Discover Ivan Scott’s New Book, Coming Out Tomorrow!
To mark the imminent release of Ivan’s sixth book, we asked him a few questions…
About: After having to leave his dream job and the softball team he loves, Mark Dawson moves from Atlanta to the mountains of north Georgia to escape his past. When he visits a used bookstore and finds a letter in a copy of his favorite book, The Great Gatsby, he finds a kindred spirit. The only thing he knows about the woman is her name is Catherine, she lives in Manhattan, and has a broken heart. Since neither are on social media, the only thing they know about each other comes from their words written in letters by a fountain pen. Eventually, Mark’s feelings get the better of him, and he searches for Catherine. What will happen when they finally come face to face? Will their love be signed, sealed and delivered? Or will it be three strikes for love?
Our Editor’s Thoughts… “This is Scotts’s best work yet, as he’s come in leaps and bounds in the space of a few years. I loved his choice of the “epistolary novel” format, which helps the story flow effortlessly. His writing is on point – consistently improving with each book he publishes – as is the plot. A very pleasant read indeed, I highly recommend it.“
… AND NOW A WORD FROM IVAN SCOTT HIMSELF
In ‘The Redhead & the Fountain Pen’, you explore a new format , i. e. the epistolary novel. How did you come up with the idea and did you find it more challenging to write?
I was looking at social media and what it involves as far as time and who we are. It caused me to think about the 90’s when I began speaking to a girl on the phone. I was calling for her sister, and we ended up speaking for over an hour, just having fun and enjoying each other’s company. I had no idea what she looked like or who she was, but she was enchanting and after a while it didn’t matter what she looked like since we had a connection. We ended up meeting and dated for a while until she moved away, but it was an experience I never forgot.
When I think about today and how we see and read everything about someone online, it made me wonder what it was like decades ago when people wrote letters, and fell in love with their words on paper. The handwriting, the splash of ink and the crispness of the paper, knowing that person took time to reach out to you, is lost in today’s electronic age.
I wrote the novel in first person, so the reader experiences what anyone would feel when they had no idea who they were connecting with, but felt a pull into the unknown. We all have experienced what it feels like to have that attraction to someone, and how it escalates when there is mystery and not knowing what will come next. It’s like an allure in hyperdrive, and the more you don’t know, the more you can’t resist solving the mystery knowing when you do, you’ll be in love.
I don’t know if it was more difficult to write, but I felt a stronger connection to the story since I felt like I was writing my thoughts and experiences in a journal, instead of typing it into a laptop.
Were there any themes or messages you consciously set out to explore for this particular book?
I think for this book, I like the theme of getting to know someone before giving your heart away. These days, there is little mystery as to who you are dating, or have an attraction for. When you learn the little things over time, I think it builds the foundation that will allow romance to grow. I believe that to love someone, you have to like them first. You have to want to be their friend. One day, looks, romantic music, physical love and all the other things we feel when we fall in love fade, and there better be something there to take its place when it does. If you have that foundation, then love can be built on it, and be strong forever.
The other theme which I wanted to give the reader is that we all have dreams. In the real world, those dreams don’t come around every day, and for some, they toss them aside when the going gets too tough, or it looks like the work is too hard to put in. But for Mark and Catherine, they face incredible odds, both in their careers and in finding each other, but through perseverance, courage, hard work and knowing someone believes in you, they realize there is nothing that can’t be overcome. Those are things we all should have in our lives, especially when going after the things that are important to us.
Any behind-the-scenes anecdotes or interesting facts around the creation of the book you’d like to share?
The idea from this book came after I was at a symphony event here in Atlanta. I know this might be difficult to imagine, but the Viola player was a redhead (Shocker! haha) and it got me thinking about how beautiful the woman was, but it wasn’t so much her physical appearance, although she was stunning. It was seeing her and listening to the song she played, Claire DeLune, which is a beautiful song anyway, and what the sight did to me. I was enchanted, not with the woman, but with the way the music made me feel. I was in love, not with her, but with the moment. I wondered what it would be like to write a story where the characters never see each other, or talk, or hold hands, or anything like that. They fell in love with something each of them gave to the other. An intangible gift of romance that money can’t buy, or can’t be seen on social media.
This is book number six for you. How do you come up with fresh ideas for new characters and what’s your approach to character development?
Great question! I think there are examples of life and love in every minute of our lives. It’s up to us to capture them so they live on forever. That’s what I wake up for every day is to find a slice of time and write about it so it will live forever.
I think with any character, they have to change as the book moves forward, or they grow stale. In this book, Mark is hurt by the reality of the world and how it can trample you. But he still believes in the underdog, and even though he is unsure of his new surroundings, what lies in his heart and his instincts for life can never be silenced. He changes a lot by the time the story ends, and it’s in that growth he finds what he is meant to have. It’s a life lesson for all of us to never stop learning or growing, since there are great glories for everyone as long as we take the opportunity to find them.
I’m sure we all encounter people and situations that would make for a great story, so I use what I see. It’s funny but I needed a villain for the WIP I have now, I thought about someone who was a jerk to me years ago, but I never forgot him or his rudeness so he will make an appearance in my book and will meet his demise! Trust me, slapping down someone who was a jerk is so satisfying! And on the flipside, I will bring in people who have been kind to me, or have made an impact in my life, or a wonderful moment they have provided so their deeds will live on forever in my books.
In the end, life is a humongous painter’s pallet of color, sound and experiences, so I have a canvas with which to paint my world, and hopefully bring that color and feeling of life to the reader.
Your books are often centred on a “quest” of sorts, be it for something or someone that is lost, or an objective the characters aim to achieve. As an author, would you say you are a “seeker” or do you feel like you have achieved what you have set out to?
For all of us, we are always on a quest for something. A new career. A new relationship. Take a class on playing the piano. Something to better ourselves. For me, it’s looking in the mirror and thinking that the person looking back at me is the only one I need to be better than. But that also means I have to be better than I was yesterday since I have an obligation to the reader and to the world to create a story that will resonate within them forever.
I am a seeker. It’s like they say about golf. It’s a game that can never be won, only played. For me, writing is the same thing. It can never be won, but it is something that should improve the more you do it and keep the writer on a lifelong quest to never be satisfied with their previous work. How do I get better with the next book?
I don’t know if I achieved what I set out to do yet. That’s a tough question. I feel that being creative, there is no goal. No finish line. There is only a new race to run with every new book that is created, and after the last one has been read. If I ever thought I achieved what I set out to do, then that would be it for me since there would be no more mountains to climb. No more adversity. No more wondering if I am good enough. It’s in the journey where I find my courage, and obligation to the world to produce something that will inspire them to find their greatness. And if that happens, then I have done my job. But that only lasts so long since there is always another story waiting to be written that hopefully will inspire someone else.
For more information about Ivan Scott’s work, visit his website: https://ivanscottbooks.com
You can also follow Ivan on the following social media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Alternatively, visit his author pages on Amazon and Goodreads.
