Gary Fields
Author Interview - Gary Fields
Author of The Book of Judges
A beloved judge is murdered. His virus-infected laptop holds an ancient secret. Young lawyer Joshua Sutton, doctoral candidate Samantha Bollinger, and tech wizard Mark Roth are thrust into a deadly three-day quest for answers—a quest that leads them across millennia.
While Mark extracts clues from the computer, Josh and Sammi are chased around Florida by the hulking murderer and others who desperately want the laptop. On the run, Josh and Sammi realize they’re both being haunted by dreams about historical figures—judges in Mongol-ruled China, Imperial Rome, Byzantium, post-Renaissance Venice, Henry VIII’s England, and Charlemagne’s Frankish kingdom who uncover a startling secret as they heroically seek justice in life-and-death cases that come to define human rights. As they put the pieces of this puzzle together, Josh, Sammi, and Mark find themselves in a pulse-pounding race to New York City to stop the murder of another judge—one who could potentially save humanity.
Author Interview - Gary Fields
Author I draw inspiration from:
Dan Brown - The DaVinci Code, Katherine Neville - The Eight, Geraldine Brooks - People of the Book
Author Interview - Gary Fields | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
If there were a perfect place for me to read, it would be in a Cone of Silence—somewhere I could lose myself in the world of a book with no chance of being pulled out. Of course that Cone would need to have a comfortable recliner or couch to stretch out on, some matcha to drink, and some pretzels within arm’s reach.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I’d choose Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov of A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles. Him, an aristocrat from Russia’s tsarist era; me, born to a middle-class Brooklyn family and raised in Queens—it’s hard to see much in common. He was condemned by the Bolsheviks to a life sentence in cramped quarters, with most of his fineries taken from him, yet he learned to take both pride and joy in what little he had. He lived for meaningful conversation, whether with hotel staff, or a young girl. He charmed even his enemies. I see us exploring the chasms and bridges between our different worlds, the loves of our lives, our taste in music, art, food, and literature, and the beauty in the world to which we would each return. In the years that followed, I would miss him dearly, being unable to send an email to 1917.
Author Interview - Gary Fields | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
When I read Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was my first book that wasn’t a “kids” book. It took me to worlds I could barely imagine, using nothing more than words. I was entranced envisioning this child raised by great apes, and the beauty and terror of wild Africa. This book spurred my imagination and made me want to be a storyteller.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
A hardcover book adds sensual wonders to the joy of reading. Its solid feel and heft, the synopsis on the front fold of the jacket, the author’s photo and bio on the rear fold. The welcoming creak of its spine as it yields to you opening the first page. Seeing your progress not just in page numbers, but by the width of page-ends on your left. Closing the rear cover on a great read as a wistful farewell. A paperback is a slightly watered down version. An audiobook can be powerful with a fine narrator (wait till you hear Tim Campbell who narrates my novel!). Though a sprinkling of magic is lost with ebooks, they make up for it with a font size for which my eyes are eternally grateful.
The last book I read:
Strangers in Time by David Baldacci. This is a sadly sweet story of a street-rat boy, a once-entitled girl, and a widowed, reluctant bookseller who come together through strange circumstance and bond as they live through World War II’s devastating German Blitz of London. I enjoyed all of it, particularly the way the threesome comes together and how they fit into each other’s lives as they struggle to survive a world that is coming apart around them.
Author Interview - Gary Fields | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I jot down ideas on sticky notes. Those I think are worthwhile get to swim that short distance through cyberspace onto my computer screen. There I decide if this looks and feels right for the book, the character, the scene. My writing process is that of a sprinter, not a marathoner. Rather than writing every day for a set number of hours or pages, I find that I write best when I am inspired. I write in bursts, but I’m usually at my best in the first half of the day. When my mind gets going on a specific part of the book, I run with it – that’s my “happy place” as a writer. I start with a pretty clear idea of the beginning and ending of the story (and of each historical story). I roughly outline the book, leaving room to let my thoughts wander to where the story may pique more interest, to where my continuing research may lead, and to allow my characters to grow.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Joey Margolis, as a twelve-year-old, in Last Days of Summer, by Steve Kluger. At twelve, Joey is a pushy kid from Brooklyn, determined to have a relationship with his Major League Baseball hero. I can see my twelve-year-old self being terrific friends with Joey. I’m a great admirer of perseverance, I love baseball, and I respect his willingness to think (and go) outside the box to get what he wants. I think our senses of humor as twelve-year-olds would mesh well.
Author Interview - Gary Fields | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Fulltime tee ball coach. Teaching those young sponges the basics, seeing the smiles explode on their little faces when they hit the ball or, amazingly, catch it. And that irreplaceable first game, when that first ball is hit by the other team, everyone runs to it like a swarm of hyperactive bees, dives into a pile, and when one of them emerges with the ball and turns to throw it to first base but no one is there.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
To look at: the Victorian Era. But far too stiff for me to wear.
Place I’d most like to travel:
My wife and I have returned to Italy numerous times. The history, the people, the hill towns, the FOOD! Venice and the Islands of Murano feature in one of the historical stories of my novel.
My signature drink:
Milkshakes. Ever since I had a tonsillectomy at age five. Chocolate, always chocolate. And as thick as possible. I want to feel my neck muscles working as I pull on that straw!
Favorite artist:
Van Gogh. The Beatles. Both brilliant beyond imagination. Both left us far too soon.
Number one on my bucket list:
A return to Africa for a safari trip. I’ve done it once and it was a lifelong dream fulfilled.
Anything else you'd like to add:
My website is www.garyfields.com. There you’ll find more about The Book of Judges, news, more Q&A, and an opportunity to read an extended version of one of the historical stories from the book.
About Gary Fields:
Gary Fields
I was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, and dreamed of playing centerfield for the Yankees. But music and lyrics were always in my heart. I started writing poetry early on, enamored with meter and rhymes. As an undergraduate at SUNY Albany, I taught myself guitar and wrote a song on the first two chords I learned. Three hundred songs later, I performed professionally for a time as a solo acoustic artist around New York City. But the real world, and the limits on my musical talents, came calling.
I'd hoped to become a lawyer. Again, it was the words. Putting words together convincingly, poetically, passionately, on behalf of my clients. But, as a college freshman, I’d been warned that there were too many lawyers and not enough jobs. So I earned a degree in math/computer science and went on to program and design computer systems for American Express and Ryder Trucks.
Making corporations more efficient, it turned out, didn’t appeal to me. The love of my life, my wife, Debbie, and I decided to put ourselves through law school at night at the University of Miami. Three grueling years later, we earned our degrees. It was there, in Coral Gables, where I first was entranced by banyan trees.
We settled in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where we raised our two sons, David and Dan, and our daughter, Lauren, along with Goldie, our golden retriever. I coached youth sports for eighteen years, coaching all three kids in basketball, our boys in Little League, and our daughter in softball.
I built a law practice specializing in community associations and soon found myself pulled into civic activism in the local community. I ended up leading a successful six-thousand-person volunteer effort to control a major airport planned nearby. The experience meshed with my interest in individual rights. That, along with my passion for historical fiction and thrillers, led me back, again, to the words.
The Book of Judges is my first novel. I am currently working on a sequel. Debbie and I now live in Southern California, close to the rest of our family.
