- Top 10 favorite authors:
Harper Lee
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Earnest Hemingway
Mitch Albom
Richard Paul Evans
Audrey Niffenegger
W.P. Kinsella
Bradley Harper
Lois Lowry
Gary Paulsen
- What book fo you think everybody should read?
That’s an easy one. To Kill A Mockingbird. (Ignore Go Set A
Watchman, if you can. It was Mockingbird’s first draft and should never have
seen the light of day.)
- How long have you been writing?
Since I was six years old. In grade school, I wrote stories
about The Berenstein Bears. I hope Stan Berenstein doesn’t mind! *Grin.*
- Do the characters all come to you at the same time, or do some come to you as you write?
As I write. Characters come to me as plot reveals itself. In
Terrence, my main character had a daughter very young. I did not know her name
was Megan–or anything about her–until I realized I needed to know her.
- What do you think about the current publishing market?
As someone who reads for–and works closely with–a literary
agent, and also as an author myself, it is my firm personal belief that
traditional publishing is far too narrow these days. Most first-time authors
are not allowed to cross genres, as doing so might not sell, in the eyes of
publishing as a whole. Just write a
straight-down-the-middle-type book. We can sell that. Do not deviate too far
from genre norms.
- Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise?
I need silence when I write. Makes it easier to think and to
compose.
- Pen or typewriter or computer?
As a man born with cerebral palsy who was lucky enough
(thanks to those who came before me) to be given a “normal” education in the
public school system, one of the first things I was introduced to in public
school was the computer. The computer allowed me to show my intelligence, to find
my place in the world, and to write.
- Describe your writing style.
My writing style is (hopefully) intelligent but accessible,
by turns emotional and humorous. I love dialogue because I love letting my
characters tell their story.
- Advice for new authors:
If a story isn’t working, don’t be afraid to set it aside and
come back to it at a later date. You’ll see it with fresher eyes if you do
this.
Don’t be afraid to eavesdrop. I find it the best way to
discover how people talk. Learning how people really talk will inform and
better your dialogue.
If someone tells you
to stop writing and you think they’re right that you should, writing probably
isn’t for you. Creatives will be told no way more times than they’ll ever hear
yes. If someone tells you that you should do something other than writing, try
your best to tune them out.
At the same time, if someone offers you constructive
feedback/criticism, hear them out. No one will ever love your story more than
you, and maybe your love for it is blinding you to flaws in the narrative.
- If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
You don’t know everything. There are going to be better
writers than you in the world, and that’s okay. But there shouldn’t be any
writer who works harder to get your stories
out into the world.
- Do you believe in writer’s block?
I do, but I also believe anyone and everyone is capable of
overcoming it. For me, the best way is to read or watch something that sparks
the mind. Also, know this: You will write nothing if you write nothing, so it’s
best to write something, even if you feel blocked. You can make it better
later. Just get something down first.
LIFE IS A JOURNEY. SO IS THE AFTERLIFE.
At the end of his life, Terrence McDonald must discover its meaning,
or he’ll be banned from the afterlife forever, and his soul will cease to
exist.
Join Terrence–
and those who love him–on a poignant and
unforgettable journey through a life at once wonderful and harrowing.
Learn what Terrence learns. See what Terrence sees. By this provocative
story’s end, readers may even learn a thing or two about themselves.
***
The TV is on, and I’m on the couch, leaning as far back as I can. My heavy, indecisive brown eyes—their lenses blurred ever since my tumultuous, too-soon entrance into the world—flutter between open and shut. I am half-watching half-listening to a football game on a Sunday afternoon. Was that the doorbell?
“Who is it?” I call out, expecting to hear my daughter, Megan’s, voice. These days, she is the one person who visits me. The only person who knows I’m making my home in this little oasis fashioned from wood felled by my own hand.
“Terry, it’s Mom. I’m here to help you move.”
My mom? That’s not possible. She’s...
Wait. To help me move? Oh, God.
I rise from the couch and glance back at my lifeless body.
PRAISE FOR What Death Taught Terrence
“What Death Taught Terrence offers a powerful, painful, and poignant look at the life of a man rarely encountered in fiction. Derek McFadden’s writes with an insight few can match.”
— T.F. ALLEN, author of The Night Janitor and The Keeper
“A good story allows the reader to experience life as another person, and McFadden made me do so on a deeply personal level. If you like the works of Mitch Albom, I think you’ll find What Death Taught Terrence a worthy addition to your library and the reading of it a lifeaffirming journey.”
— BRADLEY HARPER, Edgar-Award Finalist, author of A Knife In The Fog and Queen’s Gambit
“In What Death Taught Terrence, Derek McFadden builds a world that satisfies both our desire for imagination and our need for personal introspection. I found this (story) immediately immersive, and it stuck
with me long after I finished. McFadden is doing something rare in today’s fiction—exploring the limits of what we will believe to form a better understanding of who we are.”
— ALEX DOLAN, author of The Euthanist and The Empress of Tempera
Derek McFadden is the author of the novel What Death Taught Terrence, available in February of 2020 wherever fine books are shelved. Other works of note include the well-regarded Prose From A Grandson To A Senior Fellow.
Born with a mild case of cerebral palsy, his is "a voice for those whose voices have yet to be heard," according to the online publication Audacity Magazine.
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