Interview With Author Charles Bruckerhoff

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? 

I served in Vietnam in forward field positions, arriving in May 1968, just after the Tet offensive. The people, sights, sounds, smells, weapons, and losses have never faded. Through the decades since, I have tried to understand that war, like so many of my brothers in arms, with little gain, until the recent pullout from Afghanistan. That horrible, scandalous event, and the research I did for Plowman, pulled it all together for me: “A Wrong War.” My hope is that Plowman offers solace to the Vietnam War veterans and all other veterans, and reason enough to fight on the home front against government officials and the corporate-media-military-industrial-complex on behalf of Americans and citizens the world over to never permit Another Wrong War.

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for?

Plowman follows two girls from birth into their married lives. Hana and Stella are the best of friends. One day they discover the wartime journals of their great grandfathers from WWII and one from a living grandfather who served in Vietnam. At first, they were set on writing the journals into a narrative. Then, Stella’s father, serving in Afghanistan, is killed in a firefight. Their close-knit families were shattered. The girls' research led them to discover writings that are seldom mentioned about what our government did that caused the Vietnam War, the plight of Vietnamese people seeking freedom and self-determination over thousands of years, and that our government officials were willing to put American soldiers in harms way for conquest and profit — lying to us all the time. Plowman is written for adults who are seeking answers not about a particular war, but any conflict that our government enters into with an enemy. 

 

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?

A fresh look at Americas military actions, and a commitment to do their part, get involved in American politics — written small, to help ensure that all wars from now on are for defense of our nation and defense of our allies. Most notably now, Israel.

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?

My family heritage is rich in farming. The farmers feed us. Plowing is a revered occupation. Farm families are the bedrock of civilization. Thus, Plowman. Mario Lampic, from Belgrade, Serbia, did the cover design, interior design, and typesetting. He’s the best. I wrote down my thoughts of what imagery might work and he did everything from there. 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

Yeah, that’s cause for a hearty laugh, if not a cry. Plowman was at least three years in the writing/revision/rewriting phase. Every word, paragraph, page, chapter is written, worked over, and reworked, and moved forward or backward, until something inside you tells you the entire flow is good, every word. Then, you find a very good editor. Many things need to be revised again. All for the best story.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? 

First, a very troublesome trend: book and author banning—the alphabet mafia, or militaristic Wok-ism. Their reviews return bitter diatribes against conservative thought, truth, historical accuracy, religion, private schooling, wholesome life, etc. Second, if the industry can establish minimum standards and rules, with consequences, for individuals and companies that purport to help self-published authors, that would save authors time and money, and assure the public gets the best reading experience. What Jeff Bezos and other companies did with technology and marketing for self-publishing should be coupled with a drive for book publishing and marketing ethics.

 

7. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?

I hope that readers find my writing style natural, smooth, descriptive, stream of consciousness at times, real, meditative, and philosophical. Hemingway, Clancey, Edmund Morris, Follett, Ludlum, Whitman, Joyce, Stein, Burroughs, Muir, Leopold, Eliot, Dickenson, Shelly, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Sun Tzu, Carr, Samuelson, Kilmeade, Freeman, Lowry, Sugden, Polanyi, Toulmin, Nietsche, Camu, Plato, Aristotle, and others. 

 

8. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?

Writing simple, crisp, English prose, bordering on poetry at times.

 

9. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

The children’s book series, Adelyn's Adventures, is a good choice for parents and children to read while vacationing in the forest, the garden, and on the beach. Starting August 1, with help from the folks at BookTrib, the ebook version of Plowman will be available for $.99 at Amazon. Plowman promises drama, suspense, and truth wherever one sits for a good read.

 

 About The Author:Charles Bruckerhoff is the publisher of Sequoia House Books and the author of the Adelyn’s Adventure series. Plowman is his first novel. He gardens, bakes bread, cooks, and studies American history, ancient civilizations of the world, the Hebrew Bible and the Saint John’s Bible. He places no limit on new adventures. For more info, please see: https://www.sequoiahousebooks.com

 

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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.