GIVEAWAY AND INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR STEVEN HANER,”THE PICTURE”….

MY BOOK ADDICTION AND MORE PROUDLY PRESENTS….

STEVEN HANER…..

WELCOME STEVEN!

Good morning Steven and welcome to My Book Addiction and More!

 MBA&M: Please tell our readers a few tidbits about Steven Haner?

STEVEN: I enjoy creating things, a love I first discovered while drawing as a kid. In college I tried to develop the gift, but instead drifted away from art and gravitated toward a more three-dimensional arena; the theater. Creating stage designs, props, and characters attracted my attention (not to mention that zany cast of characters in the department). But when I married and the children started arriving, more practical concerns hit. I worked my way up the ladder (literally), creating and building on a more permanent stage in the field of construction & remodeling.

MBA&M: What made you decide to write “THE PICTURE”?

STEVEN: The original idea for The Picture was conceived over twenty years ago when horror and wonder visited my sister and her husband. After passing through the difficulties of unexpected medical delays, Lisa and Ray were finally anticipating the birth of their first child, a boy named Joey. But something went terribly wrong— Joey died in the womb at the end of term. They were unprepared and found no explanation for why. Yet, with encouragement from the doctors, they made the choice to move forward and try again. Within the year, Lisa gave birth to premature, triplet boys. Michael, Ryan, and Nicholas graduated from high-school in 2008. The dichotomy of feelings created by this hammered me for years. Were ‘reason and rhyme’ players in these events? Or was it simply a ‘quirk of fate’? Though I looked for and found no answer in reason, it was rhyme that helped me tell the tale, and a beautiful story began to unfold. Against the blackened background of overwhelming disappointment, an unbelievable gift was revealed. One of the key influences that moved me toward the work of writing The Picture came through a book called Dreaming With God, by Bill Johnson. The most important thing I gleaned from the book came through the examples set by those who woke up from their dreaming and started working. Fulfilling real dreams requires a lot of work—it’s nothing like winning the lottery.

MBA&M: Have you always wanted to be an author?

 STEVEN: Not at all. At 54 I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Writing The Picture felt like something I was called to do—it was a story that wanted to be told and it picked me.

MBA&M: If you were not an author, what would you be doing now?

STEVEN: I guess that if I hadn’t written The Picture, I would have completed more of the items on my wife’s “Honey-Do List”.

MBA&M: How much research went into writing “THE PICTURE”?

STEVEN: Well, the re-search led me back to the traumas of my own childhood, things that are better left unspoken. The feelings I felt and the brokenness they created made their way into the main character of the story. I have no experience as a little girl, but so many emotions are transferable. My wife and my editor helped me fill in some of the feminine details.

 MB&AM: What challenges did you encounter while writing “THE PICTURE”?

 STEVEN: I discovered I’m a lousy writer, but a good rewriter. While reading the telling confessions of some very notable writers, I discovered that it’s a common malady of the craft.

MBA&M: Do you have any regrets in your writing career?

Steven: Well, there’s no career yet, I need to keep my day job for now. But I am working on a treatment for the screen, placing this story about 8 year-old Kaitlyn at the center of a much larger one, as 52 year-old Kaitlyn obsesses over her need to reconcile with her father, lost to Alzheimer’s dementia. The story of The Picture serves as the only memory that still connects them, though her father has no idea who this ‘nice young lady’ is that visits him to encourage with a simple art therapy exercise. The film would take us through one of a hundred ‘first-time’ visits where the memory is retold again…for ‘the very first time’. The original idea to enlarge the story came out of a conversation I had with my wife during a surgery-related stint of unemployment. At the end of 9 months without a job, an opportunity finally presented itself to me without solicitation…as the head of maintenance at an Assisted Living Facility. For the past 16+ months, I have acquired, through daily, personal encounters, an understanding of the elderly and the humorous to heartbreaking characteristics of dementia. It seems providential.

MBA&M: Who is your greatest hero and why?

 STEVEN: Jesus. There’s no one quite like Him.

MBA&M: Where can our readers find you and where is “THE PICTURE” available?

STEVEN: The paperback is available at www.readthepicture.com

I have a slightly revised edition in a PDF format, also available through the website. I’m not much of a Facebook guy, but anyone interested in starting a conversation about The Picture is welcome to meet me there. I would enjoy the interaction.

MBA&M: Steven, do you have anything else you would wish to add today?

STEVEN: During the more than five years I spent working on The Picture, I discovered that dreaming is much easier than doing, but what I gained and created by doing was well worth the effort.

Thank you for visiting with us and our readers today!!

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THE PICTURE

STEVEN HANER

Perfect Paperback:153 pages

Publisher:Golden Thread Publishing, Atlanta Georgia; First edition (December 3, 2010)

Language:English

ISBN-10:1604450630

ISBN-13: 978-1604450637

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***GIVEAWAY ALERT**

*Sponsored by the author*

We are offering 1 lucky commenter an e-book copy of “The Picture” by Steven Haner. Giveaway to run from today May 29 until June 4,2012.

*Remember to leave a valid email address*

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

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Thank you for spending time with us and our guest today. Please spread the word…

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“Coming soon”

Our “Thoughts” on “The Picture” by Steven Haner.

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Please come again!!