Welcome back to my interview series, In the Armchair.
If you're a first time reader, this is where I invite writers to come and talk to me about their latest projects and their writing process.
I'm so happy to have author Daryl Rothman back on the blog to tell us about his latest book baby, Gospel. You can read our previous interviews here and here.
Gospel
Author: Daryl Rothman
Genre: Literary Suspense
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Editor and Interior Designer: Lane Diamond
Cover Artist: Kris Norris
Blurb
Jacob Fallon, a failed author, plans to win back his family, but then he’s ensnared in a deadly, Faustian pact.
Jacob looks to drown his sorrows at the neighborhood bar, where he’s compelled by the insidious proposition of a sinister figure who approaches him. For a life-changing sum, he must locate four designated strangers and make the case for their lives. He has two weeks.
So begins a race against time to save the lives of four unwitting souls, including that of his son, who means more to him than life itself. To succeed, he must confront his greatest frailties and unearth the darkest of secrets. Along the way, after stripping everything else away, he discovers what truly authors our very lives.
“Daryl Rothman’s Gospel... is unique. I’ve never read a book with this plot, and it’s a refreshing addition to the suspense genre. Rothman’s ability to weave a deeply personal and universally relatable story makes this novel stand out.” ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Carol Thompson (5 STARS)
In the Armchair: Daryl Rothman
How does this book differ from your previous work?
Well, it’s literary-suspense, and literary is really my natural writing voice. My first two published novels are YA/Fantasy.
How long did it take you to write the book, from concept to final draft?
Around 18 months, and that was with writing/editing almost daily—the most consistent writing period I have ever managed.
How do you approach planning a novel? Do you outline or dive straight into writing?
Alas, I am somewhere in between—neither a proverbial pantser, as they say, nor an assiduous outliner. I mean, I like to have an idea where I’m going, and I always outline at least a bit. Sometimes mid-stream I will craft some partial outlines just to keep the next few chapters or section from careening off the tracks. Some structure helps, but I try to not lock in so rigidly as to stifle that organic direction my characters will ultimately, and ideally take.
Do you have any rituals or habits that help you get into the writing zone?
I write better when I write daily, even a few sentences. Do something literary. Edit. Read. Some good days crank out several pages or on rare occasion an entire chapter. And reading—the more I read—and most assuredly the more well-written stuff I read, the more inspired and equipped I feel to write.
Did you make any unexpected discoveries about the characters during the writing process?
I did, and not all flattering(for them or me). And that’s ok. At least one beta reader didn’t really love my protagonist, and found the antagonist more likeable. In a sense I am okay with this. Hopefully it means the antagonist was well-crafted and as for protagonist she didn’t find him poorly crafted so much as, well, not terribly heroic. Now, this was not a massive shock, as I was not going for superhero or unassailable. Far from it. My best writing and best characters, for better or worse, never come from really happy, saccharin places. There’s grey, and a whole lot darker than grey. If there comes a silver lining or something to root for, I think it may be found in relatable obstacles they face, and even that one thing they may find and cling to, in order to maintain a matchstick of hope, and to persevere.
How did you approach the setting and world-building in this book?
Good question, because I’ve got my guy sojourning the globe 3 or 4 places, most of which I knew little about. So I studied up best I could. I had fun with that, trying to learn about the environments, people, culture…not at all to pass for expert or native but simply with the goal in mind to make those scenes well-written and passable.
What message or feeling do you hope readers take away after finishing the book?
A character reminds my protagonist in the book that while he may not be able to move on, he must nonetheless go on, and I think that is one of the key takeaways. Again, this ain't no fairytale. There is darkness. There is pain. Life is pain, Princess, Wesley says in Princess Bride. Indeed. But if we think about it right—“and”—the story says—“it was imperative that he did—there was much more blessing than burden there.” We all still have our blessings, and in the end can hopefully find ways to move on in gratitude, and not get hopelessly mired in despair. Allow ourselves those moments, sure, but in the end, as the last word of the book exhorts, On.
What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down? Do you have a favourite genre, and does it differ from what you write?
These questions relate, as my answer would be a terrific non-fiction work by Abbott Kahler called Eden Undone. I had the pleasure of meeting her recently when she was in town talking about the book. Great non-fiction really inspires my fiction, I think because I can lean too far into the florid, and tight, taut nonfiction seems to help me remember to reign things in a bit. I penned a guest post on this about a decade ago, in fact. And I am hoping in 2025 to release a hybrid kind of manuscript—it is fiction, but sort of historical fiction and crafted first-person as if by a vagabond scribe chronicling actual events.
Are you working on a new manuscript?
I am working on the third and climatic instalment in my YA series, called David Rose and The Days of Awe. Also hoping for a 2025 release.
About Daryl Rothman
Daryl Rothman’s YA/Fantasy novel, The Awakening of David Rose, was released by Evolved Publishing, September 9th, 2019, and was a winner in the Best Young Adult Fiction category for Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards. First in a series of three, it was inspired by (and the protagonists named for) his children, and the protective relationship between them. Daryl has written for a variety of esteemed publications, including Men With Pens, KM Weiland, CS Lakin, Problogger and more, and recognitions include Flash Fiction winner for Cactus Moon Press, Flash Fiction second place winner for Amid the Imaginary, and Honorable Mention for Glimmer Train’s New Writer’s Short Story Award Contest.
When he’s writing, Daryl feels he is doing what he was meant to do, and recalls his earliest literary embers being kindled as a child by his father reading Poe, O’Henry and others to him and his brother.
Book II in the David Rose Series debuted in September 2022, and Gospel, a literary-suspense novel, released in November 2024.
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