Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Barry R. Ziman
Book Title: Girls, Crimes, & the Ruling Body
Released: 08/24/21
Genre: Adult Thriller
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “Girls, Crimes, and the Ruling Body”?
Ziman: My 6th grade teacher predicted I would be a novelist. As a child I had adult aspirations of writing a novel.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Ziman: In early drafts I impetuously used the first names Ryan and Caroline as placeholders. Ultimately, I decided the names were suitable for a tragic couple with Ryan as the romantic and Caroline as his elusive love interest. Congressman Somatos’s name is intentionally derived from the Latin “somatic” which refers to the body. The very affluent Congressman Green has a name invoking the color of money.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Ziman: I worked on the novel for 26 years, starting in 1995. Over that time the emerging ubiquity of the internet and cell phones compelled me to make some narrative adjustments. However, I did nostalgically retain a reference to a fax machine, which dates the story to a Y2K turn of the century setting, when such machines were still in use and social media had not yet pervaded society and dominated our lives.
If “Girls, Crimes, and the Ruling Body” were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Ziman: Ryan Gosling could be an eponymously perfect Ryan but is disqualified by having played a very similar “political operative” character in the film “Ides of March.” Miles Taylor could plausibly play Ryan, with his innate combination of earnestness and driven desire. Actor Armie Hammer would be uniquely suited to assume the Seth Tantalus role. When initially conceiving the Congressman Somatos character, I would always envision Jack Nicholson; but he aged out, so Joaquin Phoenix could well play the part. Jennifer Lawrence would be a great Annie McNeil, and Carey Mulligan as Caroline would also be a perfect fit.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Ziman: Read More fiction!!
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Ziman: Before embarking on a novel, an author should decide whether to focus on the commercial aspect of the literary world or fulfill a purely artistic endeavor. I opted for the artistic, idealistically aspiring to bridge the gap, a daunting proposition
What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?
Ziman: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Coincidentally, I was honored (after publication of my novel) to be awarded as a finalist in the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story competition. Chat GPT analysis of my published literary works does note creative similarities to F. Scott Fitzgerald since we both “use New York as a stage for exploring ambition, corruption, and mixing lyrical or ironic style with social critique. Fitzgerald examines the Jazz Age’s promise and hollowness, while Ziman applies similar analysis to late 20th–21st century politics…”
What are you working on next?
Ziman: At present, I only write short fiction and creative non-fiction which has appeared in several literary journals, including the 1922 Review, the Bookends Review and Gramercy Review.
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Find it for purchase here
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