Interview With Author John Morgan Freas

 

 

1. What inspired you to write a book? When the United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, I started doing research on ways to prevent terrorism and war, and then my interest expanded to include all kinds of violence. Eventually, I found the same factors are involved in causing all kinds of violence, and the same prevention strategies can be used. I wanted to share this information with as many people as possible, and I decided a book was the best way to do that.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? The book describes the cost of violence, the causes of violence, and the strategies that can be used to prevent it. It shows the importance of teaching values and skills that are needed to settle disputes without violence, the importance of resolving conflicts in the early stages, and the advantage if using a third party to help resolve some conflicts. It is written for parents, teachers, legislators, policy makers, and concerned citizens, because violence prevention strategies require multiple approaches and multiple types of people.

 

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope each person will begin to understand the things that need to be done to prevent violence, and each person will be inspired to choose at least one thing they can do to help with this process.

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I wanted the title to be simple and clearly state what the book was about. I wanted the cover design to be colorful, but not obscure or detract from the title.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers—other than run? This is my first book, so I do not feel qualified to give advice, but I definitely wanted this book to be based on well documented facts instead of just my opinion. Consequently, I thought it was important to do a lot of research and document it well. I think that is important for this kind of topic.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see—and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I think a lot of books are being published now, and I think more books are being self-published.

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing

this book? In both my personal life and career I have worked with people of different races, religions, economic levels, sexual orientations and handicaps. I have seen the effects of child abuse, poverty, discrimination, spouse abuse and religious intolerance. This experience has made it easier for me to understand the research that has been done showing the relationship between these factors and violence.

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? My writing style is simple and straight forward. I like for thoughts to flow freely instead of being convoluted. I wanted this book to be written in language that everyone could understand, so I tried to avoid the kind of jargon some academic books use. I think that was important.

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Even though I was retired, I was operating a farm and involved in several volunteer activities, so I had limited time to do the research. At first the research was for my own learning, but when I decided to put the information into a book, I had to go back and collect more specifics for the footnotes.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? My book can provide a life-changing experience, because it can help a person become a better parent or teacher or policy maker or neighbor. It also can provide inspiration for a person to become more involved in the process of preventing violence in  the home, on the streets, or between nations.

About The Author: I received a BA degree in chemistry and masters in social work from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. My entire professional career has focused on helping to solve social problems. I have worked in community action agencies and a delinquency prevention program that also provided resettlement services to people returning from prison. I also worked as a social worker with the North Carolina Crippled Children’s Program and as a data systems manager for the North Carolina Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. After retirement in 2002, I volunteered with the Traphill Volunteer Fire Department and Grace Clinic of Yadkin Valley, and have been active in Galloway Memorial Episcopal Church. My wife, Mary, and I have raised two wonderful daughters, and in retirement I have raised beef cattle and honeybees.  

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.