
retrospect. There was a tree outside a high school dedicated to a boy killed in
Vietnam .
The tree was removed and discarded for an addition built onto the school. All
these years later, I'm still haunted and disturbed by it. Soldier Hill is not
meant to demonize those responsible. It's a mission to cleanse, and make it
right. How simple and direct this story is, I didn't make it up. The
inspiration and central events, anyway.
PR: Now we're
talkin' Jonathan! James Ellroy is the biggest. Once I discovered him, the doors
opened up. A spicket if you will. I was like, wow--you could really do this?
Write like this? It's so raw, forceful, economic, in your face, and upside your
head. I love it. David Goodis, David Mamet, and Stephen King are some more that
round out the list. But reading is a big part of the process. Discovering new
writers, as well as stuff that's been around awhile.
Q5) My god, I love
Ellroy. His prose is like a shovel
to the head—and I saw a lot of that in your writing. Kudos to you.
Anywho, I mentioned in my review that I didn’t think the book was really
a YA tale. Yeah, it had teenagers as the
protagonists, but to me it wasn’t written at the level of a YA reader. What do you think?
PR: I agree.
Since the book is new territory, so is the marketing. I thought the YA angle
would give it some footing, but I'm actually re-tooling my approach. Soldier
Hill is a coming of age tale told by an adult in a reflective voice. This is
who we were, what happened, and how it played out. It's told as a guy in his
40's, and the manner in which he would tell it.
Q6) The story is divided into short
scenes—sometimes only a paragraph long.
It didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book, but why did you decide
to go this way rather than a more traditional scene structure?
PR: I'm really
not sure, except that this is the 'journey' part for me. That gray area that I
love to be in. Where everything is loose, and I'm relying on gut instincts. The
rawness that brought me here. It could also be the screenwriting side. Arrive
late, leave early. No rambling. If it doesn't move the story forward, it's holding
things up. To me, that's the job, and the work. True, fiction provides more
latitude, and readers like and expect that, but there's still a dynamic to it,
not a liberty. Too many writers, I think, use it as a route to go on tangents,
leaving the reservation, so to speak.
Q7) Couldn’t agree more. I love a story that just freakin’ starts and forces the reader to play
catch-up. And speaking of story (mainly
yours), there are many themes present—don’t judge a book by its cover, remember
the fallen, assholes will eventually “get theirs” - but what would you say is
the central theme of the book?
PR: Without
being preachy, life counts. It's precious for all of us, no matter what we
decide to do with it. Something reinforced while taking acting workshops to
help with my writing/directing. Not to judge people/characters. Find the
threads in them and learn to identify. Instead of calling a character a loser,
call them an underdog. It makes a world of difference, for me anyway. This
might be an actor's method to find a character, but why should it be any
different for a writer? For me, this is what it could be--it's the starting
gun. From here, this point of truth, the work should only grow up. During the
journey, you connect with the material and characters on so many levels and
areas. When you do, it's exhilarating--no feeling like it. I don't know if I answered
your question correctly, but since the central event was already there, I had
to search and build Soldier Hill from that.
Q8) In a certain respect, many Americans were
eager to forget what happened in the Vietnam War, which plays into the events
of your novel, what with the memorial tree needing to be saved and all
that. Many people have compared the
current Afghanistan conflict
to Vietnam . When it’s all over, do you think Afghanistan will receive the same treatment as Vietnam when it’s
all over (whenever the hell that happens)?
Do you think America
will be eager to forget the men who fought in this war, or have we turned the
corner on that shameful aspect of our past?
PR: That's a
very good, and interesting question. I really don't know. There are many
parallels between the two. I got alot from the Vietnam fall-out as a kid growing
up in the 70's and 80's. Mostly that we never lost a war, and many of the guys
fighting in Vietnam
were sons of World War II vets. This, unfortunately added to the frustration
and hurt. Returning vets were scapegoated for losing a war they didn't
orchestrate or manage. It was a very sad, painful, and confusing time for the
country. I hope we learned from it, and don't repeat it. Not just now, but ever.
Q9) What will you be working on next?
PR: I'm anxious
to get back to crime, and actually contemplating a venture into graphic art.
It's a fun story, and I want to roll the dice and open it up. Also, I'm working
on another coming-of-age novella as well. That said, Soldier Hill remains a
priority from the marketing end. Getting it reviewed, talked about, and sold.
This whole social media thing is huge, and exciting, but alot of work. It takes
time and effort to get it out there.
Q10) Very cool stuff. Now, last but not least, what keeps you
writing? It’s an often thankless job,
and, when you have a job, and a family, and a mortgage, it can sometimes be
hard to find the time to do it in the first place. So what motivates you to keep at it?
PR: I have to
confess, I don't have much of a life. To the outside world, I'm what you call,
an educated derelict. I have a college degree and drive a taxi to pay the
bills. It provides the freedom and flexibility to write. Writing isn't a hobby,
it's a business. I'm usually up around 8 AM, at the computer until noon. My
shift could run 9-12 hours, depending on how busy we are. I bring my stuff with
me, so in between dispatched fares, I read, write, and make notes. Days off are
spent in my 'office'. Writing, and running the 'business'. I squeeze in a bike
ride, shopping, and relax in the evening with a ball game. Limited vacations,
and once a month, a day off to head into the city or to the ball park. Exciting
stuff, right? And I can't get enough of it. Go figure.
Love (of writing) does crazy
things to a man. I understand
completely. Well, that about does
it. See?
Quick and mostly painless. I told
you so.
PR: Thank you Jonathan. Really. You're review, and
your blog has been a very rewarding experience. Your insights have been very
supportive and helpful as well. I really enjoyed our correspondence, and very
glad you agreed to the review. I'm also looking forward to following your blog,
and soliciting future reviews.
If anyone would like to learn
more about Phil Rossi or his work, you can email him (at pgrossi17@hotmail.com) or visit him at any
of the following:
And
for God’s sake, take advantage of the free lunch, would you? One little comment is all you need to get
your free copy of Soldier Hill—no widgets
to fill out or prayers to send up to lady luck.
Who
ever said that nothing in life was free?
Great interview.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Phil and, thanks Jonathan for picking another winner. I look forward to reading and reviewing Soldier Hill.
All the best...
Thanks for stopping by Scarlett. You'll enjoy the book, I know it.
DeleteReally enjoyed the interview. I, too, enjoy Ellory and Mamet. I look forward to reading your novella. Thanks for your generosity!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for reading. ;)
DeleteGreat interview and I of course want anything that Jonathan recommend so pretty please may I have a copy mobi if available pdf if not frellathon(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThank you Phil and Jonathan :)
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