David Wind Answers The Question

First of all, know that I am a writer, not a regular blogger. Just like any other person in any profession, writers come in different sizes, shapes, and genres.

There are bloggers, journalists, biographers, how-to-writers, Indie writers, Traditional writers, non-fiction authors, and novelists, and even within the writer categories, there are untold sub-categories.

Novelists write in hundreds of genres; non-fiction writers also have hundreds of genres to choose from… I could go on and on, but let’s stop here for now.

There is one thing that I believe crosses every category, every genre, and every writer: ‘The Question’.

What is ‘the question’? Well, obviously, it must be the most burning issue ever, if it affects all writers, right? Well, maybe. Here are two versions of the question: Where do you get your ideas from? Where did you get your idea for this book from?

While there is usually a generic answer most of us use—unless there was an earth-shattering and mind-blowing epiphany—that goes something like…

”I watch people and as I observe them going about their lives, questions [a]rise in my mind and soon I find myself creating a story around that particular situation.”

I believe what I’ve just told you is absolutely true, for the most part. But it’s just outside of ‘the most part’, where the real answers lay. Just the mention of my new novel brings the question out immediately. “Why write a novel based on a song, and, really, who does that?”

So, before you have a chance to ask me that question, let me answer it. I first heard Harry Chapin in the early seventies—’72/’73— on the radio, and I  became a fan.

I never missed a Harry Chapin performance at Alice Tully Hall, and listening and watching him perform, was like having a friend playing guitar and singing in my living room.

I think if you ask any fan, you’ll get a similar response. “Harry wasn’t just a singer, he was a friend. Somehow, Harry Chapin crossed an invisible barrier and achieved what few do. And for me, the aspiring writer, he spoke to me as a storyteller even more than a singer.

Let’s fast forward to one of his concerts, where he performed ‘A Better Place To Be’. The first time I heard that song was my epiphany, so to speak. The song created a question in my mind: Who was the man he was singing about? What had happened to him, to create the situation the song detailed? Oh, yeah, I’ve been carrying the germ of an idea around in my head for far too many years.

In the time between then and now, I’ve had three children and written and published thirty-nine novels. A Better Place To Be, released December 1, of this year, will be my fortieth—it is also the first novel of this type I’ve written.

What pushed you to finally write A Better Place To Be, comes the question again.

I have no choice but to answer in the arena of brutal honesty. The death of my son, Zach, this past January, pushed me to write the book. There is nothing like the loss of a child to make one examine one’s own life. And this was no exception.

Perhaps it was coincidental, but a few months earlier, I had begun to once again think about the song. And then, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, shortly after Zach’s passing, I heard the song on the radio as I was driving. By the time A Better Place To Be, finished on Classic Vinyl, I couldn’t help but think of my son, and I realized that my life was moving forward even if I wasn’t, and even if I didn’t want it to.

How much time did I have left to get to those things I wanted to accomplish? That’s an unanswerable question because no one knows the future. So, a week or so later, I sat down and started A Better Place To Be.

I wasn’t sure about what I was doing, or how to go about creating the backstory to a song. As far as I knew, writing a book based on a song had only been done for children’s books.

Even the great David Bowie once tried to create a play based on his song, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and it did not reach fruition. If he couldn’t, what made me think I could do something similar?

What I did was to ignore everything and just write. While I feared this would turn into a project about my son, that fear never materialized because Harry Chapin didn’t write about my son; instead, it grew into a story about a man who lost everything and who had to learn how to not only survive but find A Better Place To Be.

The final four chapters of the book is the song. The twenty-six chapters preceding the final four, make up the backstory.

Because I believe Harry Chapin was a special person, and one who far exceeded the title of ‘entertainer’, I have decided to donate a portion of my royalties to WhyHunger, the organization Harry created to end world hunger.

And that is the answer to, THE QUESTION.

About David Wind 

David Wind has published thirty-nine novels, including science fiction & Fantasy, mystery, thriller, noir, and suspense novels. He lives and writes in Boynton Beach, Florida, and shares his home with his wife, Bonnie, and dog Alfie, a sub-standard poodle (email David for an explanation).

His newest novel is A Better Place To Be based on the Harry Chapin song of the same name. Not his usual genre, this is a story of love, loss and facing to the worst life can throw at you and still be standing.

Born To Magic, the first book of his sci-fi fantasy series, Tales Of Nevaeh, was released in 2015. All three books have reached into the Amazon Top 100 bestseller rankings in several categories including Young Adult. Both the second book of the series, The Dark Masters, and the third Book, TRINITY: The Battle For Nevaeh, have all received high praise.

David’s fantasy, Queen Of Knights, was a #2 bestseller on the Amazon bestseller lists for historical fantasy and medieval fantasy, and his sci-fi paranormal, Infinity’s Doorway, has received wide acclaim.

When David formally left traditional publishing to become an independently published writer, he published Angels In Mourning, his ‘homage’ to the old time private detective books of the 50’s and the 60’s. Angels is a modern day take on the old style hard-boiled detective. In April of that year, Angels In Mourning won the Amazon.com Book of the Month Reader’s Choice Award.

His previous suspense thrillers are The Hyte Maneuverv, (a Literary Guild alternate selection); The Sokova Convention and The Morrissey Manifest. David’s Mystery suspense novels include: And Down Will Come Baby, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, and Out of The Shadows.

Connect with David: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Bookbub | Amazon | Goodreads

About the Book

Title: A Better Place To Be Based on the Harry Chapin Song by David Wind
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
166 pages

Synopsis

A story about life, though perhaps not the one you would choose to live. 

inspired by the characters from the Harry Chapin song of the same name, ‘A Better Place To Be’ is a story of love, loss, and the ability to overcome the worst that life can throw at someone and come out the other side.

The Reviews

David Wind has written a 5 Star story about a wonderful couple – so happy and in love – and then surprises us with one of life’s heaviest blows. The reader indeed becomes “John Edghes” as John endures one of the cruelest fates that life can impose – tremendous loss, resulting in utter despair, loneliness, and addiction.

He descends into an addiction as a means to cover up the horror of it all. John goes down that black hole (amazing how deep that hole can get) and he must make a decision to climb out in order to survive or go further down into that bottomless pit. After all, life goes on, with or without you.
John faces seemingly endless challenges as he makes his way back into life.

John eventually learns he is not the only lonely person in the world. People need people and life does indeed go on.

This is a story about life. A message for us all. The cold reality that life does end and the living must go on living. – Amazon Reviewer

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