Description:
My grandfather, who went by Henry his entire life, was really born Francis Michael Laskin. On occasion a few of the older relatives would call him Frank, a name he neither acknowledged nor accepted. I had never understood it as a child but... now in my early thirties, everything I knew about the man, his entire life, those that loved him and those that tried to control him all became clear and it all began with a pair of my grandfather's pants.
MB's INTERVIEW
How My Grandfather’s Pants was born?
I had already written my first book and was looking for another story. As it turns out both my wife and my mother are full believers in hand-me-downs… waste not want not. I own a pair of my Grandfather’s pants with a patched bullet hole in the leg. That part of the story is very true.
What kind of a character is Jack Laskin?
I wanted him to be the average man on the street kind of a guy. I think he reflects the “inside workings” of most men. He wants to do the right thing and he allows it to define him. Faced with the possibility of stepping across that line I think he gets the chance to see himself in a different light.
Almost every story you wrote has a family relationship. How important is family for you and for Jack Laskin?
Jack Laskin is an only child, all but smothered by his mother. She and her friends are all the family Jack knows. It shaped him as an individual as well as how he views all the women in his life. Family is a tricky arrangement. They know all your secrets, all your weaknesses and how to push your buttons the way no one else possibly can.
How different (or similar) is to invent a game in comparison with writing a story?
Games are easy… all math. If it takes red 18 spaces to get to the goal, blue, green and yellow have to move 18 spaces as well. A story takes a lot more… it has twist and turns and they have to make sense as to why they take place. You have to build interest without giving anything away. You have to get your characters to talk in a way the your reader can identify with… you want to steer the conversation in such a way that your reader learns everything your main character knows so they are in the dark as much as he is. If your reader figures it out first they will lose interest and quit right there and then… worse yet they will probably never pick up one of my books again.
What do you think about that a good book, regardless its genre, must send a message?
I think that a book’s only obligation is to entertain. If it imparts information while entertaining so much the better but a message? I don’t need anyone to tell me how to think, right from wrong or what constitutes good from evil or who stands in God’s grace and who doesn’t. I am the very last person to tell anyone how they should live or conduct their life. I don’t think anyone wants to buy a book and find out it was written by their mother and asks if you’re wearing clean underwear.
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About the author:
The first thing I can remember writing was for her. For the life of me I can't remember what it was about... something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me shortly after that. I spent a good number of years after inventing games and prototypes for a variety of ideas before I got back to writing.
It wasn't a deliberate conscious thought, it was more of a stepping stone. My wife and I had joined a dream interpret group and we were encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. "Be as detailed as you can," we were told.
I was thrilled. If there is one thing I enjoy it's making people believe me and I like to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an out right lie mine you, just a little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn't be sure if it were true or not. When I write, I always write with the effort of "it could happen" very much in mind and nothing, I guarantee you, nothing, makes me happier.
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