| Interview with Kenneth R. Besser |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My
name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and
fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
When I was in the fifth grade at Montebello Elementary in Natchez, Mississippi in 1969. My English
teacher, Miss Gloria Gene Mitchell, was teaching her maiden class after college and had us do a lot of
creative writing exercises. The one I remember most vividly was my short story about the “Dean Martin
Ding-Dong Hot Dog Stand.”
Dean-o was dressed as a very nice looking short-order cook and was singing, “Everybody loves
somebody some time and I’ll love you if you’ll give me some business.”
My parents were getting divorced at the time and Miss Mitchell helped me get through it. She eventually
became my step-mother a few years later.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I wrote several legal thrillers from 1994 to 2004. I printed and gave copies to family and friends, but did not
publish them. I started writing the Arnie Carver Adventures for my children in 2004 and they insisted that I
publish them so they could share them with their friends.
After papering a wall in our house with rejection letters from agents, we finally decided to invest in starting
an imprint to bring them to market ourselves. The imprint is RTMC, which stands for “Reaching to motivate
change.”
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
My kids and their friends like the Arnie Carver Adventures because the stories are great fun. Deep down,
every kid wonders what they would do if they were a rich orphan on their own. The Arnie Carver
Adventures are what I imagine I would do if the opportunity arises. (Arnie Carver and the Plague of
Demeverde)
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
Reading to my kids, or rather listening to their mother read to them, for the past 24 years has been my
inspiration. Being jealous of the fun they have all had spending countless hours reading and listening is
what drove me to participate in my own way by writing new stories for her to read to them.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I have been the husband of a wonderful family physician for thirty years. We have been well-blessed with
six practically perfect children ages 23 to 14. I have been a stay-at-home Dad to them since a few months
before the sixth one was born.
Having so many children means that life brings us something new and different every day. Much of what
happens is good enough to end up in my stories.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
South Beach Meal Replacement Bars. Healthy comfort for the past year since I was diagnosed with type 2
diabetes.
I am a classically trained chef, so on days when I misbehave gastronomically, the comfort foods tend to
include most or all of the five basic food groups: flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and cream.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Thank God for restoring me my soul. Rub the back of my children’s mother. Kick her out of bed to go
exercise. Go exercise myself.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
The simplicity of our belongings. Several years ago, in order to move to Israel for a few years, we got rid of
almost everything we owned. When we moved back, we agreed to try to not enslave ourselves to too many
possessions.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
I would be opalescent because it is a cacophonic play of almost every color of the rainbow.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Johnny Quest, the orphan adventurer of my childhood, upon whom much of Arnie Carver is based.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
Inspector Gadget. Real smart with lots of neat toys that he uses. He messes a lot of things up, but his true
heart makes things come out all right in the end.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I would really like to have been with Moses when God was giving the Jews the Torah on Mount Sinai. I
think that it would have been the most awesome of things to have experienced such closeness to Him.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to?
Country-western.
Favorite musical artists?
Randy Travis.
Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
Yes, though mostly jazz.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows?
CNN because I like watching what goes on in the world.
Movies you watch over and over again?
An American President, Sabrina (either the original with Bogey or the one with Harrison Ford), A Star is
Born (the first movie I saw with my wife)
What was the last movie you saw at the theater?
Pirates III, a real disappointment.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Put yourself first in your life, do what positive things you want to do to make your life first and then worry
about making a living.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
There are 16 books planned for the Arnie Carver Adventures. The next few are:
Arnie Carver and the Legend of Omarosa’s Dowry, in which Arnie meets a local girl Josephina and helps
her cure her father’s insanity.
Arnie Carver and the Global Banana Rebellion, in which Arnie and his deca rescue a boy being exploited
as free labor in the banana plantations of South America.
Arnie Carver and the Dogs of the Doldrums Triangle, in which Arnie helps find Emilie Chanel’s long lost
father.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and
fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
When I was in the fifth grade at Montebello Elementary in Natchez, Mississippi in 1969. My English
teacher, Miss Gloria Gene Mitchell, was teaching her maiden class after college and had us do a lot of
creative writing exercises. The one I remember most vividly was my short story about the “Dean Martin
Ding-Dong Hot Dog Stand.”
Dean-o was dressed as a very nice looking short-order cook and was singing, “Everybody loves
somebody some time and I’ll love you if you’ll give me some business.”
My parents were getting divorced at the time and Miss Mitchell helped me get through it. She eventually
became my step-mother a few years later.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I wrote several legal thrillers from 1994 to 2004. I printed and gave copies to family and friends, but did not
publish them. I started writing the Arnie Carver Adventures for my children in 2004 and they insisted that I
publish them so they could share them with their friends.
After papering a wall in our house with rejection letters from agents, we finally decided to invest in starting
an imprint to bring them to market ourselves. The imprint is RTMC, which stands for “Reaching to motivate
change.”
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
My kids and their friends like the Arnie Carver Adventures because the stories are great fun. Deep down,
every kid wonders what they would do if they were a rich orphan on their own. The Arnie Carver
Adventures are what I imagine I would do if the opportunity arises. (Arnie Carver and the Plague of
Demeverde)
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
Reading to my kids, or rather listening to their mother read to them, for the past 24 years has been my
inspiration. Being jealous of the fun they have all had spending countless hours reading and listening is
what drove me to participate in my own way by writing new stories for her to read to them.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I have been the husband of a wonderful family physician for thirty years. We have been well-blessed with
six practically perfect children ages 23 to 14. I have been a stay-at-home Dad to them since a few months
before the sixth one was born.
Having so many children means that life brings us something new and different every day. Much of what
happens is good enough to end up in my stories.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
South Beach Meal Replacement Bars. Healthy comfort for the past year since I was diagnosed with type 2
diabetes.
I am a classically trained chef, so on days when I misbehave gastronomically, the comfort foods tend to
include most or all of the five basic food groups: flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and cream.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Thank God for restoring me my soul. Rub the back of my children’s mother. Kick her out of bed to go
exercise. Go exercise myself.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
The simplicity of our belongings. Several years ago, in order to move to Israel for a few years, we got rid of
almost everything we owned. When we moved back, we agreed to try to not enslave ourselves to too many
possessions.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
I would be opalescent because it is a cacophonic play of almost every color of the rainbow.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Johnny Quest, the orphan adventurer of my childhood, upon whom much of Arnie Carver is based.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
Inspector Gadget. Real smart with lots of neat toys that he uses. He messes a lot of things up, but his true
heart makes things come out all right in the end.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I would really like to have been with Moses when God was giving the Jews the Torah on Mount Sinai. I
think that it would have been the most awesome of things to have experienced such closeness to Him.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to?
Country-western.
Favorite musical artists?
Randy Travis.
Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
Yes, though mostly jazz.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows?
CNN because I like watching what goes on in the world.
Movies you watch over and over again?
An American President, Sabrina (either the original with Bogey or the one with Harrison Ford), A Star is
Born (the first movie I saw with my wife)
What was the last movie you saw at the theater?
Pirates III, a real disappointment.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Put yourself first in your life, do what positive things you want to do to make your life first and then worry
about making a living.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
There are 16 books planned for the Arnie Carver Adventures. The next few are:
Arnie Carver and the Legend of Omarosa’s Dowry, in which Arnie meets a local girl Josephina and helps
her cure her father’s insanity.
Arnie Carver and the Global Banana Rebellion, in which Arnie and his deca rescue a boy being exploited
as free labor in the banana plantations of South America.
Arnie Carver and the Dogs of the Doldrums Triangle, in which Arnie helps find Emilie Chanel’s long lost
father.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
| Visit the Arnie Carver Website! |