As Good As Can Be by William A. Glass

Publisher:  Hawkeye Publishers, (April 14, 2020)
Category: Fiction: Coming of Age; War and Military; Family Saga
Tour dates: May & June, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-946005-34-2
Available in Print and ebook, 400 pages

Description As Good As Can Be by William A. Glass

‘As Good As Can Be’ is a novel about the wayward son of an alcoholic army officer.  As his dysfunctional family moves from one military base to the next, Dave Knight develops a give-a-damn attitude that goes well with his ironic sense of humor.  In high school he joins other delinquents in a series of escapades, some dangerous, others funny, and a few that would be worthy of jail time should the troublemakers be caught.

After barely graduating Dave gets drafted into the army and sent to guard a nuclear weapons depot in Korea.  There he runs afoul of his sergeant and must scramble to avoid dishonorable discharge.

‘As Good As Can Be’ draws on the author’s experiences growing up in an out-of-control military family during the 1950’s and his own military experience.

Advance Praise As Good As Can Be by William A. Glass

“A sweeping family saga that takes you into the world of a military family.  A great read.”

“William’s book flows magically, I had a stack of papers to grade one night but thought I would read a chapter before I started. Next thing I knew it was 2:00 am and I hadn’t graded anything!”

Interview William A. Glass

TR: Please tell us something about the book that is not in the summary.  (About the book, character you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)

WG: The summary does not do justice to the ironic humor which pervades the book. One reviewer said that she was “worried this would be darker than it was,” but after reading it, she concluded that “As Good As Can Be is a cheeky, enjoyable read.” The summary also leaves out subplots, including one about a dramatic event that has many repercussions. The summary is faithful to the primary plotline, however.

TR: What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?

WG: My favorite scene is Dave’s last conversation with his mother. I cried when I wrote it, and that was the first time I’ve been able to let my feelings go about my own mother’s death. Also, the scene includes one of the few obvious clues in the book about the major theme. The title of the book comes from that scene.

TR: ‘As Good As Can Be’ is based on your childhood with your family, why did you decide to fictionalize it?

WG: I tried writing a memoir, got about half-way done, then kept procrastinating working on it because I hated it. In the meantime, I wrote a short story that worked. One day it occurred to me that the main character in the short story was a self-reflection and that I could write a novel about him drawing on my life experiences. The short story was written in the third person, present tense. That gave it an immediacy my aborted memoir lacked. Also, it had an omniscient narrator, which made it possible to relate important scenes where the protagonist was not present. So that’s the approach I used in writing the novel, and it flows much better than the memoir did.

TR: I always enjoy looking at the names that authors choose to give their characters. Where do you derive the names of your characters?  Are they based on real people you knew or now know in real life? How do you create names for your characters?

WG: I guess it’s OK to admit that many characters in the book are inspired by people I knew.  So, while writing the book, I often used real names. That helped me visualize the characters and capture their idiosyncrasies.  The hard part came in going back and renaming everybody. In doing so, I just tried to pick names that fit the person. I confess that for minor characters, I sometimes resorted to using names of acquaintances or looking up popular names using Google!

TR: How long did it take you to write this book from concept to fruition?

WG: As Good As Can Be took me eight years to complete after I ditched the memoir. I had a very demanding day job coaching college soccer during that time.

TR: What writers have you drawn inspiration from?

WG:I have many favorite writers, but to answer your question, I’ll say Harper Lee, Jack Kerouac, and J.D. Salinger because their books had the most long-lasting impact on me. More recently, Rick Bragg and Frank McCourt have inspired me to get my story down on paper.

TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover? Did you design it yourself?

WG: I’m working with a wonderful indie publisher.  His name is Timber Hawkeye. I showed Timber pictures of WWII era wooden army buildings and examples of 1950’s station wagon ads and suggested we put them together somehow.  He came up with a great concept, then we played around with it until we agreed on the final cover. It was a team effort!

TR: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from ‘As Good As Can Be’?

WG: If I had written this many years ago, a young Adam Sandler would have made a great Dave Knight! Don’t laugh; I’m thinking of his performance in “Reign Over Me.” Also, a young Sean Penn comes to mind. He was a hoot in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I’m not up to speed enough on current movies to pick a contemporary young actor.

TR: What do you do when you are not writing?

WG: My job as a college soccer coach is fun, but it takes up a lot of time including some nights and weekends.  I also enjoy exercising and taking long walks with my wife, Bettina.  Our rescue dog, Scout, accompanies us. When we can get away, we go camping in the mountains or spend time walking along the South Carolina shore. I often commute to the college where I work on my motorcycle, and that’s a blast. I compare it to taking a roller coaster to work! Finally, of course, I always have one or two books going. I read a while every night before turning out the light.

TR: What was your first job?

WG: My first job was a summer gig working at the Augusta Georgia Coca-Cola bottling company while in high school. It was funny because I was a 90-pound weakling and the other students who worked there were all football players from our school’s 4-A team. We would pull wooden cases of full Coca-Cola bottles off the fill line and stack them. Whew!

TR: What are you currently working on?

WG: I’m working on a sequel to As Good As Can Be.

TR: What book/s are you reading at present?

WG: I’ve been on a Ulysses S. Grant binge. First, I read Ronald White’s recent biography, and then I read the memoir Grant wrote while dying of throat cancer. He wrote it to provide for his wife, and it became a huge bestseller. Now I’m reading Sherman’s memoir.  He was Grant’s best friend and a very quotable guy. It was Sherman who said, “War is hell.” But my favorite quote of his came when someone criticized Grant. Sherman answered, “Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, now by God, we stand by each other.” Please bear in mind that William Tecumseh Sherman is the most hated man living or dead where I live, so I need to keep my admiration for the general on the down low!

TR: Is there a question that you would have liked me or another blogger to ask but didn’t? Please answer your question as well.

WG:  What impelled you to write As Good As Can Be?A. I wanted to leave behind more than a dusty urn in some crypt when I go. Now I can happily picture someone somewhere in the future randomly taking a musty tome from a bookshelf and getting immersed in my story.

About William A. Glass

William A. Glass, formerly a VP at Gallup, now coaches soccer at a small college in South Carolina and writes. He lives with wife, Bettina, who is a high school German teacher.  They have three sons who have all moved away to pursue careers.

Website: https://williamaglass.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.glass.50767?ref=bookmarks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamasaglass/

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Giveaway As Good As Can Be by William A. Glass

This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of print or ebook however, print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 3 winners. This giveaway ends July 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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