Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
A1. Of course! My name is Tony Kessel, author of It’s All In The Lyrics: How Music Helped Me Heal and Find My Voice. I currently live in Albuquerque, NM with my wife and 5 children. Writing (and other artistic endeavors) are a side gig to my full-time job with the New Mexico Army National Guard. As I discuss in my book, my biggest hobby is music: listening to it, playing it, writing, and recording.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “It’s All In The Lyrics”?
A2. Writing this book was cathartic. It was a large part of my journey to better mental health. Unfortunately, I had to open some old wounds to provide the level of artistic honesty this project required. I like the process of breaking a bone to ensure that it heals correctly. It’s painful, but in the long run, what your body needs for recovery.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A3. For this project, I gleaned inspiration from the nostalgic vibes of The Wonder Years and A Christmas Story. My writing was more influenced by lyricists than anything else: Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Jesse Hasek (10 Years), Kevin Matisyn (Evan’s Blue/Parabelle), Ryan Clark (Demon Hunter), Justin Furstenfeld (Blue October), and Elliott Smith. There were several times during the writing process that I had to scale back my use of lyrical devices.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
A4. If I’m honest, I really miss being back home in North Dakota. There’s this small lake near where I went to college that I would visit during my developmental years that brought me peace. There’s a part of me that wishes I could go back to Patterson Lake when I need to do some deep soul searching.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘It’s All In The Lyrics’?
A5. I grew up a huge Garth Brooks fan. After attending one of his concerts in 2017, I had a three hour car drive. The nostalgia of listening to his music as a kid caused me to reflect back on life and the musical journey I’ve taken since. To process the feelings, I built a song a day playlist from May 2017 to April 2018, putting a blog entry together for every song. Once the project ended, I decided to copy/paste the entries into a Word document and read it. It was really rough, but I decided that with a little work it could be worthy of publication.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘It’s All In The Lyrics’?
A6. It’s All In The Lyrics took me a year to write. To bring it to its current form, I edited it 7 times over a 6-year period. Throughout that time, I wasn’t just editing the book. I was getting healthy from a mental health standpoint and trying to establish the identity that I so desperately sought for many years.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
A7. It’s available in most places: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google Books, Kobo, etc. in ebook format, print, and hard cover. I’m currently in the middle of recording the audiobook, which will go out on all major audiobook platforms, as well.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘It’s All In The Lyrics’?
A8. I designed the cover during the pandemic while I was activated for COVID relief efforts. The word cloud on the left side of my body was generated using the lyrics of some of my favorite songs. It took a really long time due to having to learn Adobe PhotoShop and InDesign.
As for the title, It’s All In The Lyrics is quite literal. I’ve spent most of my life searching for greater purpose through the lyrics blaring from my various media players. While the book discusses the impact of each piece, there is an accompanying playlist that comes with the book. There are several occasions where I don’t go into depth about certain emotions, but let the song I refer to fill in the gaps. Kinda like an Easter egg hunt of sorts. I really want to give readers an interactive experience that causes them to reflect on their own soundtrack.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
A9. For this project, I just kept consuming music like I always do. The teleportive quality music possesses stirred up emotions that allowed myself to dwell in to capture the sentiment I was aiming for. Like I said before, it was very painful at times; however, it never lacked a fresh perspective.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
A10. The “show, don’t tell” nightmare is real. There is a fantastic TedTalk entitled “The Clues to a Great Story” by Andrew Stanton that was immensely helpful during the editing phase. Stanton says, “The audience wants to work for their meal. They just don’t want to know that they’re doing that.” Any time I caught myself in the deep tracks of mansplaining, I leaned heavily on this concept.
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