The Heart of Violence: Stephen Singular

The Heart of Violence: Stephen Singular

Today’s blog post is an interview with one of our authors, Stephen Singular, who has just released his new book, The Heart of Violence.

We got the chance to talk with Stephen about his newest book and what life is like as an author.

1. What are three interesting factors about yourself?

I grew up with a father who’d been a POW in Germany in World War Two. With no intention on his part, he passed [his] trauma along to me (years before anyone was talking about PTSD). For decades, I carried his trauma around without really knowing this. In my 30s, I had no faith at all in the religion of my youth, with nothing really to believe in, and I was having a difficult time. In my late 30s, something happened I could never have imagined, something far outside my frame of reference, and I found my way into a belief system that helped me pass through that trauma and have my own life. This experience has defined and shaped the rest of my existence. 

2. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I wanted to be a professional athlete in baseball, basketball, or American football. 

Stephen Singular, author of The Heart of Violence

3. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was 23, after moving to New York City from a small town in the Midwest. I met some other writers and got interested in trying this.

4. Can you tell me about the book?

The book is about the journey of a man trying to understand the nature of his emotional reality. He has angers and fears that don’t seem to be his own, but he doesn’t know where they’ve come from. Through an extraordinary series of events that he experiences nearing 40, he develops a new understanding of what his emotions are, how they function, and how to work with them in a new way. Conventional therapy could not help him, but something much more unusual did. This opened up a whole new way of thinking about how he operated and about many things beyond him.

5. How long did it take you to write your first book?

About a year.

6. What do you think makes a good story?

One that connects people to where they really live: inside their emotions, and one that allows them to feel their own humanity and the humanity of others.

7. What inspired you to write your book?

At 69, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and felt that I may not have much longer to live. It was time to start writing a story I’d avoided for years because I didn’t think others would understand it, and it might open me up to a lot of criticism, even ridicule. As the author of more than 20 non-fiction books, many about high-profile crimes, I thought that revealing too much of myself might not be a good idea. I’m not aware of any other journalist who’s written this kind of book. I finally decided to stop worrying about all that and just write the story.

Stephen Singular’s book, The Heart of Violence

8. What did you learn when writing the book?  

That one should not be controlled by fear because it greatly limits our creativity.

9. What surprised you the most?

That I felt freer after writing my truth and sending it out. I’d wanted to do this for a long time but held back. Completing the book and seeing it published gave me a sense of fulfilment in the face of my health situation. I needed to get this done, and if writing is about anything, it’s about perseverance. 

10. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Write two pages a day, every day. Don’t judge them. Just write. In 20 days, you’ll have 40 pages, and the story will start to work on you and with you, both consciously and subconsciously. You might dream about it or wake up with a new idea, but this won’t happen unless you do the writing first. Writing is not an abstract process but a very concrete one. Put it on the page and let it go to work for you.

The Heart of Violence

Stephen Singular

£9.99

ISBN: 9781800165113

Order Today: https://pegasuspublishers.com/books/all/the-heart-of-violence