Marc O’Brien

Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.

Please allow me to introduce myself… Due to a unprovoked confrontation with the German Measles before birth I was born with a brain injury the University of Pennsylvania diagnosed as Cerebral Palsy. This physical conflict on paper took many things away from me. But due to adaptive equipment along with aggressive creative rehabilitation techniques, I won back some recreational experiences learning basic horseback riding skills. This activity also brought acknowledgements like representing the state of New Jersey in the 1983 and 1985 National Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres (translated- the others) Games. These memorable moments were great for college applications, professional resumes and social conversation. Higher education academics is where I studied my journalism background preparing me for being a writer. Unlike my recreational reality, when story telling I enter an imaginative world where anything can happen. This interpretive fiction exercise is safe and can be deleted from my computer screen, if I do not like it.

Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle”?

The number one challenge I had in writing “The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle” is describing my able-bodied equestrian Danielle Lynne Easton engaging in an actual jumper course. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the time, I used the race book’s individual betting screens while investing my two-dollar wagers and miraculously captured the free-flowing motions that a show jumper demonstrates while competing. When the riding feeling came back, I was able to translate it to words. I guess it was just that Vegas magic which did the trick.

Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

In “The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle” I developed the character ‘Peter King’, the good friend. Name comes from Peter Straub and Stephen King, American horror authors. While being a teenager the horror genre both book and film assisted me in confronting then understanding the definition to the word ‘handicap’. Another writer who influenced me growing up in New Jersey was the late playwright Neil Simon, that is where my romantic relationship vibe comes from and right now, I think the Broadway legend along with the late Arthur Miller are keeping me from writing scary stories filled with gothic death.

Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?

Here in the United States, we have everything. Where I have lived, New Jersey has all the settings a writer would want while Nevada’s wonderful challenging desert landscape with scenic mountain peaks featured nice gaming opportunities and Florida’s relaxing beach communities kept the creative juices healthy. All three surroundings not only provided positive living experiences but contributed to my upbeat writing style. To pick a favorite is very difficult.

If I can find the stimulating electricity to write and be creative in a certain place, it is special to me.

Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle’?

A wonderful aging large show pony, which the farm I rode at rescued while I was enrolled at Barry University in North Miami Shores, Florida. I purchased “Something Special” and changed her name to ‘Jersey Girl’ noting her attitude and respectfully competed in South Florida Hunter/Jumper Association rated horse shows. Originally, owned by the Exorcist actress Linda Blair, I guess the chestnut mare looked the part and was a perfect fit. These experiences had a story to be told and I used a fictional format to spin the tale.

Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle’?

Decades to conjure up the visions for the story and during this time my journalism style writing developed which is different from long winded descriptive story telling. My one-bedroom Las Vegas apartment was a nice place to assemble everything into the word processor, then put it away until pitching it to Austin Macauley, UK, LTD who picked it up immediately.

Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?

Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Google my name Marc O’Brien. “The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle” can also be purchased at Austin Macauley, UK, LTD.

Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle’?

I do not want to give away one of the endings in the three-part series, but the cover is a picture right before I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree from Barry University. This image is an accurate photo of someone diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy in the late sixties, early seventies and approximately twenty years later, right on schedule, earned a bachelor’s degree. It has come to my attention that my book is on sale at Waterstones in London, that means what I looked like in 1988 is on display, and I think that is a positive international statement.

Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?

I play an improvisational game. Like acting in a theater, I use a prompt, jump start a scene and take it from there.

Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

It all starts with a sentence, more sentences make a paragraph, more paragraphs make a page, more pages make a chapter and when you have many chapters and nearly done pitch it to a publisher. Keep writing, it is a wonderful internal way to figure things out in your own mind and the worst-case scenario is, delete or throw out what you wrote then say, “‘it never existed’, I got it out of my system, and I feel better.” I told myself all this and the mental health strategy works.

Buy The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle on Amazon