Freedom’s Just Another Word follows a scandalized political writer who, while trying to regain his fame, must evaluate his beliefs and protect his children. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The short answer is that I started writing this novel when my hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune, was going through a wrenching change in ownership. Many of my favorite columnists were jettisoned as the new owners struggled to survive in the world of 21st-century journalism.

It had to be a very difficult time for both those who were let go and for the survivors. That event provided the career background for the story I wrote.

Almost all major newspapers have had popular columnists who have “fallen from grace,” and the Tribune was no exception. I realized as I look back at the other novels I have written that a common feature in all of them is that the main character has achieved a measure of success and then lost it. I guess I am most interested in the life lived after the cheering stops.

In Freedom’s Just Another Word, Jake Doyle made a mistake of the heart, and he paid the price. As he says early on, he has no regrets. At least, that’s what he tells us.

Jake struggles with his political beliefs and his desire to protect his family. When the two views contract each other, he has to decide what matters more. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Another theme common to all my novels is the notion of loyalty. I like characters (and real people, too!) who put loyalty to their friends and loved ones above their own personal interests. Jake is that kind of person, but in this story, the conflicts he faces are complicated. Can he remain true to values he has held his entire life if they conflict with what he needs to do to protect his family?

The first line of the novel is, “I used to be famous.” Jake, who is not always a totally reliable narrator, seems to accept his reduced status. He’s content to play out the string. But as the story unfolds, he is presented with an opportunity that will put him back in the game. He must decide if the prize is worth the price.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I am interested in the life lived after the cheering stops. What does someone do to pick up the pieces and get on with his or her life?

The novel touches on many hot-button issues: abortion, gun control, race relations, politics, social media.
In our society we tend to identify or label people by what they do or what they believe. Here is what Jake Doyle wrote about that in the first column that appears in the book:

If we rely on the labels we assign folks instead of trying to discover why they believe what they believe, we are doing ourselves a disservice. We are being intellectually lazy.

Many folks on the right and the left want the same thing. For sure, nobody wants to put children at risk. We just disagree on how to achieve the goal.

Our country is polarized. Gun control. Abortion. Income inequality. Climate change. And, of course, the issue no one can escape: the President’s conduct. Those issues divide us. We need to have an honest debate. But if we label ourselves as “The Resistance” and refuse to engage, that’s like deciding everyone who doesn’t agree with us is a traitor. Unworthy of consideration.

That mindset is myopic and dangerous. And it’s tearing the country apart.

We need to do better.

I agree with Jake.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I am about half finished with a new novel titled AMERICAN JUKEBOX.

The first novel I wrote, AMERICAN PAST TIME, which was published in 2014, is the story of Dancer Stonemason, an all-star minor league pitcher who, on the cusp of being brought up to the major leagues, pitches a perfect game but injures himself and that costs him his shot at making it to the majors.

His life unravels, and the novel, which covers the era from 1953 to 1973, tells his story of failure and redemption and how that impacts the lives of his two sons, Clayton and Jimmy, and his wife Dede.

My third novel, EVERYONE DIES FAMOUS, published in 2020, returns to Dancer Stonemason and takes place on a single day in 2003. He is grieving the death of his son Clayton and helping his other son, Jimmy, to liquidate Clayton’s business – American Jukebox.

AMERICAN JUKEBOX (the novel-in-progress) is Clayton’s story. It covers the early years of AMERICAN PAST TIME (but from Clayton’s perspective) and progresses through the years leading up to Clayton’s death in 2001.

So with this novel, I will have a STONEMASON TRILOGY.

Before I began work on this novel, I completed a screenplay adaptation for my novel, DRY HEAT, and I plan to also do an adaptation for my novel, BETTER DAYS.

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