Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with John McCluskey
Book Title: A Moment of Fireflies
Released: 05/3/2017
Genre: Literary/Historical Fiction Novella
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “A Moment of Fireflies”?
McCluskey: I feel very strongly about two issues in particular requiring constant attention: the complexities of alcoholism and its effects on family and communities at large, and the roles and empowerment of women in family and society. While these are certainly very large issues, I hoped to illustrate some elements of both in this novella.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process, or your book?
McCluskey: As a writer, I think it's important to know who you are and who you are not, and be honest with your own personal life experiences. While writing fiction, this frees you up to strike a good balance between informed experiences and fictionalized elements of a story, lets you write with authority and confidence. Knowing who you are is important; though it can seem limiting at first, it's actually quite liberating and opens up many avenues of writing to explore, to see how your experiences might work in larger fictionalized scenarios. Gives you access to greater degrees of wisdom and insight.
If "A Moment of Fireflies" were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
McCluskey: What a fun question! I'd like to see Daniel Day-Lewis or maybe Leonardo DiCaprio as Michael. I'd love to see a new unknown actor play the role of the young son David. Lily is key, she and the actor for Michael have to have a great chemistry - maybe Michelle Williams, or my absolute favorite: Viola Davis. Because the story has an Irish background shouldn't necessarily limit the selection - that's adaptable. I'd be looking for the kind of chemistry that Denzel and Viola exhibited in Fences. Or Casey Affleck and Michelle in Manchester By The Sea. I could go on and on.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
McCluskey: I don't worry about that at all. I often need time to process, so any kind of "block" is just a processing occurring that needs to take its time. I'm a slow writer as a result, at times, so I get excited to wait for when the time is right.
What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?
McCluskey: I love a lot of time tested books. My favorites include Long Day's Journey Into Night - Eugene O'Neill, Nightwood - Djuna Barnes, Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, poetry by Elizabeth Bishop and Emily Dickinson, any sentence by James Baldwin, or Roberto Bolano, and my all time absolute favorite: anything by James Agee.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
McCluskey: In addition to knowing who you are and who you are not, have confidence in your own personal process. While it certainly can be good to write often, maybe daily, that doesn't work for all. Nothing works for all. Develop the process that appeals to you and be unapologetic about it.
What are you working on next?
McCluskey: Working on a longer novel, as of now titled Ogden's Proverb, about a main character looking back to the 1970's and a failed coming of age time in his life, and the moment(s) he knew who he was and was going to be. Both heartbreaking and hilarious (I hope)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16886235.John_McCluskey
https://www.librarything.com/profile/John_McCluskey
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