ℚ☄♫ The Grass Sweeper God - Doug Howery

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Doug Howery to talk about The Grass Sweeper God (11 April 2014, dhowerybook, 252 pages), a Historical Fiction novel. 

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

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A very warm welcome to Doug Howery; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

we love music; do you have a music playlist that you used in The Grass Sweeper God, or which inspired you whilst you were writing it?

"I love music too.  I put together a book trailer for, “The Grass Sweeper God.”
The soundtrack is perfect for the mood of my story if I must say so myself.  The score is from Ian Hughes; “The Cover of Darkness.”  I paid for the music because it meant so much to me and, all artists should be paid for their hard work.

The woman in the pics is my mother.  The coal miner on the left is my father, etc.  Notice my mother @ the tombstone, notice the tombstone on the book cover.  And so it goes. . ."

What was the inspiration for The Grass Sweeper God?

"My mother’s 1982 suicide.  She killed herself while leaving behind a suicidal note in which she referred to my brother and I as, “Gutter rats that could rot in hell.”   She had found out two days earlier that we were gay."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I would estimate that 90% of myself is reflected in the storyline.  Because of the nature of the premise of my book, because of the personal aspect of my mother’s suicide, I wrote a painful and personal story.  My character is in the book as told through Brac."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for The Grass Sweeper God - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"I am proud to say that my book cover artist is Mario Sanchez Nevado from Spain.  Please visit his site @ aegis-strife.net. You will see first-hand what a “Talen” he is, indeed!  He was a pleasure to work with.

The person at the tombstone is an actual live model that Mario put in the scene.  The book cover is my idea.  I wanted the young man to be naked except for a blouse; yes, I said, blouse, because my main character is transgender.  Male to female.  So, the whip-like line that appears to be on fire while stemming from the young man to the woman goddess represents an umbilical cord as I explained to Mario and he nailed it!"

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Why should we read The Grass Sweeper God and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I pull no punches when it comes to telling this fact-based story.  As Amazon reviewers have stated;

"“The Grass Sweeper God” is a hard book to read, harder still to imagine someone living it. Ripped from the heart of what can only be an echo of personal experience and pain, this account speaks of unsinkable souls, lost identities and struggling to be who you are meant to be." - Heather G"

Can you tell us something quirky about The Grass Sweeper God, its story and characters?

"The main character, Permelia Corn: I got her name off a tombstone about 5 miles from my home.  It is a graveyard that goes back to the 1700s like the dates on the tombstones reflect. That name, Permelia Corn, stuck in my mind and, I knew immediately that I would write a character with that name in my book.

There are many quirky characters in my book; Carr, is an actual native Indian man whom I grew up with and thought of him as my father in real life.  In my book, I make him into a Shaman.  I dearly loved that man; he taught me so much while growing up."

Permelia Corn is quite a name!
Who would you recommend The Grass Sweeper God to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"18 years and older.  There is a rape scene.  However, it is not graphic.  It is told in a spiritual/mystic way as is most graphic scenes in the book.  This style of writing takes away from the harshness of the storyline and the characters while adding poetry to misery.  This is not a story for Danielle Steele fans."

If you could / wished to turn The Grass Sweeper God into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Great question!   I am indeed in the process of adapting the story into a screenplay.  Several editors advised me that this would make for a great screenplay.

Sam Elliott as Ted.  Jessica Lange as Lettie.
Director: Quentin Tarantino.

Location/s: Southwest Virginia Appalachian coal mines VS NYC."

We wish you the best of luck with that endeavour! :-D

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I like to write about social issues such as Gay rights. I like historical genre. I also like to read this genre.
There is not a lot of prose out there other than Lumber Jack Lesbian stories and seedy gay male sex.  So, I write for those that want to make a difference on a political and familial level.
I love Stephen King; go figure.
I like to write something that makes people think; not preachy, not told from only one perspective, but different POV’s, even the bigot POV and the racist POV.  Because, that is what makes you think, makes you look at the world through dark places while searching for the light and hoping that light is not a train coming at you through the tunnel."

Sounds good.  BTW I also love Stephen King.

What is your writing process?

"I don’t have a writing process.  I don’t write every day. I write when inspired to do so."

What is in store next?

"Screenplay adaptation for my novel entitled, “The Grass Sweeper God.”  This is going to be a arduous process because I have to learn that craft just like I learned the novel writing craft.  I am in the process of reading Quentin Tarantino scripts; it is joyous."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"Great!!  My buddy's name is, Buster Bean.  I named him, ‘Bean’ after reading, “The Beans of Egypt Maine.” Below is a picture of he and I."

Hello Buster Bean! You are a real doll! Lots of head scratches to you :-D

And of course Doug, many thanks for sharing him with us!  I can see he is your writing assistant as well :-)

The Grass Sweeper God
Available NOW!

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