Daniel V. Meier, Jr. Interview Published on: 07, Jul 2020

Wilmington, North Carolina

Yes. History and the Humanities

I was already motivated by the time I went to the University of Maryland to study American Literature. I knew I wanted to write and I went to graduate to further my studies.

I graduated in 1968 after getting out of the Navy and I chose history as my major because I believe that to know the problems of the present one must understand the problems of the past.

Absolutely. Not only that, it piqued my curiosity to continue studying and researching history throughout my lifetime.

Active duty:2 years. Reserves: 6 years.

I enjoyed it. I felt I was introducing the students to two important subjects that I loved, and hoped I was conveying that same sentiment to them.

To be honest with you, as it was quite some time ago, I am not sure why I did it. I do know that the book was not in a genre that I particularly wanted to pursue and therefore didn’t wanted to be ‘branded’ in that genre, but it turned out to be a pretty good book with decent sales.

It was based on a personal experience of mine. The story was about youngsters hunting squirrels and this was my first kill. It made a significant impression on me.

The differences are enormous. First of all, technical writing must be, above all, clear and informative—no nuance at all. You avoid the use of adjectives, adverbs, and avoid the use of complex sentences. In my own books I strive to use precise and powerful words while staying away from flowery adjectives.

Because I think it’s a good story, I will answer questions 11, 12, and 13 together: Over the years, a friend of mine in the FAA had been telling me fantastic stories about the seven years he spent as an air transport pilot in pre-civil war Liberia in the 1960’s. The stories were incredible. I decided that somebody had to document what he had experienced, and being a writer, I was the one to do it. After over 40 hours of interviews, listening to one amazing tale after another, it became apparent that in order to write a cohesive and thematic account of his adventures, I could not write the non-fiction memoir as I had intended, but had to rearrange his story into a novel based on his experiences.

And so, the historical novel based on fact was born.

At the moment, I am, happily, very busy. Because of the research I did for THE DUNG BEETLES OF LIBERIA, I have continued studying Liberian history and am working on a book that takes place during the 1980 coup d’état led by Sgt Doe. The working title of that book is BLOOD BEFORE DAWN.

Also, over the years I have worked on novels that were never entirely completed due to my change in career choice. I have since brought them back to life and have submitted them for publication.

The first, due to be released March 1 st 2021, NO BIRDS SING HERE, is a work of literary fiction. It is a humorous, yet deeply moving portrait of our times.

In it, ersatz novelist Beckman and aspiring poetess Malany are launched on a quest to find the “literary life’ in a Post-Modernist America, and struggle to exist in a confusing and sinister world.

The second, due out on August 1 st , is titled BLOODROOT. It is an historical novel about survival in America’s earliest settlement, Jamestown, Virginia. A young Englishman, Matthew James, experiences both the splendor of this lush new land as well as the sordid realities of a cruel winter of starvation. In a moment of crisis, when he chooses death over a life of depravity, he unexpectedly finds new life among his sworn enemy, the Powhatans Indians.

So far, I couldn’t be more pleased. Rather than hiring a publicist, I decided to plunge into the world of social media and book marketing on my own. AllAuthor has been an enormous help in guiding my way. However, I know I have not taken full advantage of all you have to offer. I have every intention of continuing with AllAuthor and learning more and more about it.