CHAT WITH RICHARD SCHWINDT

RichardSchwindt

Richard Schwindt is a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, and writer of fiction and non fiction books. He has a specialized practise supporting targets of workplace mobbing. He lives in Kingston, Ontario, and has two adult children and two grandchildren.

Time to chat with Richard!

What is your latest book?

I have just put my three mysteries together in one book – The Death in Sioux Lookout Trilogy. They have only recently been available in a digital format and I promise if you love a good mystery that is strongly driven by setting, you will enjoy them. There is no place like Sioux Lookout and the trip will be fun.

 

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What else have you written?

I have written a collection of short stories, Dreams and Sioux Nights, a fantasy duology, The Love Duology, a book of satire, Social Work for Fun and Profit, and my Emotional Recovery from… series of books for people in crisis due to workplace mobbing, adultery, anxiety, etc.

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Have you ever written characters that you truly despise?

Yes, quite a few. Jeffrey Merrian from The Vermilion River Murder and Father Donovan from Dreams and Sioux Nights come to mind as particularly despicable. That said, most of them end up dead. One of the great things about being a writer.

Please, tell us about your experiences with social media. What are your favorite and least-favorite parts of it?

I have fun on Twitter. Twitter is made for writers and is, to me, much more fun that other social media.

Have you received reactions/feedback to your work that has surprised you? In what way?

My mysteries with a social worker sleuth and my social work humor tend to be loved by mystery readers and amuse the hell out of everybody else. But social workers not so much. The most moving responses come from my two books on workplace mobbing. Readers are so grateful that someone has written about their experience.

Do you write anything besides novels? Care to share?

I write anything I can think of. Few people as yet have checked out a disturbing and twisted YouTube web series called Bob the Social Worker. Trust me, it is unique

Are you an early bird writer or night owl? And do you have any must haves like coffee, chocolates, wine, music or something else?

Between my practice and family I don’t have much time. I write when I can. If I have an idea for my latest book and I am between sessions I sometimes write it on my Blackberry in the form of an email from one of my email addresses to the other.

We all know the old saying; you can’t judge a book by its cover. This is true. However, how much importance do you place on your book cover design?

I owe an immeasurable debt to Mangojar on Fiverr. She has done every one of my covers. She is Canadian like me and I don’t know how she does it but every time she does a cover she appears to have read my mind. Covers matter.

How would you define your style of writing?

All my fiction has a strong sense of time and place. I like to create mood and the feeling you get from the environment around you. I also value readability in myself and other writers.

Have you ever wished that you could bring a character to life? If so, which one and why?

Probably Stacey Trout from The Love Duology. She is brilliant, funny and has some remarkable gifts. I like writing women characters more than men. I’m not sure why that is.

A lot of authors are frustrated by readers who don’t understand how important reviews are? What would you say to a reader who doesn’t think his or her review matters?

I am a top 500 reviewer on Amazon Canada and I am careful what I write. Your considered opinion as a reader means everything to a writer. After all, we are writing for you. I can handle a challenging opinion from someone who has taken my book seriously but I am distressed by negative reviews from people who appear to have not even read the book.

Have you ever started out to write one book and ended up with something completely different?

The Love Duology is two products of the International Three Day Novel contest; so the whole package was written in six days. It is an extreme writing experience and believe me when I say that you have no idea what is going to emerge from you unconscious mind by the end of three days. The second part of the book, Love Susan, is preoccupied with Gorillas. Why? I have no idea; it just sort of happened.

If you could duplicate the knowledge from any single person’s head and have it magically put into your own brain, whose knowledge would you like to have? And why.

The nineteenth century explorer, Richard Burton. All those experiences and languages. Wow.

What makes you angry?

I have a lifelong dislike of petty bureaucrats. I think that the current crop of human service managers lack moral courage and imagination. Mind you, I make them angry too. It is one of the reasons why I write for people who have been mobbed at work.

If you are a TV watcher, would you share the names of your favorite shows with us?

I am currently working my way through the Murdoch Mysteries, which I believe is known as The Artful Detective in the United States. They are beautifully done period pieces with great characters and stories.

What’s your favorite film of all times? Favorite book?

When I am having a difficult time in life I will watch The Fugitive with Harrison Ford or re-read any of the original James Bond books.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

Russian Standard Vodka Platinum. If it were a woman she would be so beautiful and so dangerous. I would try to keep away from her unsuccessfully and complain about the cost of keeping her. She would be blonde and say things like, “Reechard, I know you vant me…

What simple pleasure makes you smile?

Anything my grandkids Banana and Sniffin do. Banana; she’s the closest we’ve come yet to perfection in human form. But that’s just me speaking. Sniffin somehow inherited my sense of humor and is already getting into trouble for it. He doesn’t know it yet but it will get him through some hard times.

CONNECT WITH RICHARD

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