Lolly Winston’s Good Grief was one book that greatly influenced the writing of my novel. Lolly’s a tremendous writer and what I loved about that book is how it slowly unraveled, like peeling an onion, and along the way you got a much deeper understanding of the relationship between this woman and her now deceased husband.
Whether it’s a divorce, a death, a lay-off, or a natural disaster, any event that disconnects you from what appears to be reality has a profound impact. I loved how Lolly showed this impact versus telling us that this death made this woman a bit crazy.
I tried to do the same with Chuck, the protagonist of my novel. I wrote My Year as a Clown in first person, present tense to give the reader that immediate sense of happening, the way one feels in the front car of a rollercoaster. First person also allows the writer to play with what we call the unreliable narrator – we’re hearing this from Chuck direct and what he says and what he thinks isn’t always what’s really happening. Although this is challenging for a writer to pull-off, when done well, it is highly effective in misdirecting the reader.
Of course at some point you need to set the record straight and that’s not easily done in first person, but through letters, emails and conversation, you can create that sense of: this guy isn’t seeing this for what’s really going down.
I set out to write an honest book, not a novel that was factually correct. It’s not a memoir, but of course some of the situations may have happened in some fashion. A novelist must stay consistent with emotional truths, but facts are irrelevant.
A lot of novels about relationships are categorized as Chick-Lit, since most are written by women, there really is no such thing as Guy-Lit or as some have crassly dubbed it: Dick-Lit. A great book about relationships is worthy of more than a cheap, commercial catch-phrase regardless of whether it’s written by a guy or gal.
I didn’t write My Year as a Clown to fit into any genre or marketing classification, I simply set out to write an honest story that was entertaining, and yet hopefully provoked thought about relationships as well as how men and women often see things differently.
Thanks so much for taking allowing me to reach out to your readers and talk about My Year as a Clown.
My Year As a Clown Blog Tour Information:
About the Author:
Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
With My Year as a Clown, Williams introduces us to Chuck Morgan, a new kind of male hero—imperfect and uncertain—fumbling his way forward in the aftermath of the abrupt collapse his 20-year marriage.
Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex.
Edited by Joy Johannessen (Alice Sebold, Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom), My Year As a Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.
His latest book is My Year As A Clown.
Connect & Socialize with Robert!
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About the Book:
Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
With My Year as a Clown, Williams introduces us to Chuck Morgan, a new kind of male hero—imperfect and uncertain—fumbling his way forward in the aftermath of the abrupt collapse his 20-year marriage.
Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex.
Edited by Joy Johannessen (Alice Sebold, Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom), My Year As a Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.
Purchase your copy at AMAZON
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