Interview David Kruh

Hi David, Welcome to Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More!  Thanks for agreeing to this interview.

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

DK: During the time I was writing INSEPARABLE I had a picture on my computer desktop, so it was the first thing I saw when I booted up each day to begin work on the book. The picture is of John and Clarence Anglin, both about ten years old in crisply starched shirts with their hair combed and slicked back as they smile the smiles of boys joyously on the cusp of becoming teenagers. I know this may sound silly but I would say good morning to them every day. After all, I was tasking myself with telling a story in which they would be two of the three central characters – the third being a boy not much older than they were in this picture. In a few years they would begin committing petty crimes, eventually graduating to burglaries and, finally, a bank robbery. Though the bank job was committed using a toy gun, the brothers were sentenced to a state prison where they demonstrated an adept ability to leave the care of the state, albeit without permission. After several escape attempts John and Clarence were sentenced to serve at the Federal Penitentiary at Alcatraz in 1960 and 1961, respectively. In June, 1962 they would become famous for escaping what was considered the country’s toughest prison. But, to be fully rounded characters in a story they needed to be more than their “rap sheet.” This picture was my way of reminding myself that John and Clarence were once just two smiling, happy kids on their bicycles…

TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?

DK: I wish I could take credit. But it came from one of  the wonderful graphic artists employed by DX Varos. It actually took my breath away, the way it encapsulated the theme of the book.

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?

DK: What a great question. Being based on an actual event I used the actual names of the warden, some prisoners and guards as well as the more well-known residents of Sausalito, such as restaurateurs Juanita Musson and Sally Stanford. Many of the secondary characters (other prison guards and prisoners, policemen, and townspeople) have names from friends. There are two major exceptions. My protagonist, Tommy, is named for a friend with whom I grew up. He had many of the adventuresome qualities needed to attempt the help of two escaped convicts.

TR: Which actors would you like to see playing the lead characters from Inseparable if were to be made into a movie or mini series?

DK: A movie or miniseries? Well, as my mother used to say “from your mouth to God’s ears…” I guess if I were to choose, I’d pick some of my favorite actors if, for no other reason, so I could meet them. How about Sam Rockwell for John or Clarence Anglin? Shea Wingham for the other brother and, oh, yea, Michael Shannon for Frank Morris. And, as long as you’re asking, Brian Cox as the Warden.

TR:  There has been a lot of research, books, and documentaries on this very famous escape from Alcatraz.  Can you tell us about some of the research you did yourself?

DK: Well, I saw the Clint Eastwood movie many years ago (long before I even had the idea for my novel) took a tour of the prison in 2011, which is where I first conjured the idea for INSEPARABLE. But before I began my work of fiction, I wanted to ground myself in the story not just of Alcatraz and the escape but of the quirky, unique town of Sausalito which I call one of my book’s main characters. Through Facebook I found some wonderful Sausalito residents who generously shared memories of their town, and also read three excellent Arcadia publications (Houseboats of Sausalito, Sausalito, and Marinship) which are filled with pictures of the town including many from the era in which the book takes place. The FBI’s website is a treasure trove of pictures and details of the actual escape and the company which runs the very popular Alcatraz Cruise has an extraordinary website with many more details about life – and death – on “The Rock”.

TR: When did you first have a desire to write?  How did this desire manifest itself?

DK: I’ve been writing since first grade. I know because my mother saved my first work of fiction – a science fiction story about a rocket which saved the planet from an asteroid. (I know what you’re thinking but I checked with a lawyer – the producers of Armageddon are off the hook. The statute of limitations has long run out.)

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

DK: I think about my next book. Really, I do. Since my “wheelhouse” is non-fiction (INSEPARABLE was a rare attempt at fiction, although heavy on actual history) I spend a lot of time doing what I call “burrowing down rabbit holes” – researching and tracking down leads on my latest subject. In the warm weather (a few precious months here in New England) I’m also working in my garden, where I grow pumpkins and other vegetables. Oh, and watching the Red Sox. During colder (and snowier) months I hunker down in the basement refurbishing and restoring antique radios or operate my ham radio station. And, of course, read a lot of history.

TR: What are you currently working on?

DK: I recently began work on a compelling, unsolved mystery which began in Boston on VJ Day (Victory over Japan Day), August 15, 1945. On that day, in the midst of a raucous city-wide celebration of the end of the war, a baby boy was abandoned on the Boston Common, left in the arms of a twelve-year-old boy. I wrote a column in 2005 for the Boston Globe on the child, who was named “Baby Victory” by the press of the day. What I didn’t know was that the baby boy was adopted in 1951.  He later married and had two daughters, one of whom contacted me after reading my 2005 column. We recently began collaboration on a book about her search for the identity of her grandmother. http://www.bambinomusical.com/LittleBabyVictory/index.html

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

DK: Well, first of all I’m grateful you didn’t ask me if I think the escapees actually made it to freedom. Because I could argue both ways and, for the purpose of book sales, would like to keep the possibility open.

The question I’d like to be asked is “what are you most grateful for?” so I could answer “my wife.” There were days I doubted I could even write 80,000 words of fiction… that I could tell a coherent, believable story… or create characters whom readers would care and root for. But my wife Mauzy never doubted me and never stopped making sure I had the time to fulfill my dream.  It wouldn’t have gotten done without her.

About David Kruh

David is the published author of several books on Boston history and the co-author, with his father Louis, on a book about presidential homes and landmarks.

A frequent contributor to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and History Magazine, David is also a published and produced playwright, and a popular lecturer on a variety of historical subjects. ‘Inseparable’ is his debut novel.

Website: http://https//inseparablealcatraznovel.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.kruh

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