This week, we're talking with Fred Litwin about his new book, I Was A Teenage JFK Conspiracy Freak.
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I own a blues music company (NorthernBlues Music) and have written two books.
Why do you write?
I love telling stories. I like surprising people with material that they are not familiar with in a very interesting and engaging manner.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
I had written three chapters about the JFK assassination for my first book, but my editor decided that they just didn't fit and we took them out. They sat around for a while and then, out of the blues, I wrote a fourth chapter and decided that I had enough for an entire book.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Who would believe a story where an innocent gay man was prosecuted for conspiring to kill Kennedy who was then acquited. Years later, a famous film producer, Oliver Stone, would make a film making the innocent gay man the villain, and the unscrupulous district attorney the hero.
How would you describe your writing process?
A lot of research goes into my writing. Every chapter has a very thick file full of clippings, articles and a variety of research. But each chapter has to tell a story and that is the challenge.
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
There are a lot of great books out there that people know little about. They aren't in the bookstores, but they are deserving of an audience. Social media can bring people to authors and books they would never before had known about.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Just write. And edit. and write, and edit.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
I hire a first-class agency to design my covers, and I try to come up with titles that are unique and catchy.
What's your next step?
I'm having a blast marketing this book, and speaking in public. Once the demand dies down, it will be on to my third book.
What book do you wish you had written?
Gerald Posner's “Case Closed.”
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
It's always exciting to see a new review – bad or good. It means people are noticing.
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