Pump Up Your Book Chats with Robert “Doc” Gowdy

Robert “Doc” Gowdy is a graduate of the University of North Texas with a Ph.D. in Literary Criticism and Theory and an emphasis on Nineteenth-Century British literature.  His specialization in literary theory is psychoanalytic criticism and theory, particularly Lacanian psychoanalysis, with further emphases on Milton and Eighteenth-Century literature.  He is currently an adjunct assistant professor at Texas Woman’s University where he teaches various literature classes.  His interest in writing is long standing, but aside from academic writing his first novel, Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy is his first foray into fiction.  Captain Bonny Morgan is based on archetypal themes and patterns from mythology, such as fairies, goddesses, and the Hero’s Journey, and based loosely on Doc Gowdy’s active duty service in the United States Marine Corps with special emphasis on the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean at the turn of the Eighteenth-Century.

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

You know, I never really wrote stories as a child.  The writing bug really hit me once I began doing my graduate work on my way to getting a Ph.D. in literature.  That was a little more than ten years ago—about fifteen years ago.  My first published work was a scholarly book I wrote about two years ago.  It was titled The Text and the Other: Toward the Caesura of the Unconscious.

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

Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy by Robert "Doc" Gowdy (click on cover to purchase at Amazon)

I think the most frustrating side of becoming a published author is the lack of mainstream publishers willing to consider the work of a new author.  The great majority of them don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, and the fact that a great many of them are cutting back on the new titles they will be publishing makes it very difficult for a new, unpublished author to break into the writing field.

The most rewarding thing, at least to me, has been the actual completion and publication of a full-length science fiction novel.  Completing my new science fiction novel Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy has been an extremely rewarding experience.  Then, seeing it in actual book form, is just icing on the cake.

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

I’m single, so combining my home life with writing is actually quite easy.  I do have support in that I work as an adjunct assistant professor of English at Texas Woman’s University.  That is my monetary support.  As far as moral support, so to speak, I have my students, my friends, and my colleagues who have given me a great deal of support, particularly during the writing of my new novel.

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?

Oh, boy, I like to do a great deal of things for fun.  Mainly, though, I like to drive the back roads of Texas in search of those out of the way Mom and Pop Bar-B-Q and hamburger joints that you find in the small towns along the way.  And I have three favorite vacation spots.  One is Austin, Texas because of the live music that is available there, and the good food.  Another is Red River, New Mexico because it’s in the mountains and a place my family visited during my childhood—we had a cabin there at one time.  And lastly, Jasper, Alberta, Canada, one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

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

Palm Beach, Florida because of all the beautiful women there.  Love those bikinis!

Who is your biggest fan?

I would say Jennifer “Gin” Crowder, a good friend of mine.  She helped me pick out the cover art for my new novel, and she’s been very supportive along the way as I wrote my new novel.  She read the novel in its roughest form, and still gave me a great deal of encouragement.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

My favorite place to write is in the living room, at my computer, with the television on.  And I like to write very, very early in the morning.  I start around 2 or 3 a. m. in the morning and often continue till around 3 or 4 p. m.

Do you have any pets?

Not currently.  But I’m am very fond of cats.  However, I’ve recently become enamored of Newfoundland dogs.  Go figure!

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

I once applied to Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

What’s on your to do list today?

To watch an NCIS marathon on the USA Network.

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?

It would show him, as with Princess Lysette in my novel, that patience and perseverance is the key to getting where you’re wanting to go.  And a little help from Tink doesn’t hurt.

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?

I think the cover art on the book cover would seal the deal because it speaks volumes about the character of the novel.  I chose a piece of art work by Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell called “The Void.”   It is absolutely beautiful, and my publisher said it was one of the very best covers he’d seen.

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?

Clearly I would say that I am both honored and humbled by the award, and thank everyone involved in choosing me for the award.  However, I would additionally have to thank J. M. Barrie for writing Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the late Joseph Campbell, the pirates Ann Bonny and Mary Reed, and Tink herself (one of the main characters in my novel) for making the novel a reality.  Without Tink, the novel would have never been.

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

Because my book is available online, and more and more people are buying books online, I felt that an online virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book would be the best way to promote the book.  And it is also very convenient, and very affordable, for a self-published author.

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

Thanks, it was a pleasure.

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