The first time I met the Author Darren R Leo the crisp January sun had etched a path of pink sunlight across the snows of the White Mountains in New Hampshire.
The other writers in the lobby of Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa that morning whispered of Darren’s ability to convey the mystical and tragic, the beautiful and profound. As he crossed the lobby with a beaming smile, Darren greeted each person as a close friend as though he fully understood the fantastic moments hidden in the mundane.
Readers in the United States have called Darren’s new book THE TREES BENEATH US a powerful story that tells of “a troubled man and his transformation and ultimate redemption,” while others have said the book is a truly “humbling experience.”
Darren R Leo has hiked the Appalachian Trail—a truly herculean feat—and a national speaker who has traveled forty-nine states, and even though he’s currently working on a new non-fiction project and a new novel, I managed to catch up with him recently.
THE TREES BENEATH US has been classified as “eco-noir”. Can you explain a bit about that.
“The short answer is a very long walk. In 2010, struggling with the economic crash, the subsequent loss of my job, and still trying to cope with the death of my son the year prior, I went for a hike on the Appalachian Trail. Eight hundred miles later, I had the idea for a book and a new direction in life. While Trees and its narrator are fiction, much evolved out of my own challenges…
“While Trees began biographically, Finn (the protagonist) is not me. I didn’t know his story until I wrote it. I love that part of the process. I surprised myself when I wrote the ending. I don’t outline or story block. I don’t know what is going to happen. Many of my stories are about journeys, and the journey of the process is what tantalizes me.”
While the narrator of THE TREES BENEATH US sounds like it could be cynical and full of pain, there’s a voice speaking wisely about lessons learned. Your book isn’t only about pain and loss. It’s also about discovery.
“As I mentioned, a lot of the content is based on autobiographical events. I wrote a novel about coping with the death of a child. Every day, for nearly three years, I relived the death of my son. There were many times when I think it would have been easier to hook up an IV from me to the laptop and bleed onto my manuscript. That said, it was also healing. There is a scene late in the book when the protagonist is remembering making family home videos with his son. That is one of my most cherished moments with my son, and I’m happy now when I see it on the page.”
Did you have a difficult time deciding the title of your work?
“You have no idea! After, no exaggeration, about forty-seven different potential titles, and umpteen conversations with family, friends, and mentors, I had settled on “Trees and Other Remedies.” After I sold the MS, my publisher thought that sounded like a collection of short stories, so we went back to the well. My most favorite teacher ever, Jessica Anthony, gave me “The Trees Beneath Us.”
What is it about writing that compels you to keep doing it?
“I write to create. I like to build things…birdhouses, Adirondack chairs, good meals. I write for the same reasons. I want to put something out into the world that people will enjoy or find provocative. The conveyance part is the tougher question. There are common themes that run throughout my writing, even when I don’t want them to. I write about struggles and pain and grief. Even my theoretically happy stories have these themes. I like a good “hero wins the day and gets the girl” story, but there are lots of those. I write stories for those who struggle. We’re not alone in our challenges even if our social narrative suggests otherwise.”
Darren, some writers say they get up every morning at four and write. Others, however, write when the need fills them. What do you think about this?
“I definitely do not follow the “write every day” rule. I go weeks writing nothing more than a grocery list; although some of those are damn good grocery lists. I write when I think I have something to say, when I need to say something. I have a very intermittently posted blog. We’re taught about building platform and social media and whatnot. I find I write less and less for my blog because when I do, I’m taking that “need to say something” away from my fiction. My humble advice to all creators is find your personal muse and her quirks and honor them.
“My secondary advice is edit ruthlessly. A great mentor, Matt Bondurant, once told me to love my work less. I still have that taped to my office wall. I slash and burn my words without remorse.”
Talk a little bit about your writing process. Do you have any unusual writing habits?
“I have lots of tics and quirks. I need a near elimination of sensory input. No sound, nothing shiny to catch my eye, no interruptions. I like it to be just me wrestling with me. I’ve seen our mutual friend, Craig Childs, write beneath a disco ball in a night club, and he’s writing about wandering on a glacier in South America. I wish I could do that, but I can’t. It took me a long time to learn that we all have our process. I accept mine. So, alone, in the dark, it is the muse and me going at it.”
How do you think literature impacts your everyday life?
“I read incessantly. As a trained writer and critical reader, I spend a lot of time reading things and thinking, ‘I wish I’d written this,’ or ‘This is how I’d fix this.’ Both are valuable to my own craft. When I’m delighted though is when I’m just absorbed in the narrative. I’m no longer fan or critic. I’m just enjoying…
“I love Edward Abbey, Barbara Kingsolver, Thomas McGuane, Wallace Stegner, and especially Annie Dillard. That group will probably suggest what I aspire to write. In addition, I think Hemingway was a genius, I read The Odyssey every year, Saul Bellow wrote masterpieces of craft, and Faulkner is overrated.
“If you liked Wild by Cheryl Strayed or Into the Wild by Krakauer, or anything where a person seeks solace and healing in nature, then my book is up your alley. If you like being immersed in nature, read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Dillard.”
Where can readers find more of your work, Darren?
“I published a novella some years back called Keeping Score; a short, heroic journey. It is out of print, but I think Amazon sells copies for exorbitant sums. My short fiction has been published in The Atticus Review, Crack the Spine, The Blue Lake Review, and many other literary journals.”
Darren R. Leo is a writer, wanderer, speaker, and teacher. He likes the oxford comma, Annie Dillard, good beer, getting lost, and the beauty of the world around us. After a successful and award winning career in the hotel industry that included executive positions with some of the world’s leading hospitality companies, he went for a very long walk on the Appalachian Trail.
CG FEWSTON
The American novelist CG FEWSTON has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome (Italy), a Visiting Fellow at Hong Kong’s CityU, & he’s a been member of the Hemingway Society, Americans for the Arts, PEN America, Club Med, & the Royal Society of Literature. He’s also a been Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) based in London.
He’s the author of several short stories and novels. His works include A Father’s Son (2005), The New America: A Collection (2007), The Mystic’s Smile ~ A Play in 3 Acts (2007), Vanity of Vanities (2011), A Time to Love in Tehran (2015), Little Hometown, America (2020); A Time to Forget in East Berlin (2022), and Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being (2023).
He has a B.A. in English, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership (honors), an M.A. in Literature (honors), and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Fiction. He was born in Texas in 1979.
A TIME TO FORGET IN EAST BERLIN
BREW Book Excellence Award Winner
BREW Readers’ Choice Award Winner
“A spellbinding tale of love and espionage set under the looming shadow of the Berlin Wall in 1975… A mesmerising read full of charged eroticism.”
~ Ian Skewis, Associate Editor for Bloodhound Books, & author of best-selling novel A Murder of Crows (2017)
“An engrossing story of clandestine espionage… a testament to the lifestyle encountered in East Berlin at the height of the Cold War.”
~ Lone Star Literary Life Magazine
“There is no better way for readers interested in Germany’s history and the dilemma and cultures of the two Berlins to absorb this information than in a novel such as this, which captures the microcosm of two individuals’ love, relationship, and options and expands them against the blossoming dilemmas of a nation divided.”
~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“A Time to Forget in East Berlin is a dream-like interlude of love and passion in the paranoid and violent life of a Cold War spy. The meticulous research is evident on every page, and Fewston’s elegant prose, reminiscent of novels from a bygone era, enhances the sensation that this is a book firmly rooted in another time.”
~ Matthew Harffy, prolific writer & best-selling historical fiction author of the “Bernicia Chronicles” series
“Vivid, nuanced, and poetic…”
“Fewston avoids familiar plot elements of espionage fiction, and he is excellent when it comes to emotional precision and form while crafting his varied cast of characters.”
“There’s a lot to absorb in this book of hefty psychological and philosophical observations and insights, but the reader who stays committed will be greatly rewarded.”
“Readers of The Catcher in the Rye and similar stories will relish the astute, critical inspection of life that makes Little Hometown, America a compelling snapshot of contemporary American life and culture.”
“Fewston employs a literary device called a ‘frame narrative’ which may be less familiar to some, but allows for a picture-in-picture result (to use a photographic term). Snapshots of stories appear as parts of other stories, with the introductory story serving as a backdrop for a series of shorter stories that lead readers into each, dovetailing and connecting in intricate ways.”
~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“The American novelist CG FEWSTON tells a satisfying tale, bolstered by psychology and far-ranging philosophy, calling upon Joseph Campbell, J. D. Salinger, the King James Bible, and Othello.”
“In this way, the author lends intellectual heft to a family story, exploring the ‘purity’ of art, the ‘corrupting’ influences of publishing, the solitary artist, and the messy interconnectedness of human relationships.”
~ Lone Star Literary Life Magazine
GOLD Winner in the 2020 Human Relations Indie Book Awards for Contemporary Realistic Fiction
FINALIST in the SOUTHWEST REGIONAL FICTION category of the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence 2020 Awards (NIEA)
“Fewston’s lyrical, nostalgia-steeped story is told from the perspective of a 40-year-old man gazing back on events from his 1980s Texas childhood…. the narrator movingly conveys and interprets the greater meanings behind childhood memories.”
“The novel’s focus on formative childhood moments is familiar… the narrator’s lived experiences come across as wholly personal, deeply felt, and visceral.”
This is my good friend, Nicolasa (Nico) Murillo, CRC, who is a professional chef & a wellness mentor. I’ve known her since childhood & I’m honored to share her story with you. In life, we all have ups & downs, some far more extreme than others. Much like in Canada, in America, the legalization of marijuana has become a national movement, which includes safe & legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic use & research for all.
“This is a wellness movement,” Nico explains. The wellness movement is focused on three specific areas: information, encouragement, & accountability.
In these stressful & unprecedented times, it makes good sense to promote & encourage the state or condition of being in good physical & mental health.
To learn more you can visit: Americans For Safe Access & Texans for Safe Access, ASA (if you are in Texas).
The mission of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic use and research.
Link: https://www.safeaccessnow.org/
TEXANS FOR SAFE ACCESS ~ share the mission of their national organization, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), which is to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic use and research, for all Texans.
Link: https://txsafeaccess.org/about-1
Stay safe & stay happy. God bless.
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How utterly sad that he steals the limelight with the death of a child. My child. And does he actually walk the whole trail? No. Plagiarizes steals from the best and has left a trail of destruction behind him because it is only he that matters.
Truly sorry for your loss, and thank you for sharing.
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