Jerald L. Hanson

 

"Life is to enjoy," says Jerry Hanson, who was raised on a dairy farm in Illinois. Reaching his 60th birthday, he still hasn't decided what his life's work will be. Jerry spent 4 years in the US Air Force with a tour in Viet Nam and retired from the banking business with a list of things he wanted to experience. Jerry has since studied Anthropology at Northern Illinois University, attended the J.B. Hunt truck driving school and been trained as a Harley Davidson mechanic. "Writing a novel has not only been a wonderful experience but is an opportunity to give something to current and future generations."

 

 

Pageonelit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

Jerald L. Hanson: I grew up on a dairy farm near Yorkville, Illinois and our entertainment, in the evening when the chores were done, was reading or singing. My father and mother were both readers and my sister and I followed their example. Good books were always available to us. I adored my father. He had a most wonderful tenor voice and my mother played the piano. My fondest memories of childhood are of my family gathered around the piano singing Stephen Foster songs. The only author that I recall specifically, from my adolescent years, is Jack London. I read The Call of the Wild several times and White Fang at least once.

 

Pageonelit.com: Tell us about your book WILLIAM FORTH AND BACK? Where did these characters come from?

Jerald L. Hanson: William Forth and Back is the story of William, a child prodigy who chooses to become an entertainer. It’s about where he came from and where he is going with his life and it is about Robert Anderson. Robert's children are very important to him and he devises a plan to share a secret with them, which he does in the final chapter, with William’s assistance.

The character of Robert Anderson was the one that I had in mind from the beginning. Initially I chose the baby boom generation as my audience and Robert represents the aging baby boomer. The character William was created as I was listening to a Doyle Dykes recording and wondering how on earth he produced the music that I was hearing. I knew the direction that I was going and created the other characters as I wrote.

 

Pageonelit.com: Let's talk about the creative process. When you started WILLIAM FORTH AND BACK, did you outline the plot first? Or did it develop as you wrote?

Jerald L. Hanson: I didn’t use a formal outline. My method was to list the chapter titles in sequence, which created the flow or order of the book. The original nine chapter titles eventually grew to thirteen. I knew where I wanted to go with the story but needed a framework. Each chapter was to accomplish a specific goal and the chapter content was developed as I wrote. I kept a printout of a calendar with important dates noted as the book progressed. The calendar proved to be an invaluable tool in writing William, Forth and Back and I have used it in writing Angela as well.

 

 

Pageonelit.com: What was the most challenging aspect of writing WILLIAM FORTH AND BACK?

Jerald L. Hanson: The beauty of literature is in the readers imagination. The challenge for me as the author has been to convey the essential elements of the picture while allowing the reader’s imagination to fill in the nonessential details. This will be a challenge for me in all of my writing. Beauty is in the mind of the reader.

 

Pageonelit.com: What should readers come away with after reading WILLIAM FORTH AND BACK?

Jerald L. Hanson: Most of all I want the reader to be entertained. Hopefully the outcome will be a surprise and the limits of the readers imagination will have expanded. I want the reader to think about William the next time they hear a child prodigy perform.

 

Pageonelit.com: Being an experienced published author - What advice can you offer for those writers who are working on their first book?

Jerald L. Hanson: Get your ideas on paper without worrying about being perfect. I think some good ideas were lost as I fought with the distraction of punctuation and spelling. The warts and blemishes can be dealt with later. Have someone else, a friend, a teacher, even the editor of the local paper do the editing. Most will be flattered that you asked. You have written the book, you know what it says and you will not see the errors again and again. Unless you are very fortunate, finding a publisher interested in publishing your first book will be more difficult than writing it. I would highly recommend going through a company that offers a publishing service. They will get the book in print for you and take care of the copyright and ISBN number. I was quite pleased with Trafford Publishing and know that there are other companies that provide a similar service.

 

Pageonelit.com: What has been your feedback from readers? What do they say to you about their interpretations of WILLIAM FORTH AND BACK?

Jerald L. Hanson: All of the feedback has been positive so far. The ones that pleased me the most were from two proofreaders who said that they were drawn into the story and finished it the first time without making any notes. There were, of course, corrections to be made.

I’ve received several E-mail comments and interestingly all mentioned the characters personalities. They either identified easily with the characters, or liked them, or felt comfortable with them. One young lady from Tennessee said that she loved the book and wanted to play the part of Jenine Johnson when William, Forth and Back is made into a movie.

 

Pageonelit.com: Who are your favorite writers and why?

Jerald L. Hanson: Several years ago, I purchased The Pelican Brief while waiting to board an airplane for a long flight. I have been a John Grisham fan ever since. Prior to that I read mostly biographies of successful people and an occasional inspirational book such as The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. I am waiting for Grisham’s next book.

 

Pageonelit.com: What's next?

Jerald L. Hanson: I am working on another novel "Angela" that should be in print early next year and will follow that with a love story. I also have plans for a series of whimsical children’s books based on the pets that my sister and I had while growing up on the farm.

 

Pageonelit.com:What was the last book you read?

Jerald L. Hanson: I had Barns and Noble send me "The Summons" by John Grisham as soon as it was available. I enjoyed the moral dilemma and the way he dealt with it.

 

Pageonelit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing.

Jerald L. Hanson: I’m a radio amateur, a restorer of old vehicles and I try to see some of our beautiful country by motorcycle each summer. I think the common thread, the thing that makes hobbies enjoyable is the people I meet and the places I see. I’ve always had hobbies, many of them appropriate to my age at the time. Model railroading, sports car racing and flying are hobbies that I enjoyed when I was younger. I think the hobbies have given me a broader knowledge base from which to create.