author of a thought-provoking, gritty novel,
Dyed Souls
How many unpublished books do you have lurking under your bed/in your cupboard?
I’ve written 3 books – two non-fiction related to my work. Dyed Souls is my first novel.
Are your family/friends supportive of your writing?
My current significant other and family is. My ex and immediate family were not. My parents and ex- were the first generation, from immigrant stock. Unless your activities are directly tied to revenue, they didn’t see much value in it. I think they viewed it as a pretty self-absorbed way to spend one's time, and I can certainly understand that perspective. My current significant other is originally from China and comes from a long line of doctors and scientists. They put a huge premium on education, and have been surprisingly supportive and encouraging.
What’s your least favourite part of the writing process?
Almost all of it. It feels more like a compulsion than a joy. And the emotionally difficult bits are impossible not to be affected by. A good part of it is torment. I don’t know how many times I’ve asked myself, “Why did I spend my day doing that!”
And the best part?
When all those disparate ideas start to click into place, and actual story forms. But the best parts are when you walk your dog, and you realize you’ve been lost in the world of your characters for the entire time. Escapist? Certainly. Narcissistic? Without a doubt! But delicious nonetheless.
This one took 35 years, so I’m pretty confident that I’ll be dead before the next one hits the shelves.
How do you juggle a writing schedule with ‘real life’ such as family and work?
Not well. I run a business that focuses on team building and resolving conflict. It’s very demanding. You always end of feeling like you’re letting the book down or your job down depending on which one you are currently working on. My partner’s job is just as demanding, so we’re really good about supporting each other when our efforts take away from family – but we work hard at keeping this to a minimum.
When did you first call yourself a writer?
I don’t. I think writing is something that picks you – a response to what you see in the world that doesn’t fit with your soul and you feel compelled to say something about it. I think if you intentionally try to become an author, you just come off as a narcissist. It’s something I happened to do, not my identity.
They say that when writers write about a bad (evil) character, they are pulling on some characteristic from themselves, so what bad characteristics do you share with your ‘baddie’?
If you ascribe to the notion that we are all animals, governed by the same laws regarding self-preservation and procreation as others animals, then we’re going to have “good” and “bad” all of the time. Everything we write, good and bad is a part of us. If you are a good writer, you write about this honestly. If you’re a bad writer, you write Nicholas Sparks novels.
Why did you write this particular book? (What was the spark that made you put pen to paper?)
I worked in settings described in the book early on in my career. Most of us were fresh out of college – hardly what you’d call responsible adults. We’d pour over case histories, diagnoses, and treatment plans, but that always seemed to me to miss the larger point. We evolved to live in small tribal groups, held together by shared values, taboos and mores. But we’ve radically, and rapidly altered that paradigm. Rather than doing what’s best for our tribe’s interest, we do what is our own interest. We live in vast cities and suburbs, held together by laws, which may or may not be enforced, and are often subjectively interpreted. We seek out those who share our interests (sometimes), but in our internet age, even these connections are tenuous. My goodness, if someone ever invents lifelike sex robots all intimate human interaction may cease.
Evolution has no set end game, it just is. But when you look at where we are going in the US – away from acquiring wisdom and knowledge – and ever onward toward materialism, entertainment, and a wide array of pseudoscientific and irrational beliefs (how else do you explain The Kardashians having 120,000,000 followers on twitter?), you can’t help speculate that throwaway kids I write about are the by-product of such shallow values.
This is the story I wanted to tell. Sure, you can point to biological damage, and abuse, and substance abuse, and poverty, and failed educational systems. But we’re the ones who created this, aren’t we? It’s laughable to me when people say that redistribution of wealth coupled with more government programs is the answer. Unless we address the fundamental narcissism the core of these issues, all the money and government programs in the world won’t mean a damn thing. And the far right is just as misguided.
What is more narcissistic than believing there is a God that watches over us? To me, all of this is a problem: our beliefs on the left and right are far too human-centric. As beings, we are an infinitesimally small part of a vast universe. We have to stop acting like we’re the only ones that matter, and that our happiness and all of the plants and animals on the planet are at our disposal. Though we think otherwise, except in the scientific community, we are only one very small step removed from the leap that Copernicus made. And in many ways, we are going backwards. We are becoming more, not less egocentric. (If you doubt this, spend five minutes on Twitter, which is a veritable homage to narcissism.)
The book conveys my fervent belief that it is our duty and responsibility to help each other – not because we are trying to gain God’s favour or fulfil some socialist ideology – but because that is what we evolved to do. It’s how successful tribes flourish. The greatest travesty inflicted on mankind is a modern one: that we are somehow not fully responsible regarding our obligations toward others and that government exists to fill this gap. Once you deflect individual responsibility toward an abstract third entity, you will have what is depicted in this book. This is why I think it’s an important read.
INTRODUCING…
Dyed Souls
by
Gary Santorella
Described by John Lloyd of The Bookbag as "Catcher in the Cuckoo's Nest," Dyed Souls is a gritty coming-of-age literary novel, set in a residential treatment center in 1980’s California.
Charlie Lyle loves science, natural history, and the world of the mind, and it is his refuge and salvation as he copes with his drug-addicted mother and a world of circumstances well-beyond his grasp.
More a work of philosophy than psychology, “For the teen, it has a galling coming-of-age, redemption quest. For the adult, it has that, as well as a literary look at a singular fictional life.”
Gary Santorella, Owner, Interactive Consulting is a Lean implementation, organizational development, conflict resolution, and team-building specialist. He has a BA in Behavioural Psychology from Providence College, Providence, RI (1980), a Master’s Degree in Occupational Social Welfare from UC Berkeley (1990), and is a licensed cognitive-behavioural therapist in the State of California. His book: Lean Culture for the Construction Industry: Building Responsible & Committed Project Teams 2nd Edition was published by Productivity Press (a division of Taylor & Francis) in 2017. His first novel, Dyed Souls, was published by Matador Publishing in 2018.
Voted a 2018 Top Ten Self -Published book by TheBookbag
Chill With a Book Reader’s Award.
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