Pump Up Your Book Chats with Barry Pollack: ‘Forty Eight X: The Lemuria Project’

Barry Pollack, who still works in the frontline trenches of medicine as an ER doctor, has a creative life that spans a variety of venues.  After a master’s degree in film from Stanford and a fellowship at the American Film Institute, he became a prize winning documentary filmmaker and went on to write and direct two feature films,  several prime-time television dramas, and a series of newspaper columns.  His debut novel, FORTY-EIGHT X: The Lemuria Project, was released by Medallion Press in December 2009.  You can learn more about Pollack’s career and his writing on his website: www.barrypollack.net.

Thank you for this interview, Barry.  Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?  Do you remember your first published piece?

I can’t remember not writing.  My first ventures were poetry.  I actually tried writing several novels while in college.  I could never reach novel  length.  I said all I had to say in sixty to eighty pages – long short stories.  My first “paid” and “published” piece was probably a medical column I wrote for a local newspaper.  But I had written several screenplays in my early twenties.  Two were produced motion pictures.  Many more still languish on my bookshelves.  And then, after medical school, I returned to writing for television – for 80’s television series like Trapper John, M.D. and Hotel.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

The most frustrating aspect of being a published author is the long delay time between completion of a book, the publisher’s acceptance, and final publication.  I am always worried that the topical aspects of my work will become passe by the time publication rolls around.  My reward, on the other hand, has been to discover that there are many small presses, independent publishers with vision and verve, who get personally involved with their authors and are perhaps more interested than the large presses in having them succeed.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life?  Do you have support?

I have been happily married for 38 years.  My kids are grown and out of the house.  And, until I make the bestseller lists, I will continue at my “bread and butter” job as an emergency physician.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?  Where do you like to vacation?  Can you tell us briefly about this?

I walk the dog, go to a movie, ride my motorcycle, and travel.  I have been to China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, England, Ireland, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Sicily, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Peru.  And yet, when I look at the map of the world with pins stuck in places I’ve visited, I realize I have barely been anywhere.  It’s a big world.  So, you ask, where I would like to vacation?  A place I have never been.

Forty-eight X by Barry Pollack (click on cover to purchase)

If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?

Paris.  It’s a visual feast.

Who is your biggest fan?

Probably my wife.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

My office, surrounded by books with a view of trees and passersby.

Do you have any pets?

Max, a King Charles.

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

My wife knows all my secrets.

What’s on your to do list today?

Try to stop answering bloggers questions and get some writing done.

Now I’ve got a couple of fun questions for you.  If Tom Hanks, in the movie Cast Away, unearthed a copy of your book, how would that help him find a way off the island?

Rip the pages out and see which way the wind blows.  Get home and buy another copy of my book.

You have a chance to appear on the hit talent show for authors, American Book Idol, with judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara Dioguardi and the newest addition, Ellen DeGeneres, to determine whether your book will make it to Hollywood and become a big screenplay where you’d make millions of dollars.  What would impress them more – your book cover, an excerpt or your author photo – and why?

An excerpt.  It’s the writing that counts.

You just got word that your book has received the 2010 NY Times Bestselling Book Award and you have to attend the ceremony to give an acceptance speech.  Anyone who’s anyone will be there and it’s your shot for stardom.  What would you say and who would you thank?

I would thank my wife for keeping me well fed, well sexed, and grounded.  And my parents, who gave me thinking genes as opposed to athletic ones, so that my joys in life became reading and writing as opposed to jumping and throwing.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion from March through May via a virtual book tour.  Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

No one’s paying my way to travel anywhere.

Thank you for this interview, Barry. Good luck on your virtual book tour!