Tag Team Interview Part II: Brad Whittington & Lisa Samson

BradW: Yessum. So, you wrote 10 novels, then changed directions. Since that change, you have released 6 novels. How big is the difference in what you do and how you do it between the Old Lisa and the New Lisa?

LisaS: Oh gosh! Let's see. The new stuff is just the way I am. The voice, the humor, the irreverent thoughts. Basically, the biggest difference is that now I write the way "it naturally comes out." Before I told stories, but there wasn't a whole lot of "me" there. I also like the way I can be more contemporary with my imagery. After awhile, comparing everything to nature things gets a little old.

BradW: Ha!

LisaS: I know, right? Tell that to a poet and they'd kill you!

BradW: I can buy that about the new stuff. Sounds like you, all right. So, how does this difference play out in how you actually work?

LisaS: Oh, it's still like pulling teeth. They're just my own teeth now.

BradW: Ha! Dang, that was funny. The folks in the other room are going to start banging on the wall any second if I don't stop laughing so loud.

LisaS: Glad to be of service! The difference is that really is a little more costly emotionally.

BradW: Exactly.

LisaS: Oh wait, it's my turn to ask a question. What's your next project? And when will it release?

BradW: The last Fred book will release in January 2005, followed by the first Matt Cooper novel in May 2005.

LisaS: Busy spring for you. Do they do any signings or traveling plans for you? (I've always gotten zippo in that department!)

BradW: Zippo for me, too. My next project is a sequel to the Matt Cooper novel. Right now all I have is a very high-level treatment done by my co-author, Phil Little. Other than that, I'm doing tons of research on terrorism, Palestinians, fourth generation warfare, suicide bombers, cryptography, and other fun subjects. Right now I'm reading a fascinating book on Al-Qaeda by Jason Burke. And the newspapers are full of stuff that qualifies as research for a Matt Cooper novel.

LisaS: That's true. I've been reading it, and even a pacifist like me finds it fascinating!

BradW: And the papers in Asia have lots of stuff not in the US papers.

LisaS: That doesn't surprise me.

BradW: I've been reading Taiwan and Singapore newspapers for the past 2 weeks. Huge feature articles on Islamic extremist experts and fringe Al-Qaeda cells in Malaysia.

LisaS: Do all your travels help you as a novelist?

BradW: Now that I'm writing the Cooper stories, just about everything is fodder! On the subject of motivation and perseverance, do you know of any author who is not plagued by self-doubt?

LisaS: No. I really don't.

BradW: Me, too, neither.

LisaS: We need that angst to keep going, I think.

BradW: So, all aspiring writers should take note accordingly. Get over it. It's part of the landscape. Deal with it.

LisaS: Which stinks. But there you have it.

BradW: Yep. Exactly. Life's a beach. And then the tide goes out.

LisaS: What do you do to face your demons of doubt? (Thought I'd slip into Ted Dekker language since he's become a theme of our interview.)

BradW: You be too funny.

LisaS: Me know. I find that in the end, you just have to write through it.

BradW: Yes, I agree. The best way to kill the demons of doubt is to sit down and start writing.

LisaS: Absolutely. You've got a deadline, and that's just it. There are no other options. In that way, it's so much easier being under contract. You have to let go sooner or later.

BradW: After 4 novels, I haven't yet hit a spot of doubt that writing won't cure. But I'm not as far along in the game as you are. You may have a different perspective.

LisaS: I'm still with you. Probably because I have to be. I'm walking the fine line of being an artist and a professional. At some point you have to relinquish the perfectionism. And at some point I have to say in part that I'm doing it for the money. I do have a husband in seminary now. That's put an entirely different spin on things. I'm trying not to sell out while still maintaining a career attitude. I honestly don't know if it's possible. But for a few years, I'm willing to try.

BradW: Oh, I totally do it for the money. However, it's something I love to do, and I'd be writing even if I had no contract, just different stuff. I'd be blogging.

LisaS: I love to blog!

BradW: I should say so. You have how many blogs now? 387?

LisaS: Oh, I have 3.

BradW: Sure, sure. Deny it!

LisaS: I know. It's a sickness.

BradW: I've always written. I can't stop myself. So I may as well get paid for it.

LisaS: I agree. If you could write any book you wanted, on any topic, what would it be about?

BradW: Any topic?

LisaS: Yep. Sky's the limit.

BradW: See, it's not the topic; it's the style, tone, voice. If I could write any novel, it would be a Robertson Davies novel. Topic wouldn't matter. But I'm not that good.

LisaS: Gee thanks for highlighting my ignorance, Bradford. Tell me about him.

BradW: Well, I'm into obscure things. I discovered Davies in a bargain rack, not as a result of being a member of some austere literary cognoscenti. You must not shop the same bargain racks I do. You know Graham Greene?

LisaS: Yes. Loved his play, "Travels with my Aunt."

BradW: Robertson Davies is a Canadian author who is as good as Greene, only not so depressing. Brilliant, articulate, clever, well read, accessible.

LisaS: I need to check him out. I'm not in a "depressing" reading mode right now. Accessible. See that is key for me, as a reader and a writer. I think you can be excellent AND accessible.

BradW: You should start with the Salterton Trilogy.

LisaS: Is he still living?

BradW: Davies died in 95 at age 82. He was a newspaper editor for some time. Lived in Toronto and loved the city. Into art, literature, music.

LisaS: I'll definitely check that out.

BradW: You have published 16 novels so far. Yet you recently announced you're considering an MFA. Many people would think that you have arrived at this point in your career. What prompted this thought and what do you hope to see come of it?

To be continued. . .