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The Interview - Robert Hall
https://roberthallsmanuscripts.godaddysites.com/How did you become an author and get published? Share your experience.
I've already explained how I started writing, waking up from my dream about Mary Jo. I utilized Draft2Digital to self-publish my manuscripts. I live on social security and could not afford the dollars publishing companies want.
When you're working on a book and a new idea pops up, should you pursue it immediately (also known as 'UP syndrome') or finish your current project first? What do you think is the best course of action?
When a new idea pops up, I write it down. I always finish my current project first.
Which character do you enjoy writing the most as a writer and why? If choosing a favorite character is like choosing a favorite child, which character do you find requires the most attention and detail from you as a writer?
Mary Jo, these are excerpts from Beyond Fear.
"Mary Jo has visited me in dreams plus some extraordinary events that prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that miracles are natural occurrences. The reason miracles occur is to prove the Reality of Heaven. I was living in a single bedroom apartment in an apartment complex. A friend and I were drinking a beer and had just started a movie on Netflix. It was Halloween. The buzzer went off, meaning someone wanted to enter the building. I answered the intercom, no-one. I determined they were probably trick and treaters. Several minutes later the buzzer went off again, no-one. The third time, I quickly left the apartment, so I could see the building entrance. They must have run fast. Started watching the movie, knock on the door. Nobody there. This was the type of building where there were no closed doors in the hallway due to fire code. What? Sat down, several minutes later there was another knock and I ran to the door. The hallway was empty. Ron asked, "What is going on?" "I have no idea." There was another knock and the door opened. The second time this happened, I saw the doorknob turn. I had an oak china cupboard from our old home, Mary Jo loved this antique. The door on the cupboard opened, I closed it, the door opened again and slowly moved back and forth. I started smelling roses, which were M.J.'s favorite flower. My friend couldn't. The para-normal stopped, we’d been paid a visit.
Becoming tired of telecommunications, I interviewed and was hired to become a dealer at Hollywood Casino. I was interested in becoming licensed to deal cards because I’m a decent poker player and knew nothing about craps or roulette. I paid $300 to attend a 12-week training on blackjack, mini-baccarat, phy-gow plus the table games. After being employed for 90 days, the casino would reimburse the fee. This was a great, high paying job, I worked 7pm-2am and was employed for over two years. I was never late and used to my routine as I had worked there a long time. I’m lying around the pool and saw the time was 4:30. I worked out for an hour, took a shower and drove the 25 minutes to the casino. I arrived at work and was one hour late, it was 8:00. I quickly thought that I had to have looked at the time wrong. While dealing, I began reviewing the circumstance and came to a very strong conclusion. I did not look at the time wrong, for I had been on the same schedule for several years. I had lost an hour.
While working at Verizon, I helped a young lady in her twenties with a phone issue. For some strange reason, I briefly explained Mary Jo's passing. I wondered after the fact why I had even brought up the subject with a complete stranger. She said, "And the ship made arrangements and flew you out of Nassau?" "Yes.” She’d been on the cruise when fifteen years old. What are the odds of that? Several years later, I was drinking a few beers with a friend and several couples I didn’t know. The subject of death came up and detailed discussions developed. After explaining our families' tragedy, one married couple said, “That was you?” They had been on the same cruise ship a year prior, and the crew were still talking about the beautiful lady who had suddenly died on the dance floor while enjoying a second honeymoon.
Looking back, these surprise and random meetings were messages from Heaven. What other explanation could there possibly be?"
Can you explain your writing process? Do you prefer to create an outline and plan beforehand, or do you prefer to write more spontaneously and organically?
I always write spontaneously and when I first wake up. I've awoken at times as early as 3:30 to write what I dreamt about.
What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?
I highly recommend "The Disappearance Of The Universe" by Gary Renard and "A Course In Miracles" by Helen Schucman.
Tell us what you enjoy most about writing [genre].
I love writing about spirituality because I want others to enjoy the peace I'm experiencing. Following is in the epilogue of my autobiography, "Flip Sides Of The Same Coin We Call Life."
I pray we begin to see the attributes of Christ in everyone we meet. As Gandhi said, “Be the peace you want to see in the world.” We decide it and bring it to our experience. It just “seems” to be the other way around. When I integrate the goal of peace into my everyday life, it soon becomes a beacon of light making the way clear. For me, this journey is a cleansing of the window to the Soul. We are the Infinite Peace of God. The Truth of us is like a pure and beautiful screen of Love. It is always innocent and peaceful and shines out from the mind embracing everything it sees. It brings me back to the Home I've never really left. When I think of the many attractions of the world and all of its temptations. Peace is now the only one that draws me in. Nothing else makes any sense to me anymore. Peace brings with it the awareness of the Love of God. I am the perfect, loving, and unlimited extension of God. Only my thoughts and beliefs would convince me otherwise. I need only to stay in the peace and silence of this present moment. Everything else disappears from my awareness, and only the Peace and Love of God remain. They were always there shining brightly in the background of my mind and are no longer hidden by the meaningless thoughts and beliefs of a delusional egoistic mind. Don't let the clouds of delusion mask the Light of your Being. Just be the Light, for you are the Light that you seek. The journey to God is merely the reawakening of the knowledge of where you are always, and what you are forever. It is a journey without distance to a goal that has never changed. Truth can only be experienced. It cannot be described and cannot be explained. I can make you aware of the conditions of truth, but the experience is of God. Truth will dawn upon you of itself, for God Is.
What have you found to be most challenging about writing in [genre]?
Writing about spirituality is not challenging at all, because I write truth. With over 4 million new books written in just the U.S. last year the challenge is marketing.
Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in [jobs/education] in your writing?
Very much so in my autobiography, "Flip Sides Of The Same Coin We Call Life".
Do you identify with your main character or did you create a character that is your opposite?
I always identify with Mary Jo as she has given me several paranormal experiences that prove beyond all doubt that God Is and we live forever. Death is an illusion, never to be feared and the gateway to our eternal life in Heaven. Hell does not exist.
Describe the [book/series] in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.
I logically explain we are all Christ Beings, forever.
Would you like readers to have any specific takeaway from your book?
I would like my readers to know that's it's impossible to sin against God, hell does not exist and that we are transcending to the truth that we are Christ Beings not frail human beings.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, writing is very natural and comes easy for me.
As an author, what critique has been the most challenging for you to receive? On the other hand, what compliment has been the most rewarding?
I paid $50 to have my first manuscript critiqued. The formatting was wrong, entirely too many pictures and there was zero flow properly explaining the message I was attempting to share. I corrected all errors and was very thankful for her honest review. My most rewarding compliment came from a man whose wife was dying from stage 4 cancer. My writings gave him a great peace which is growing.
Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?1. What is your favorite line from your book?
My advice would be to write when first waking up because this is when the spiritual mind is the freshest and the ego mind is the quietest. I would tell my younger self not to worry so much. My favorite line is "Live in the moment." ACIM refers to this as the Holy Instant, our ego wants us to be regretting mistakes made in the past and more importantly be worrying about the future. In so doing we're not talking to God now. Now is when we touch eternity.
To date, what is your favorite (or most difficult) chapter you have ever written?
My favorite chapter is the first chapter titled "This Was Supposed To Be The Epilogue" in "Beyond Fear: Unveiling Our Divine Essence".
What is your take on book boyfriends? Do they actually exist? Or do they set the bar for “real life men” impossibly high?
I have no idea. I can truly say that we need no one to make us whole because we are whole.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you deal with it?
I've never experienced writer's block because I write from the heart.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I love to play chess and watch movies.
Was there anything you had to research for the book?
Yes, the spiritual truths I write about were researched in "A Course In Miracles" and "The Disappearance Of The Universe".
Did you have any say in the cover design?
I designed the cover myself using Google documents.
What are you reading right now?
"A Course In Miracles" which I read and study every day.
What can we anticipate from you moving forward?
I have authored and published five manuscripts. One that is extremely factual concerning the Deep State will be published once my name is known and I have established credibility.
Do you have any movie or tv adaptations in the works?
"Flip Sides Of The Same Coin We Call Life" is not in the works but complete and published. This would be a great movie, and I'd like Denzel to portray me. Well, we can imagine and dream, can't we?
Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Becoming an author happened quite by accident after my dream about Mary Jo, this also an excerpt.
"I’ve had 20 different careers, starting with pumping gas when I was 16. Naming a few, I’ve been a foreman in a steel foundry, automobile salesman, district manager overseeing a 15-million-dollar territory, owner of a television/appliance retail company, store manager responsible for 80 employees, retail manager in the cellular industry, store manager in the retail dollar business and a dealer for one of the largest casinos in the nation."
How long did it take you to write this book?
The manuscript took over a year with countless re-edits. It's a cumulation of over 15 years of writings from the memo pad on my phone.
Where do you like to write? In a coffee shop? In your home office? On the beach?
I write in the silence of my home.
Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind of music do you like to listen to?
I never listen to music when I write. I refer to my home as my "Fortress of Solitude" and it's always perfectly quiet when writing.
What other hobbies do you have outside of writing?
Reading, playing chess and watching movies. I also enjoy walking in nature.
Are any of the characters in your book based on people in your real life? If so, can you tell us more about that process and how it influenced your writing?
The main character who influenced my writings is my wife, Mary Jo. 21 years ago, we were enjoying a 2nd honeymoon on our 1st cruise, we had been married for 20 years. We were on a dance floor, and she suddenly died at the young age of 43. The compression and decompression of the aircraft caused a blood clot to let loose, and it exploded her heart. 15 years ago, I had a dream about Mary Jo. All I could remember when I woke was, What if I told you? I wrote this in 25 minutes in the memo pad on my phone. The words just flowed without thinking. I know they came from Mary Jo because I wasn’t yet familiar with A Course In Miracles, but this writing coincides exactly with ACIM doctrine.
“What if I told you? What if I told you love is not an emotion but a force? What if I told you, God Is? What if I told you nothing can affect reality and nothing unreal exists, therein lies the peace of God? What if I told you there is no hell, only Heaven? What if I told you, you make your own hell? What if I told you all you see is an illusion, compared to the reality of Heaven? What if I told you death is an illusion, you live forever? What if I told you God does not forgive because Source sees nothing to forgive? What If I told you if God made anything imperfect, He/She would no longer be perfect, therefore you are perfect, you have simply forgotten? What if I told you, you are dreaming in Heaven and are about to wake up? What if I told you as you help you are helped, as you give you are given too, as you love you are loved? What if I told you, you go through pain to teach you what you do not want? What if I told you, as you forgive others, you are forgiving yourself? What if I told you forgiveness is the final lesson you need to learn? What if I told you nothing you can do offends God because you are merely dreaming? What if I told you there is no such thing as sin? What if I told you Spirit heals your mind, the mind heals your body? What if I told you, you need no one to make you whole, you are whole? What if I told you, you have a twin flame, you may not have met yet? What if I told you we are all brothers and sisters, we are one? What if I told you, you are love, because you were made by love? What if I told you, you are forever the divine effect from Divine Source? What if I told you, you are Infinitely powerful, you have simply forgotten? What if I told you, you are part of the Mind of God, He/She has not forgotten you?. What if I told you, Heaven would not be complete without You? Would you forgive and believe? Read that again.”
Do you have any personal connection to the story or characters?
My deceased wife Mary Jo, what is on her tombstone is "Love Is Eternal".