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Today we have the pleasure of being with author Robert Dancer
discussing his new romance novel titled love, Class and Deceit now available on
Amazon Digital Services (Kindle).
PBR: Thank you,
Robert, for taking your time to join us.
RD: It's
a real pleasure and thank you for the good review. I surprised myself by
writing and publishing an e- novel at age 85, though as mentioned
before there was always that yen for writing.
It's never too late to do most anything, though
I'll never play centerfield for the Dodgers.
PBR: Your book had,
as mentioned in my review, a nostalgic style, a straightforwardness of your
charming characters, uncomplicated and thus leaving much to the
reader’s imagination to read between the lines. Tell us, please, how
you positioned your level of detail; what to include and where to draw the line
regarding the depth of your characters for the creation of your narrative.
RD: The detail arises in the
character of the three main aristocratic New Yorkers who traced their
background to the early Dutch and British settlements and their reactions to
the social, cultural and political changes that occurred in New York and the
nation before, during and after World War Two. The level of detail for each
character was just enough to enable the reader to see how the characters would
probably react to those changes.
PBR: As a World War II
veteran, I want to ask how much of this story is based, or loosely based, on
real events, and how much is entirely fiction?
RD: The story is loosely based fiction of
an actual battle that took place during the Normandy invasion. I did not have a
part in it.
PBR: This is set in the
mid-20th century, but are the political undertones (a liberal leaning, I think)
a product of that time or today?
RD: An English professor of mine once
described a classic as having the universal in their particular. The story's
background concerning isolationism, class status, and bigotry, for example, are
universal themes still relevant today.
PBR: It seemed to me
that the politics (Andrew as the selfless liberal and Peter as the calculating
capitalist) worked its way into the love story. What I mean is Peter seems bent
on winning Natalie's heart by deception, thus treating her as an object
(capital) and Andrew had treated her as a subject. Was this intentional?
RD: Very much so-The story
clearly shows Peter as an over entitled individual who achieves his ends
by manipulation and lies. Natalie knew Peter from childhood and understood him
perfectly. And saw in Andrew a strong, honest individual that she could relate
to.
PBR:
Natalie's reluctance to start a relationship with Gene was a surprise.
Was this because she was not over Andrew or was it a statement about narrow
thinking, in respect to religion and ideology, during this era?
RD: Both-She still loved Andrew and
she was not a bigot of any type but practical and, in a sense her mother’s
daughter in respect to religious and cultural differences.
PBR: What were some
of your challenges when putting this book together?
RD: As a first time writer the main
challenges were to keep the reader interested from the first to last
page and making the characters relevant to the things they did.
PBR: What are you now
working on, and when might it be ready?
RD: I 'm still in a writing class and
working on a story about an individual who immigrates America in the
early Twentieth Century and what happens to him. (No, it's not your typical rags
to riches)
PBR: We certainly
wish you the best of success with Love, Class, and Deceit and hope to read more
of your work in the near future. Once again, thank you for sharing your
thoughts with us.
RD: You certainly will. I'm looking
forward to the good things that will happen now.
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