Interview & Giveaway with... Hal Goodman

Today I have Hal Goodman, author of Logic of Demons, on the blog with a mini-interview and giveaway with not just one, but two books to give away.

Whas was the inspiration behind your book?

I realized last year that my imagination was slowly dying. The times I used to spend as a kid reading comic books and drawing seemed light years away and I wanted to relive a very important part of my childhood. I also happened to be betrayed by some close friends. This betrayal (along with some other issues) caused me to enter into a deep depression for several months. Writing Logic of Demons was a catharsis because it helped me vent a number of painful emotions into the characters and story. However, the novel doesn’t only consist of negative feelings. A great deal of my cherished interests, from fantasy and science fiction to international relations and politics are represented in the novel as well.

In addition, my experience as a high school history teacher at Hamilton High in Los Angeles inspired a great portion of the book. I had the privilege of teaching extremely talented and creative young people. To give you an example of the type of students I had, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to see these teenagers draw amazing anime stories or a picture of Spiderman flying through the sky. And it was easy for them, whereas it would take me a year to draw the same picture. These students reminded me what it was like to be young and some of them showed tremendous courage overcoming adversity (a lot more strength and courage than I ever had at that age). My teaching experience definitely served to open up my imagination a great deal and helped me with the novel.

As for the other aspect of my inspiration, one of the close friends who hurt me had recently turned into a deeply “religious” individual. I remember one evening he explained to me and my girlfriend that angels and demons flew around human beings, luring them into different moral directions like an ethereal compass. I even remember that in the last conversation we ever had over the phone, he quoted a bible verse in an attempt at giving me advice. I realized soon after that it was his actions, my actions, and a person’s behavior that influences the moral outcome of events, not the external embodiments or personifications of good or evil. Logic of Demons is a way for people to see a certain view of morality, which is essentially based on the choices we make that affect others, not the beliefs we have in our mind. This philosophy and my teaching experience, as well as my desire to create something, inspired me to write the novel.

How did you came to write about the supernatural genre?

Fantasy, science fiction, and the supernatural genre share one thing in common. There are really no limitations in terms of what one can create or write about. Often times in a person’s life, waking up and doing the same thing over and over again can seem mundane and even, in some cases, sap the wonder and joy out of life. But with the supernatural genre, suddenly human beings are interacting with ghosts, demons, vampires, and other creatures. Life becomes a lot more interesting when having a conversation with a zombie (or a unicorn). In addition, this type of genre gives a writer the ability to invoke a moral or even a political statement. You can comment about life through this type of genre in a way that a person standing on a podium speaking to thousands can’t.

What was your experience like with self-publishing and can you give any advice to other budding authors out there?

Well, I self published my novel because I didn’t want to wait a million years for an agent or someone to deem my work worthy of publishing. I am very pleased that the feedback from reviewers thus far (and readers) has been positive, but I wrote this novel primarily for myself. Of course, I want to have some type of success with Logic of Demons and eventually write more novels, but this endeavor was cathartic and healing experience.

As for self publishing, I would say make sure that you edit your novel appropriately since the self publisher will print anything (or almost anything) you give them. This perhaps is some of the reason that certain people state they don’t read self published novels, although I’ve been fortunate to have a great number of reviewers currently reading Logic of Demons.

Are any of your characters or their traits based on people you know?

Absolutely. One of the best things about writing a novel is that you can create characters based on people you know. This can be a tremendously healing experience, especially if there are people in your life (who you care about) who have hurt you in some way. Or, it can be a tribute to people who have helped you. Both kinds of individuals are represented in Logic of Demons. Even loved ones are sprinkled in the story and within various characters at once. I can say one thing; I would never have been able to write this novel without the support of my family. Also, I could never have thought of the plot without having been hurt by some friends.

Have you always wanted to write or did you have other aspirations growing up?

I never thought I would write a novel. I’m glad I did because now my imagination has very few limitations. Whereas before I thought that a cherished potion of my childhood was lost forever, I can now create entire worlds in my mind. One of the perks of writing a novel, in a way, is that you never truly have to “grow up” and you can still be as free and imaginative as a young person. That’s what I like most about writing.

 

Thank you for stopping by Hal.

 

Now..onto the giveaway.

 

We will be giving away two copies of Logic Of Demons to give away, one international and one UK. The contest will run until the 7pm UK time on the 1st of April. All you have to do is leave a comment with your e-mail address below to be entered and state whether you are UK or International. Winners will be drawn on the 2nd of April.

 

Rules:

 

- Must be a follower of my blog (I will be checking)

- Must leave a comment below stating e-mail address and whether international or UK