authors in action

Twelve Questions on Twelve Trees

Author J.D. Carpenter fills us in on the background of his recently released novel, Twelve Trees.

Tell us about your book.
Twelve Trees is the story of a man sitting on a stool in a bar betting the horseswith the local bookie when events conspire to unseat him.

How did you come up with the idea for this work?
I wanted to try a stream-of-consciousness piece set in a bar.

How did you come up with the title?
You’ll have to read the book to find out, or at least as far as the Eleventh Race.

Tell us a little about the overarching theme of your work, and why you felt compelled to explore it.
Many of my stories deal with redemption; my protagonists are usually struggling to get back on their feet after being knocked down. I admire survivors and I don’t like quitters.

How did you research your book?
Too many visits to the racetrack.

What was the creative process like for you?
I wrote the first draft of the book almost ten years ago, put it aside for a long time, then came back to it two or three years ago, revised it, expanded it, listened to what my editor had to say, then revised it some more.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Believe it or not, coming up with the title.

What was your first publication?
The first piece I was paid for was a poem that appeared in Canadian Forum Magazine in 1974. I was paid $8 for it. I kept the cheque for years, but I can’t find it anymore.

In your own work, which character are you most attached to, and why?
Campbell Young. He looks after the people he loves.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a writer?
Revise. Revise. Revise. Keep doing it till you can’t do it anymore.

Describe the most memorable response you’ve received from a reader.
Someone once told me I must be sick to write some of my scenes. “Not at all,” I replied, “it’s the curse of the imagination.” Reviewer, Jack Batten, pointed out that in The Devil in Me, Homicide Detective Campbell Young didn’t do any of his own detecting. He relied on the people around him. That was news to me, but when I took a close look I discovered that Mr. Batten was right.

What is your next project?
Another mystery in the Campbell Young series. The working title is Black Tupelo. Young and his sidekick Priam Harvey pursue a prospective murder victim through the American Midwest.

© 2008 Defining Canada.