priorities have a trickle down effect. Kids not only do not grow up having an involved relationship with their parents/families, they also are without many of the stabilizing forces that kids in previous generations used to be able to rely on. There isn't much discipline in the schools anymore (teachers would get reprimanded or even sued if they tried). Neighborhoods aren't social centers anymore where kids grow up playing in the streets with the other neighborhood kids and where everyone knows everyone. People aren't even involved in church, boy scouts, or other community-building civic activities as much as in times past. The result seems to be that kids are now more reliant on their peer groups to find a sense of self-worth. We see more and more young people, teenagers and younger, committing suicide based on online bullying and I think one of those reasons is that they don't have stabilizing influences that tell them they are ok just as they are.
Provoke Not The Children critiques an American society that has become so focused on self-maximization that everything else, including the raising of children, is ignored in the pursuit.
Name one individual that you feel supported you outside of family members?
I've been very lucky to have a good friend who is also an author at a similar stage in his career: J. B. Simmons (www.jbsimmons.com). J.B. and I were casual acquaintances until we both learned of our (back then) writing aspirations. At that point, we started trading emails and comparing notes about writing every few months. Then it was every month. Then we started having dedicated working lunches devoted to talking shop (and good hamburgers). Now we, and one other writer friend Danny Murphy, meet once a month to discuss progress made, marketing strategies, online presence, etc.
For me, having someone else who is at the same stage (and as driven) as I am, is really important. Writing is a long process. I won't say it's lonely (although most people would think I'm an extrovert, I'm never happier than when I'm locked away by myself working on my projects and getting things done), but it is a long process and a lot of work for results that aren't immediate. It's easy to lose motivation and to let self-doubt creep in. His victories spur me on and remind me to keep striving.
GUEST INTERVIEW IWACA
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