Interview with Joel Burcat
Why did you choose to write in your particular sub-genre?
Starting in 1980, I practiced environmental law for forty years. I had an interest in the environment from an early age and finally majored in a college program (B.S. in Physical Geography) to prepare me to be an environmental lawyer, then went to a law school (Vermont Law) that specialized in environmental law. I was fortunate that my first job out of law school was as an Assistant Attorney General at Pennsylvania’s environmental agency (DER).
I had written fiction throughout college but laid that aside when my law practice and family took away my free time. When I began writing again, I started looking at issues about which I’d like to write, and environmental issues were natural. Also, I like thrillers of all kinds, including legal thrillers (Grisham, Turow, Connelly), so my first real effort at publishing a novel was DRINK TO EVERY BEAST. That was an environmental legal thriller based on a real case (not one of mine) and a real issue: dumping hazardous waste into deep mine boreholes.
I’ve now written four environmental legal thrillers (DRINK TO EVERY BEAST, AMID RAGE, STRANGE FIRE, and REAP THE WIND). I’m working on another, THE FIREBRAND. I also like other things and have written about a post-apocalyptic era when the only survivors of a pandemic are teenagers (a YA novel!), the 1950 Phillies (historical fiction), and other non-environmental subjects. I keep coming back to environmental fiction, though. It just pulls me back.
How long have you been writing?
I wrote short stories and poetry in college and a short story when I turned forty (that was published). On July 4th weekend, 2008, I was stuck in Lubec, Maine, with no internet access and no cell phone access. It was pouring rain. With little else to do, I began writing a short story that was demanding to be released from my head about the best beer I’d ever had. When I restarted writing, I wrote short stories for a year. One day, a friend asked me how my novel was coming along. I told him I wasn’t writing a novel. He asked, “why not?” I went home and began writing my first novel. I have written ever since. These days, I write mostly novels, but occasionally will bang out a short story.
What did you find most useful in learning to write for publication? What was least useful or most destructive?
When I got serious about writing I realized that whatever I had learned at college was long forgotten and, perhaps, irrelevant nearly thirty years later. I stared taking courses on writing and going to writers’ conferences. They were helpful on a number of levels. First, all such conferences offer all kinds of writing skills classes. Second, you get to hear from noted authors and learn from people who have figured out both how to write and what works. Third, you get to meet fellow writers and engage with a wonderful group of humans.
Maybe ten years ago, I took a day-long seminar on point-of-view. That’s all we discussed. All day long. I loved it. I had crossed the divide. Nerdy writing topics meant something to me.
I have spent a lot of time learning about “the business of writing.” This is all the stuff that doesn’t improve your writing, but that you need to know to get an agent, sell a book, market your book, and develop a following. To me this was useful, but not fun.
Nothing was destructive for me. I take less-satisfying programs with a grain of salt. I have perspective. You cannot imagine how many dreadful continuing legal education programs I had to take over forty years (and I was an instructor for some of them!).
Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
At first, I was a part-time writer. From 2008 until 2018, when I was forced to retire from my law practice, I only wrote at night and on Sundays. As much as I loved writing, I had a day job that demanded my attention for anywhere from forty to seventy hours a week. As a partner in a law firm, I could not, in good conscience, write during the weekdays. Generally, I would write after 8 p.m. Then I would write anywhere from two to four hours.
After I retired, I became a full-time writer. I changed my writing times. Now I write six days a week, Sunday through Friday, from around 8 a.m. until lunch time. Sometimes I will write in the afternoons. I devote my afternoons to “the business of books.” That is all the stuff you need to do to be successful as a writer, like getting speaking engagements, finding and registering for signings, doing social media posts, entering writing competitions, talking with your agent and publisher, paying bills, etc., etc. The list of business tasks is endless.
What do you like to read in your free time?
I read a variety of books. I try to alternate between four different kinds of books: 1) well-known thriller writers; 2) literary books; 3) nonfiction; and 4) thrillers written by debut authors. I like reading debut authors as they are the future of storytelling. Also, it is fascinating to see how they handle situations that are different from how their predecessors might have handled them. I read about twenty-five books a year. In addition, I critique about five novels a year. I know many people who read a lot more, but I like to point out that I also write one or two books a year!
What is your favorite quote?
“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never— in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Winston Churchill, Harrow School. Oct. 29, 1941.
What piece of advice would you offer any not-yet-published authors?
Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.
Do you have a mantra for writing and/or for life?
Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.
What do you want your tombstone to say?
Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.
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03/14/24 |
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