Cut Shot Q & A

Q: Tell us a little about Cut Shot. A: Golf is a game of integrity, the only sport where a player is entrusted to call penalties on himself. In essence, the book is about integrity. And about a man, Jack Austin, who is forced to defend that integrity and honor while, at the same time, trying to hide a gambling scandal from a journalist who just happens to be the woman he loves and is engaged to marry. Q: Dyslexia - and how Jack Austin deals with it - is a big part of the book. How does dyslexia affect you in real life? A: Yeah, the book deals with dyslexia. I got an email recently from the president of a college for learning disabled students. She liked the book, said it rang true. I guess it should. At 9, I failed math. A teacher told my mother to "face it. Some kids are just slow." Thankfully, my mother didn't accept that. My parents took me to the Boston Children's Hospital. I was diagnosed as "learning disabled, presumed dyslexic." One specialist said my symptoms made me a "poster boy for dyslexia." For me, dyslexia affected me in math-like situations. Still does. I can see where I am and where I need to go - but not the space in between. I plan my day out the night before - pick my clothes, make my lunch, make my coffee¾ so that at 4 a.m., I can get up, write, and be off for work without missing (or forgetting) a thing. Maybe this all shows a couple things about dyslexia: many dyslexics are very focused, driven, and tend to see the world in black and white. Jack Austin surely fits this description. My wife would say I do, too. Q: Just who is Jack Austin? A: Jack is in his mid-30s, a journeyman Tour player, a long driver who struggles with his putter. But he's more than that. Cut Shotis my third Jack Austin novel, so I've spent a lot of time with him. He's a guy who grew up in Maine, the son of working-class parents. Thus, he's a guy who knows full well how lucky he is to make a great living playing a game he loves. He also knows his place in that game. He thinks he can beat anyone in the field - yes, even Tiger - on a given day. But he knows he's not the best. Although he'll go to his grave trying to be. Q: Tell us about your career. What else have you written? Do you write mostly fiction or do you write in other genres? A: Fiction is closest to my heart. I've published around 50 poems in literary journals. Also, non-fiction academic papers on teaching dyslexics. But my novels come first due, in part, to time constraints: I'm Humanities Chair at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, Maine, a school for highly motivated high school students. I'm fortunate to have a very supportive wife and two young daughters, Delaney, 3, and Audrey, 8 months. My family comes first. After spending time with it, then work, that leaves time to focus primarily on one genre. And I've always loved the detective fiction and golf. Writing is very hard and very unstable, so you have to really enjoy it while you’re doing it. I really enjoy getting up early (usually around 4 a.m.) and spending two hours with Jack Austin before work. Q: So how does the mystery genre fit in the golf world? A: Raymond Chandler wrote: "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man" (The Simple Art of Murder). Similarly, Robert B. Parker, in Ceremony, wrote: "It's a way to live. The rest is just confusion." I see Jack Austin as that type of man. Mysteries can be set anywhere--look at shelves in any chain store. You see sleuths that are chefs, sports agents, scholars. I've always seen similarities between the PGA Tour player and the classic detective fiction protagonist¾ both live is worlds that require a moral code; both exist in somewhat solitary worlds as well. What makes the books very challenging to write, though, aren't the similarities; it's the differences. Jack is not a detective. He is a golfer. As a writer, I have to deal with those limitations. This is a character whohas spent his entire life striving to achieve great things in golf. Thus, he is not a crack pistol shot, so any shooting must be from very close range or with a shotgun. That said, in the mold of the classic (Raymond Chandler, Robert. B. Parker) detective, Jack is a man of honor, of morals, and a guy who lives by his own code - respects the game, its founding fathers, his fellow competitors, and the Tour. Also, as a dyslexic, he tends to see things in terms of right and wrong. Readers know this and it allows him to take on things - to get into situations - some people might not. Q: Tell us about your relationship with Tour player J.P. Hayes. A: I attended the University of Texas-El Paso MFA creative writing program and took fiction writing workshop with Laura Hayes. She quickly discovered what I was working on and said, "You have to meet my husband." My wife and I became friends with the Hayes. We speak on the phone and email, now that I moved to northern Maine. J.P. critiques my work¾ for life-on-Tour and golf aspects. It's very much appreciated, since his off-season is maybe two months long. Q: How do you provide insight into the Tour? A: I ask J.P. and Laura many questions and I've interviewed a former PGA Tour player, John DeForest, a club pro now in upstate New York. More than anything, I read a lot - articles, features, anything I can get my hands on. Also, as a former hockey player, I know the mental internal battles one wages. I played goalie in college. Of course, there are few sports positions that offer as much pressure. As a goalie, when you fail, everyone knows it. That's a lot like golf - you're alone; no one is there to back you up. I think this gives me a little insight that I can bring to Jack Austin. Q: Back to golf. What are your thoughts on the game? Are they as pure as Jack's? A: Golf is a game for life. And a game of life. Therefore, it is the greatest game. I think it teaches you more than any other game. It offers the discipline all sports teach. But it offers more - integrity; how to put a mistake behind you and focus on the present; it teaches an appreciation for nature, for the outdoors; it teaches respect. I've introduced my 3-year-old daughter to the game and hopes she finds as much joy and excitement in it as I do.