We caught up with the brilliant and insightful JG Bashlow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, JG thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I have always been interested in history and science. When I decided to write a book, I knew it would involve both subjects in some way. After some thought, I settled on William the Conqueror and the interaction between gravity, time and dimensions.
My book takes place, in part, when William the Conqueror ravaged northern England in 1069 and 1070. It ended with a wholesale destruction of the North so thorough and complete that even by the standards of the day, people viewed his actions as genocide. Today, he would be a war criminal. William is fascinating for reasons beyond being a horror. He established a monarchy in England that lives on today and established feudalism as a viable system of government. Yet, while there are hundreds (if not thousands) of books about other id-driven warlords—Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, the Vikings, and Alexander the Great to name a few—William is overlooked despite his kingdom thriving for so long. Part of that is, I think, driven by how little contemporaneous historical text exists. I can’t say what the rest is.
In the last few years, we have seen some tremendously interesting breakthroughs on gravitational waves and the relationship between gravity and time. In my book, I riff off of the research. The book is not a time travel book, though it does involve time travel. Some of that is based on these recent updates.
I wanted to write a book about the dangers of authoritarianism. At a macro-level, we enjoy freedoms here in the US that aren’t that common, either currently or historically. Those freedoms exist because of inherently fragile implied agreements and are under constant pressure. I am not talking about current events but historical endangerment. The world of the main character’s present is set in a place where those rights have been lost, though he was born into and grew up on the side of the authoritarians. So, he learns about curtailed rights as he goes along. Although we don’t think of authoritarianism as an interpersonal issue, people do exert that same type of stifling control over others. So many of us feel we lack control over our lives, as though we ride on currents created by others. I have layered that in as well.
One day, I woke up and decided to start writing. Determination has never been a problem for me. When I decided to move forward, I dug in. I’ve been working on it (and started another book last year) for quite some time. It required a lot of research and help from more than one person. I’ve kept going because I think the subject matter is worthwhile. I look forward to the day it’s in print for readers to take in and enjoy!
JG, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a lawyer, I suppose I am a writer by trade, albeit not a fiction writer. I write hundreds of thousands of words per year. I like my job and my practice, which I’ve been doing for more than twenty years. I did not start writing fiction with some aim of switching careers. I just thought it would be interesting. I have a natural tendency to want to turn things inside out and learn as much as possible about them. I planted a garden when we bought our house and have spent years reading about plants to make the garden as interesting as possible. I love the gym (though I am far less interested in dieting). I dove headlong into clothing. These remain interests, but I reached a point where I had maxed out my interest in reading about them. I wanted to do something new and picked writing.
I believe people should do what interests them. It does not have to be an income driver; people can pursue their passions as a side business or even out of enjoyment. The point is, we are not here for very long, and we should take advantage of the time we have by seeking as rich an inner life as we can. If we all do this, at a minimum our conversations at dinners and parties will not be limited to work, sports, the weather, and kids.
The best advice I have ever read is old advice from Zig Ziglar: “you don’t have to be great to start but you do have to start to be great.” If I could impart one piece of related advice, it is, be fearless and accept no limits.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Perhaps it’s my background, but I think the creative / non-creative dichotomy is often a false one. Being a writer, painter, artisan, or landscape architect requires tremendous technical knowledge and skill. At the same time, fields we don’t think of as being creative, such as mathematics, physics, software development, and law routinely work to find solutions that push the bounds of the possible. No canvas is blank. Research and practice are the backbones of every craft.
For me, the best part is fulfilling the goal. When I’ve put my whole self into something, getting over the finish line is the part I like best.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
There are a lot of great books and videos on the story craft out there as well as some real stinkers. I learn best through doing using a practical framework. It took me a while to find what fits best for me, but I did ultimately find it. Having that framework will make other aspects of critiques, like writers’ groups, more fruitful.
Contact Info:
- Website: jgbashlow.com
- Instagram: jg.bashlow
- Facebook: JG Bashlow
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