Author Interview: Lisa Samson & Brad Whittington, Part I

Lisa's Biography

Simply put, I'm the 40-year-old wife of Will and mother of three kids, 14, 9 and 7. I am a Baltimore native which is why so many of my novels are set, or partially set, in Maryland. I do love my town!I began writing about ten years ago and now, 16 books later, I feel like I'm just beginning to learn what it really means to be a true novelist. Just. Not that I have arrived, but here's hoping, right?

Brad's Biography

Brad Whittington was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on James Taylor's eighth birthday and Jack Kerouac's thirty-fourth birthday and is old enough to know better. He lives in Hawaii with The Woman. Previously he has been known to inhabit Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado, annoying people as a janitor, math teacher, field hand, computer programmer, brickyard worker, editor, resident Gentile in a Conservative synagogue, IT director, weed-cutter, and in a number of influential positions in other less notable professions.


Tag Team Interview
11/2005

Christy Award winners Lisa Samson and Brad Whittington take a break from their absurd schedules to interrogate each other about writing and publishing. Through the beauty of the Internet, they chat across 13 time zones, Lisa in her Lexington, KY home and Brad in a hotel room in Singapore.

LisaS: Brad, you won the Christy for best first novel. The book: “Welcome to Fred,” which I loved by the way. Overall, was this a positive happening both personally and professionally, or negative or, nyeh?

BradW: Well now, give me a break! How could winning an award the first time out not be positive? I was amped up for days. However, that was pretty much the extent of the value of the thing, the ego boost. And the nice wooden plaque.

LisaS: And the photo op with Ted Dekker.

BradW: Oh yeah, I forgot that part.

LisaS: LOL!

BradW: The funny thing was, I was so freaked out that I completely ignored him that night. I didn't expect to win so it took me by surprise. The next day I ran into him on the show floor and apologized for ignoring him. He looked at me funny and said, "No problem." I don't think he knew who I was. So, you see how far that award thing carried me. Ha! Otherwise, regarding sales or increased marketing, there was no effect. So, since you bring it up, you won a Christy the same night. What has your experience been in regard to it?

LisaS: About the same, only I didn't diss Ted Dekker like you did.

BradW: Ha! Some of us have more nerve than others. Or less of a clue.

LisaS: Actually, it was a nice little piece of affirmation for me. I'd been writing 11 years at the time and never saw one award. I needed that little pick-me-up to be sure. And Warner put out a mass-market version of the book, which was really cool. I don't think it's made me any more popular though. But I'm still glad they're doing it.

BradW: Well deserved, I might add. Although I still say "The Living End" should have been the winner.

LisaS: Oh I agree! The Living End is my favorite of the books I've written.

BradW: We agree on that one! I had to wear sunglasses on the bus when reading it so the tough guys wouldn't see me crying.

LisaS: LOL, I love it! I loved Welcome to Fred. I've loved all the books in your Fred, Texas series. How much of the book is autobiographical? I've always wanted to ask that, but keep forgetting.

BradW: Fred is what I call "almost true." The timeline and geography echo my life, as does the family structure and many of the attitudes.

LisaS: It really rings "true" like a novel should.

BradW: However, the characters and events themselves are largely invented. I didn't rescue any homeless ladies or confront any whacked out Vietnam vets in a tunnel.

LisaS: Good thing! But I'm sure the thoughts of being a preacher's kid were spot on, right?

BradW: I think the PK thoughts pretty much nail it. Also, it was while writing Welcome to Fred that I got the best advice I've ever had on writing. A Texas buddy I call "The Outlaw" (who is not a writer) read the first draft and complained that the confrontation between Mark and his dad at the end wasn't challenging enough. He thought Mark should really tear into his dad about the hypocrisy of the "Elder" incident. I said, "That's not in Mark's character to do that." He answered, "No, it's not in *Brad's* character to do it, but it might be in Mark's." That's when I realized I was restricting my character, making him too much like me and not letting him take the story where it should go, not only for the character himself but also for the reader.

A great lesson for any writer. Let go of the control of the characters and let them develop, even if where they go makes you uncomfortable. I rewrote the scene and it ended up twice as long and four times as good because of his advice.

LisaS: I know! It's hard not to put our own limitations on our characters isn't it? Another thing is, our characters don’t have to be role models.

BradW: True, true.

LisaS: I really pride myself on not being petty, and I absolutely can't make a character petty. Now, evil I can do! In Tiger Lillie, I was so shocked at how easily Rawlins, the scumbag brother-in-law, came to light.

BradW: Rawlins was one nasty dude.

LisaS: What a creep!

BradW: The thing about Rawlins is that you just love to hate him.

LisaS: Which, to be honest, is an easy thing to achieve. I wanted to make him more complex, but he was a metaphor for legalism and bondage, and there's nothing good about that.

BradW: Exactly! That was exactly my struggle with Deacon Fry in Living with Fred. Fry is also eaten up with legalism. But I didn't want to turn him into a caricature.

LisaS: It's tough when you're dealing with extreme behavior, isn't it?

BradW: Yes, it was very difficult. I worked hard to make his logic internally consistent, so that from his perspective what he did made sense. I wanted a legalistic person to follow his motivations and say, “Makes sense to me!”

LisaS: We don't want to write caricatures, but some people really ARE that way. Or at least that's all they consistently portray. Writing from 1st person makes it hard to see that inner part of the other characters. That's my challenge.

BradW: Which brings us to my next question. I've read your last 6 novels. They're all in 1st person. Why is that? Do you think that will change? Why or why not?

LisaS: I don't think that will change. And here's why. I'm trying to get my reader as "close in" as possible. It isn't enough for me that they relate; I want them to actually be inside that character, having the experiences, almost thinking the same thoughts. I don't think I could ever even attempt to achieve that with third person.

BradW: You are right. It's not as easy to be intimate in 3rd person.

LisaS: Not even close. And you always have to do things like "He thought" etc. for clarification. I can just throw thoughts and stuff out there without having to explain it. Takes out what I call that "middle layer."

BradW: Eliminate the middleman!

LisaS: So, are you glad you got your start in the CBA?

BradW:

To be honest, my getting published was a complete fluke. Some people I know
would call it a "God thing." Me, I see it like winning the lottery. Only without
buying a ticket. I wasn't trying to get published at the time. I had tried 10
years earlier and gave up. Then Robin Hardy, who evidently never gives up on a
lost cause, surfaced a decade later telling me she found somebody interested in
my manuscript. That somebody was Gary Terashita at Broadman & Holman and 5
months later I had a contract.

LisaS: I'm with you. There are times the strictures seem not worth it. But other times I realize there's a lot of work to be done for the arts in Evangelicalism, and somebody's got to be there to lend a hand.

BradW: I suppose so.

LisaS: And now you have three books out. That's got to feel pretty good, eh?

BradW: Yes, it does. It feels great, now that you mention it. The good thing about it is, I probably would never have been published if it were not for CBA. The bad thing is I don't think I fit in here. I'm not on a mission and I don't have a "calling." I'm just a storyteller. In CBA circles that's not enough for many people. If your only ambition is simply to tell a good story, you're seen as letting down the team. Or not being spiritual enough. Or whatever.

LisaS: I agree. I feel called to be the best novelist I can be, not win souls per se. For some, that's almost heresy. But isn't excellence the best witness? I see it that way. But then, I'm not exactly "overt."

BradW: I’m further out on the fringe. I don’t feel called. Claiming writing as a calling is not how I would characterize my motivations. This is why I feel I’m out of place in CBA. I do it because I’m an incurable storyteller. The thing is, stories of redemption are the most powerful stories of all. So that's what I tell.

LisaS: Amen to that, brother Brad!

To be continued...