Interview John Wareham, author of SONNETS FOR SINNERS

Today I would like to welcome John Wareham to Book Junkie. He has been kind enough to answer a few of my questions about his latest release Sonnets for Sinners in which I had the pleasure to read. You can read my review HERE.

If someone were writing a story about John Wareham what would your blurb say?

John has counseled top international business leaders, and at the other end of the social spectrum transformed the lives of prison inmates in New York's toughest prisons. He has published ten books of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry, but his writing does not fit neatly into any genre. What might define him best, is a vein of dark humor as he discloses human foibles and helps readers to recognize and pursue their own best interests. His latest work, Sonnets for Sinners, examines the inner lives of sinning lovers, his previous work, a psycho-political thriller, The President's Therapist, explored the troubled psyche of United States President, George W. Bush. His earlier works include Secrets of a Corporate Headhunter, a popular business bestseller, The Anatomy of a Great Executive, a 13-language reference classic, How to Break Out of Prison, a life-changer, and Chancey On Top, a critically acclaimed novel that explores themes of leadership, love, and enlightenment.

What do you do to combat writers block?
This a rare occurrence for me, but if it happens, I figure it is because I don’t know what I am trying to say. I may walk away for an hour—or even a day—to discover what that might be. Then, I then come back, sit down at my computer, imagine I am talking to a friend, and force myself to produce 750 words a day.

Which sonnet was your favorite if you had to choose?
I tremendously admire, Longing, in which Elan Haverford likens her obsession with her absent illicit lover to living in a surreal village. Here’s the opening quatrain:

The village I dwell in, Thinkofyou,
Is a maddeningly melancholy town,
Where the clocks are locked in a strange snafu
And the forget-me-nots are hand-me-downs.

I also very much like the sonnet I managed to distill from a Princes Diana television interview, particularly these lines:

Life’s just a journey, we all wind up dead,
so I wore my heart on my sleeve and led
from the heart, not the rulebook of the head:
if you find love, Hang On, is what I said.

What advice would you give to people who "run out of creativity" when writing?
Take a brief holiday, then come back, and (a) start writing, (b) don’t quit, and (c) finish a first draft—don’t get it right, get it written!

Can you tell us a little about your newest release SONNETS FOR SINNERS: EVERYTHING ONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT ILLICIT LOVE?
It is one part anthology and two parts self help; a non-judgmental look at all sides of illicit love. It shows the world through the prism of poets trapped in love triangles. Their dramas play out in just fourteen compelling lines. Then, on the facing page of each sonnet, I attempt to show—successfully, I think—the mindset of the poet, and milestone reached on the inevitable journey of illicit love. Upon reaching the last page of the book, sinners may be inspired to quit their wicked ways; they may equally, however, be better equipped to suffer guilt and longing with the goal of savoring the continuing thrills of a love affair.

What inspired you most in creating Sonnets for Sinners?
Five sonnets by the Other Woman in my love-triangle novel, Chancey On Top, got a lot of praise, so I decided to expand them into an anthology of love poems. There was no collection on illicit love, so I decided to make that my focus, and, drawing upon my professional life, include a page of analysis and advice on the facing page of each poem.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve done in the name of research?
Coaching corporate leaders at one end of the spectrum and prison inmates at the other gave me tremendous useable insight into human foibles. For this book, however, I learned infinitely more than I ever anticipated when tinkering public domain from celebrities into sonnets. It felt as if I was performing heart surgery, with the patients laid out on the table, and their beating hearts exposed.

What are you currently working on?
I have several things bubbling, but I hate to talk about a work in progress; whenever I do I start to lose interest.

If you could ask readers any one question, what would it be?’
What part of your life would you least like to talk about?