An agronomist who kayaks, bicycles, does woodworking, and who also writes.

Please, introduce yourself. Tell us about your personal life, family, education.

My name is Wendell Cooper. I studied agriculture at Virginia Tech and have been working in the field for forty years now. I am the divorced father of two beautiful daughters, now grown.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

Most of my spare time is spent bicycling on wooded trails or on the old logging roads of the Great Dismal Swamp. Between my work and cycling, I spend a tremendous amount of time alone in quiet places. This affects my thought processes and in turn my writing is shaped accordingly.

If you are active in career fields other than writing, what do you hope for the future of that business? Describe your work or business activities in which you are presently active.

I am an agronomist, and I specialize in peanut production. From May through September, I spend fifty to sixty hours per week in the fields. My clients are among the highest yielding producers in the nation and constantly strive to break records. They pay me for timely information and advice, but I believe I learn more from them.

Hobbies

Do you have hobbies? How did you get started in them?

I fish, kayak, and do a little bit of woodworking, but my favorite pastime is bicycling. This has also grown into somewhat of a hobby because maintaining and repairing them is enjoyable as well. There are so many options now with different bikes and components that customizing them is almost unavoidable.

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If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?

I do read a lot, mostly technical materials. There are amazing advances being made in biology, and I am particularly interested in viruses. Fortunately, the internet has a seemingly unlimited supply articles on the subject.

What is your ultimate writing goal as you see it today?

I want to write books that have a positive effect on each reader. I don’t have illusions about changing what’s wrong with the world, but if I can give a reader a few hours of enjoyment at a time or a happier perspective on life then I am satisfied. And if I am successful with this effort, then it follows that I want thousands of readers!

What inspired you to write your first book?

I started writing during a long and difficult divorce, mostly when I was waiting up for my teenage daughters. Writing, above all other aspects, is communication. When other forms are restricted, as happens in periods of isolation, people turn to writing because we all have a need to communicate.

About Choosing Titles

How do you decide on the title of a book?

I love this question! I chose the title Love, Kenya because it was easy to remember and as I wrote the book all the files had that phrase in the title somewhere. The subject of the book, Sherry Karanja, loved that as a title. My agent didn’t! I added the subtitle, Story of a Missionary for clarity as people saw the cover.

Have you developed a specific writing style and why?

I have experimented in several genres, and I have written in first person and in third person privileged. When I write fiction, I try to make it as realistic as possible. When I write true stories, I try to make them read and flow like a fictional tale. I think that is described as narrative nonfiction. So, I suppose I do keep some semblance of style across genres and perspective. I like defining a scene with one or two very small details, and I try to describe emotional content always in a manner that the reader has already experienced in their own life.

How much of your books is realistic and experiences based on someone you know, or events in your life?

Well, my last book, Love, Kenya – Story of a Missionary, is 100 true. The dialogue is even close to accurate even though some of the conversations are almost forty years old. My previous books, all fiction are realistic in a different way. Boiling Gap is the fictional story of a young man who felt responsible for the death of his father. My dad died when I was in high school.

I told Boiling Gap in first person. Every bit of the sadness, numbness, depression, and self-loathing is completely real. So were the positive aspects of working through all of that. The reviews on that were great, with readers telling me they found themselves reliving losses in their own lives, including their recovery. Considering that Boiling Gap is at times an absolutely gruesome horror story (not a slasher story though!), I really felt that I had done something right!

Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

William Peter Blatty is my absolute favorite. I have read The Exorcist over and over, cover to cover. He was a master of “ Show, don’t tell.” The scene where the young priest sticks a dollar into the soiled pants of a drunken beggar and then has to walk home because that money was intended for cab fare is just incredible. When you realize that this same priest is losing his faith, you see the innate decency in the man and you get drawn into the battle of good against evil as this man’s soul hangs in the balance.

Do you remember the first book you read?

I remember the first grownup book I read, Rattlesnakes. When I left that elementary school, I had checked it out over 20 times!

Favorite Author

Is there an author, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

I wish I could have met William Peter Blatty. I feel like I knew him just from reading his work. It would have been interesting to see what he was like in real life matched up with what I perceived.

If you could not write, how would you express what you wish to convey through any stories?

Tough question. I think all art is an attempt to communicate what you saw or felt. I would probably get seriously into photography.

When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?

I am struggling! Selling your work is not for people who cannot handle rejection. The way I deal with it is to make sure I am satisfied with my own work. Specifically, I ask myself, “Have I applied what I have learned in a disciplined manner? Is this book better than the last?”

How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?

I would love for people to keep reading my books after I am gone, if the words have a positive effect on the reader. As far as anyone remembering me, that isn’t important.

Do you have a blog or website viewers can visit for updates, events and special offers? Include HTML links to any and all of your sites.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendell.thomas.316492

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Wendell-Thomas-Cooper/author/B00NDTRC3S?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true