July 2021
SAMANTHA WALTZ
Your new book, The Choice of Men, was released last April. That's an interesting title. From where did you draw your inspiration for this book?
From my father's struggle between the Mormon church and his basic gay nature, and the impact of that struggle on our family.
Do you work from an outline or are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants ("pantster") kind of writer and why?
I had a kind of chronological outline with major events in mind, but the characters took over the story and created their own. So that must make me both.
What was the hardest part of writing this book and why?
I flew passionately through the first draft and early revisions. Then I needed to take a bigger step back from my experience as a memoirist and learn to craft a novel rich in sensory detail and emotion. To get rid of the "tell" and make it all "show."
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I most enjoyed writing about Ruth. In some ways she is like my mother, except my mother would have never shared the feelings and insights Ruth does. Maybe she never had the same insights. I gained an enormous peace around my mother by creating Ruth, although the character in the book is in major ways very different.
We all love a hero. Was there a real-life inspiration behind your protagonist(s)? Please explain.
Interestingly, my father inspired my protagonist, but my protagonist took on more and more of his own character until in the end there was little similarity. The process was fascinating.
Is there a clear villain in your book and if so, how did you get in touch with your inner villain to write this book?
The clear villain is prejudice against homosexuality.
What real-life inspirations did you draw from the worldbuilding within your book?
I drew a lot on places I've been and people I've known. The settings are absolutely accurate. The people don't just have different names, they have fictional personalities in most cases. One or two very minor characters are like people I knew -- the charitable Mormon members of the women's auxiliary and maybe the English department chairman at the college.
Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it?
I gained a deeper understanding of what life is like for someone trying to live in a way that is not authentic.
And a deeper understanding of how that affects those he loves.
If you couldn't be an author, what would your ideal career be?
Probably something in the healthcare professions with a focus on mental health.
What are your future project(s)?
Back to some little personal essays until another big idea sweeps me up.
Is there a message in your novel you hope readers will grasp?
Absolutely. Everyone is better off when a person lives true to his/her basic nature. Everything that works against that hurts society as well as the individual.
That's a wonderful message. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today.
You can find Samantha Waltz on either her website: pathsofthought.com or her book's website: thechoiceofmen.com. She also has a personal Facebook page: Samantha Ducloux Waltz, and a page for the book, The Choice of Men: A Novel. She's on Linkedin, Goodreads, and twitter (@samanthawaltz). But, actually, probably the very best is to simply email her at: samanthawaltz@comcast.net.
From my father's struggle between the Mormon church and his basic gay nature, and the impact of that struggle on our family.
Do you work from an outline or are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants ("pantster") kind of writer and why?
I had a kind of chronological outline with major events in mind, but the characters took over the story and created their own. So that must make me both.
What was the hardest part of writing this book and why?
I flew passionately through the first draft and early revisions. Then I needed to take a bigger step back from my experience as a memoirist and learn to craft a novel rich in sensory detail and emotion. To get rid of the "tell" and make it all "show."
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I most enjoyed writing about Ruth. In some ways she is like my mother, except my mother would have never shared the feelings and insights Ruth does. Maybe she never had the same insights. I gained an enormous peace around my mother by creating Ruth, although the character in the book is in major ways very different.
We all love a hero. Was there a real-life inspiration behind your protagonist(s)? Please explain.
Interestingly, my father inspired my protagonist, but my protagonist took on more and more of his own character until in the end there was little similarity. The process was fascinating.
Is there a clear villain in your book and if so, how did you get in touch with your inner villain to write this book?
The clear villain is prejudice against homosexuality.
What real-life inspirations did you draw from the worldbuilding within your book?
I drew a lot on places I've been and people I've known. The settings are absolutely accurate. The people don't just have different names, they have fictional personalities in most cases. One or two very minor characters are like people I knew -- the charitable Mormon members of the women's auxiliary and maybe the English department chairman at the college.
Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it?
I gained a deeper understanding of what life is like for someone trying to live in a way that is not authentic.
And a deeper understanding of how that affects those he loves.
If you couldn't be an author, what would your ideal career be?
Probably something in the healthcare professions with a focus on mental health.
What are your future project(s)?
Back to some little personal essays until another big idea sweeps me up.
Is there a message in your novel you hope readers will grasp?
Absolutely. Everyone is better off when a person lives true to his/her basic nature. Everything that works against that hurts society as well as the individual.
That's a wonderful message. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today.
You can find Samantha Waltz on either her website: pathsofthought.com or her book's website: thechoiceofmen.com. She also has a personal Facebook page: Samantha Ducloux Waltz, and a page for the book, The Choice of Men: A Novel. She's on Linkedin, Goodreads, and twitter (@samanthawaltz). But, actually, probably the very best is to simply email her at: samanthawaltz@comcast.net.
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