Choosing Characters: Blog Guest, Joe Barone

We have a special treat today . . . a guest author, Joe barone, whose first book has just been released from St. Martin's--and who has, without a doubt, one of the more interesting lead characters in recent memory. Joe was kind enough to "sit down" in cyberspace for an interview.

1) We'll get to your amazing characters in a minute, but first . . . I love a good "call" story . . . can you tell us about your path to publication?

I was born to write. I had a notebook of prose and poetry when I was in junior high or maybe earlier. I pursued several occupations--high school teacher, newspaper reporter/editor (briefly), and then minister--but I always wrote stories and later novels.When I retired, I wrote The Body in the Record Room, submitted it to a St. Martins Minotaur contest, and, about a year later, received a note from Senior Editor/Associate Publisher Ruth Cavin. She said my book had not won the contest but she wanted to make an offer to publish it. The Body in the Record Room was not my first novel. It was probably my tenth. It is the only one up to that time that really deserved publication. But several of the characters, most notably Harry, came from my earlier writing.

[SIDE NOTE: Ruth is a legend, and she was the first editor to give me encouragement when I was 22 years old--E.]

2) Now, can you give us a "fifty words or less" summary of your book . . . and tell us about Roy Rogers, the main character?

The book is the story of a mental patient who thinks he is the cowboy hero Roy Rogers. Set in 1954 in the Sunrise State Mental Hospital, the story opens when Roy finds a dead body in the hospital record room. Roy and his friends investigate and find that Sunrise has a dirty secret involving the sexual abuse of children. Roy himself is changed by the investigation and strengthened by the example of his heroes, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

3) I am absolutely fascinated by your main character. Why did you choose him, or shall I say how did HE choose YOU?

I grew up on the grounds of a huge state mental hospital. My father was a medical doctor who was the superintendent of the institution. I lived among mental patients, played baseball and other games with mental patients, and came to love and admire them. My Roy Rogers came out of that. That he would think he was Roy Rogers came about because one night I had a dream. There was a frantic man saying over and over again, "My name is Roy Rogers. That's who I am and that's who I'll always be." I got up, wrote the words on a Sticky Note and put them on my computer. I decided I would tell the story of why that man chose to "always be" Roy Rogers. The Body in the Record Room is the beginning of that story.

4) You are an ordained minister, but would you consider your mystery a Christian book? Where is your fiction's cross-section with your faith?

When you were raised on the grounds of a mental hospital, you have a broader definition of what it means to live in the love of Jesus Christ than some people would. I often say, God loves those we would throw away.That includes people in categories we would throw away--the mentally ill, homosexuals (whom I believe should be allowed full rights including marriage), and a lot of others.Because he was a prominent doctor in our community, my father had contact with all kinds of people. Often I admired the mental patients I came into contact with more than I did the members of the country club. That way of seeing things informs everything I am and everything I do. No, My mystery is not a Christian book. It is a mystery novel which deals with some very difficult things that Christians would surely find offensive. But it is the story of a man who finally chooses to live in the right way. He does that because of those around him who helped him, and because of the example of his heroes, two strong Christians, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. I believe story telling is the most important thing anyone can do. In the end, what you do is more important than what you say. And that's where my faith intersects my writing. I will probably always write stories of people who, in some way or another, choose to do the right thing in the face of terrible adversity. My heroes may or may not be Christians in the normal sense. They may win or they may lose, but they will have done the right thing.

5) I am (ahem) too young to remember Roy and Dale beyond a photograph. A lot of my blog readers are too. What can you tell us about them?

In the late 40's and early 50's (before the advent of TV), we went to Saturday movie matinées. We watched Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and other Western heroes, always in black and white. Color came later. These cowboy heroes were the pre-John Wayne heroes who formed our lives. But there was something different about Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans. They weren't just movie heroes. They lived strong, moral lives. They adopted troubled children. And they faced the death of several of their children including their daughter Robin who was born with Down's Syndrome in 1950 and who died in 1952. In 1950, Dale wrote the song "Happy Trails" which says, in part, that it is how you ride the trail that matters. Roy and Dale lived their lives with faith, strength and courage in the face of the most terrible thing any parent can face, the death of a child. That's what makes them real heroes to me and, finally, to my Roy Rogers.

6) Any advice for aspiring novelists?

Keep at it. It took me over 50 years. And, at least as far as I can tell, there are no tricks. There is no piece of software which will make things easy, no book which will write your book or story for you. You just have to keep writing and learning. There's no other way. As Roy and Dale would say, Happy Trails! And good luck in your writing!

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Gang, where do I even BEGIN? First of all, Joe's own background is fascinating. The character? Amazing. His call story? Incredible. His philosophy, if you will? Equally amazing. And just think, he's been visiting us here and not letting on about all of this terribly interesting stuff. I'm so glad I checked out his blog.

I intended this blog to be about amazing characters. But before I ask my usual question of you all . . . it is question number 6 that took me by surprise. Joe is retired, and it took him a while to be a published author. What am I saying? FIFTY YEARS. If that is not the most inspiring story. This is one author I would like to meet for coffee and learn a lot more about. But I will have to settle for buying his book. RUN, don't walk . . . and pick up a copy.

As to the subject of this blog today? How do you choose your characters? Or do they choose you?

I can tell you that the Roofer is based on pieces of real people, for example. But the Roofer's words came to me--"I'll break your legs" as a term of endearment. Sigh, with a dad like that? How could my characters but end up the way they did. Yes, my characters choose me, every single time.

Thoughts?