1. Q: Tell me about your new book.
How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?
“Amidst
Traffic” is a collection of interconnected short stories. Most recently it won
the International Book Awards in its category and placed as a finalist twice in
two other major independent publishing book awards.
The
stories are darker in tone (you have a woman tattooing scribbles all over her
body, a man digging a hole just to escape nightmares and people who hear voices
or see visions of the future). In it of themselves, each story is intended to
feel a little chaotic and unsettling. But as they come together, the reader can
see connections not only in themes but between storylines and characters. The
book aims to represent how chaotic and twisted life can seem when we look at it
at a microcosmic level (in the moment). But if we had the ability to step back
and look at the greater picture, there’s a sense of order and purpose that
exists beyond the chaos. Many of the stories intentionally tackle Christian
themes, but none of the stories come across as “conversion stories” or
“preachy.”
I wrote
the stories over a four-plus year span, but I didn’t get the idea of reworking
them to have all of the connections form until mid last year.
2.
Q: Who is your target audience?
It’s tough to say because the main
genre for this collection is definitely literary, so I want to appeal to a
college-type audience or readers who aren’t afraid to use stories as an
opportunity to think. But at the same time, because of the themes that drive a
lot of the stories forward, I could see Christians who consider themselves intellectual
really loving this collection.
3. Q: How did you get interested in
writing books?
I first wrote one of the stories in
this collection when I was 16 years old. Years later, I realized how terrible
it was and I practically rewrote the entire thing. I got into writing in high
school because we had to do a book report on a chosen author. I picked Stephen
King, and I was surprised by how alive his stories are and how believable his
characters are. It blew my mind that I could feel such strong emotions over
fiction, so I fell in love with the spell of it and I thought that I might give
it a shot myself. I wrote my first novel by the time I graduate high school and
then published it about a year or two later.
4. Q: What kind of research did you
do for this book?
“Amidst
Traffic” wasn’t born so much out of research as it was born out of a response
to existentialism. In college, we read a lot of contemporary literature that
revolved around existential philosophy, and I found the idea to be such a fraud.
I found it so ironic that all these brilliant authors wasted portions of their
lives to create beautifully-written novels only to reveal a message of
meaninglessness. I found that movement so self-destructive. So I wanted to
respond with a collection where meaning exists beyond the boundaries of the
pages. Meaning exists beyond the presence of a single story. Meaning exists
beyond our egotistical selves and our individual experiences. That’s really
what Amidst Traffic is about.
5. Q: What's a typical working day
like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?
I usually
write in huge chunks, just like I eat my meals. Lately, when I set myself to
write a new short story, I explode with 3,000 words almost all in one sitting. Then
I walk away. When I set my goal to finish and publish “Amidst Traffic” I could
only dedicate one day out of the week to writing, so every Tuesday night I
pushed through as much as I could and still finished the book two months ahead
of schedule. But my challenge is that I do too many things right now. I work
full time for the Army, I have a wife, a two-year-old baby and a photography
business. Plus we are moving to Chicago in a few months so writing has been
almost non-existent lately. But I’m not afraid because I know myself. I know
that once I set myself on schedule again, I’ll persevere and complete my next
novel without problems.
6. Q: What is the hardest part of
writing for you?
I really
have to be in the midst of writing to think about my story. When I walk away, I
have a hard time developing plot ideas or characters or even dialogue. Once in
a while, a bit of inspiration will appear out of nowhere while I’m not writing,
but usually I have to immerse myself and I become pretty antisocial. I don’t
really get bothered by “writer’s block” because I’m always doing something. If
I have to take a break from writing because my mind isn’t in it, I’ll find
something useful to do instead.
7. Q: What’s the best thing about
being an author?
There
really isn’t anything good about being an author other than the false allure.
We like to pretend we are these clever magicians with mystical power of words
and invention, that we can change worlds (or at least create them) … but really
we’re just delusional. Think about it. What other profession allows people to
create lies, perfect them, believe in them and convince others that they are
real. Plus we are constantly looking for attention, praise, justification of
our worth. Authors are pretty odd creatures. But we love what we do. We just
love it. So even though we are constantly seeking glamour and praise, in
reality we start this profession called writing because the desire is inside of
us and we want to express it.
8. Q: What are you working on now?
Right now
I’m working on a Christian novel called “Jump.” It’s a bit inspired by John
Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and written as a desire to explore modern
Christianity and man’s perversion of it. We have so many denominations and so
many contradictions of practice in today’s Christianity that I wanted to take a
novel’s approach to that question and create a character who would go on a
journey of faith. This novel scares me because it’s going to force me to do
some serious biblical research and soul searching and additionally it’s going
to require me to call out “false” Christianity in our modern world. And who am
I to do that? I don’t even have a seminary degree. So hopefully if this novel
turns into a Goliath, God will provide me with more than a slingshot to bring
it down.
9. Q: What advice would you give to
aspiring young writers?
Stop. Now.
While you’re ahead. Find something else. Don’t do this terrible thing called,
“Becoming an Author.” No, no, I’m kidding. I say if you want to be a writer, do
it because you have a personal desire. Do it even if you had NOBODY read
anything you wrote ever. Do it and pretend like there’s never going to be any
money or praise in it at all (which is mostly true). If you still want to write
out of internal desire and not out of some false external idea, then push
through. Learn quality writing and don’t settle for cheap sentences. Write
every sentence like you had to fight an editor for it. Don’t muddle through a
scene. And don’t be lazy. There’s nothing wrong than a lazy writer. Man, I’m
starting to sound pretty nasty right now. That’s what writing can do for you
kids!
10. Q: Do you have any favorite
authors or favorite books?
My
favorite short story author is Richard Bausch, though I haven’t read much of
his stuff in a few years. I’m trying to explore and discover as many
independent authors as possible at this time. My favorite novelist is Cormac
McCarthy. He writes so simply and yet every word he puts to paper carries such
weight and emotion and complexity. It’s an amazing experience to read his work.
11. Q: What are you most proud of
accomplishing so far in your life?
In
2008 I deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army public affairs as an Army journalist
and got to cover stories of all kinds about Soldiers working overseas to
rebuild a country in the midst of war. For that work, I received the Army
Journalist of the Year award and received a coin by Honorable Pete Geren, who
was the Secretary of the Army at the time.
Telling
the stories of Soldiers is always a very emotional and touching subject for me.
Every time I see Soldiers being welcomed home or returning to their families
after a long deployment, I feel it in my heart. I know how it is, and I feel
like I’m reconnecting with my own family, my fellow citizens every time.
To get
recognized and awarded as a journalist for telling their stories for a year is
always really touching when I think about it.
12. Q: If you were writing a book
about your life, what would the title be?
Right now I actually have a
short memoir out titled “Child, Hold Me” which revisits the loss of a baby my
wife and I experienced when we were dating in college. The book is intended to
give a male, compassionate perspective to the topic of miscarriage, pregnancy
and even abortion. It’s tough to expose your real life events so openly to the
world and publish it for people to read. I don’t think I could ever write a
full-length memoir about my life. There’s too many sins that I wouldn’t want
anyone but God to know about.
I would like to thank Michel for taking the time to do this interview. If you would like to learn more about Michel Sauret and his books, visit his official website, check out his books on Amazon, and follow him on Facebook.
Happy Readings,
Casey Sean Harmon
