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Blogs by Harold Kasselman
Blogger Troy Jackson interview 12/6/2013 4:20:11 AM
Tonight we have a new interview. Author Harold Kasselman has graciously agreed to step up to the mic, and there is some great stuff in there!
Here we go!
1) Tell us about yourself - what do you like to write? How long have you written? What prompted you to start writing?
I was a former career prosecutor for 30 years in NJ and then became a defense lawyer for 5 years. I have also always loved the game of baseball. It's what gave my dad and I something to share and bond about. This is my first novel after having written legal briefs for trials or appeals. I decided to write about my two passions and what I know best. I began writing the book in September of 2010 because I had retired from active legal practice, and frankly I was bored with full retirement. My step-daughter suggested I write a book but I shrugged it off because so many lawyers are writing. Then I came up with a story line that had never been written about so I went with it.
2) What types of books do you like to read?
I enjoy reading legal fiction, true crime, spy thrillers, baseball novels and biographies, historical novels, and political history. At times I read a classic that I didn't read in college like "The Brothers' Karamazov". But as a self-published author, I am spending most of my time reading books by similar authors on my Kindle; especially those authors that I have met online.
3) What author(s) do you enjoy reading? Why?
I enjoy the Daniel Silva's series with Gabriel Allon as the protagonist because he is such an intriguing mix of intellect and special operations agent. I enjoy all of Michael Connelly's books especially the Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller characters. For an investigative reporter, Connelly knows his legal cases very well and his books are realistic and suspenseful. Nelson DeMille has always been one of my favorites. "Word of Honor", "The Charm School, Gold Coast, The Lion's Game are still among my favorite novels. He has a wonderful sense of humor which he weaves so well into his thrilling suspense novels.
4) What inspires you to write?
What inspired me to write my novel was the haunting tale of the 1920 fatal beaning of Ray Chapman by pitcher Carl Mays during a Cleveland/Yankee game. There was no criminal charge brought or even investigated despite Mays' reputation as a "head-hunter". I began to wonder what would happen in today's society if a manager ordered his pitcher to intentionally try to disable an opposing batter with a pitch? What if the pitch turned into a lethal bean ball?
Would the victim's family or the press demand a criminal investigation? If so, what would be the appropriate charge?
If there were criminal charges, what impact would that have for the way the game of baseball is played?
Would pitchers be fearful of throwing high and inside pitches? Would they fear that a prosecutor would be watching over their shoulder? Would baseball fans believe it was just part of the game or would the public see the bean ball as retaliation and no different from the motive in any criminal case?
5) When a story idea pops into your head, how long does it typically take to write it (from start to finish)?
I'm a bit obsessive so when an idea pops in my head, I start taking notes, even write a character outline, start to research ideas and make an outline. I can't stop until the beginning, the twists and turns, and the end are clear.
In my first novel the manuscript itself was finished in three months. A year later I rewrote portions and that took two weeks. I published it in February 2012, but I have to admit I've republished a couple of times when I have rewritten or deleted portions or even a chapter. The beauty of an e-book is that you can make changes at any point. I actually changed the ending after a few readers on Goodreads expressed their opinion about it. I like the newer ending better and it's due to my readers.
6) What did you find to be the most difficult part of the writing process? Easiest?
The easiest part of writing was the plot because I had it all planned out. There were no major surprises along the way, I knew the path, although, I did make changes on the rewrite. The toughest part for me is mixing in the back story of the characters without breaking up the flow of the action. Also cutting unnecessary portions of the book is tough. My book is 91,677 words but it was over 94,000 originally. Most authors like to keep it between 80 and 90,000.
7) Tell us about your book? Where can readers find it? Do you have a website? Blog?
My book is really about violence in sports, especially baseball, and the accountability of players to the laws of society when the game's code of conduct rises to the level of criminality. It poses the question, "What if a pitcher threw a pitch at the direction of his manager and the batter died? Should he and would he be prosecuted for a crime? Is it murder or an accident incidental to the way the game is played?
These issues and the effect such a prosecution would have on the game itself are all vetted in my novel that follows the legal process of the fatal event.
It is an e-book that is available only through Amazon or downloading it onto an IPAD with a Kindle application.
http://www.amazon.com/Pitch-Justice-Harold-Kasselman-ebook/dp/B007AIQO0A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1385492195&sr=1-1&keywords=kasselman https://www.facebook.com/APitchForJustice?ref=hl
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5765921
http://www.tempestworks.com/1/post/2013/12/guest-interview-harold-kasselman-author.html
