A.   I’m a father, husband, brother, and son. I love my children and wife more than anything. My brother, 3 sisters, and Mother also. My father past away in 1998. I did have 4 sisters at one time. Unfortunately my sister, Mary Regina, past away unexpectedly a few years ago. She left two wonderful children. I also have 13 other nieces and nephews.

Writing, research, and trading futures markets are my other passions.

I’m politically split down the middle. I don’t really think there’s much difference in our two-party system. Money’s simply moved from one area to another depending on what party is in control. I’ll vote for someone, man or woman, who’ll get things done for the regular person, not the corporations.

I believe in religious freedom and separation of church and state. I love people who respect and tolerate other folk’s beliefs.

A.   After 10 years of sobriety (2001) something happened to my brain that I don’t quite understand. I think it re-wired itself somehow? Suddenly I wanted to learn and read. I began reading about the JFK assassination, which led to all the theories behind 9/11. I realized that I’d been lied to, not just about these two subjects, but also about many things throughout my whole life. Maybe it’s age related? Perhaps something that happens when you are in your late 30s? Who knows?

However, what I learned angered me. The history books I read in school, growing up, lied about many things or blatantly omitted data. In the present time the media’s the culprit.

Then, there’s our government. My research led me to unclassified documents and books about what our government has actually done to millions of people, inside and outside of this country, and it’s not pretty. What really shocked me is that it’s still going on today. I began to feel helpless and very small. Insignificant. What possible difference could I make?

So, I decided to focus my anger and my energy into Nano. The story formed while I stood in the trading pit at the Chicago Board of Trade. Day after day I wrote down ideas on pieces of paper as they came to me. A basic outline ensued and from those ideas came Nano. The main theme being, can something so small make a difference?

A.   Quantum and theoretical physics have always fascinated me, despite having no background in math or science. The title has a double meaning. First, nano-technology plays a role in the main character getting back at the evil politicians. Second, the title also speaks to the theme of the book, as I wrote above, ‘can something so small make a difference?’ That specifically lends itself to the main character, Hunter. Meaning, can one man make a difference? The answer to that question is in the book!

The history of Frank Lloyd-Wright

The Bush Administration

The Stock Exchange

Government Funding

The Finger

A.   The Finger! That idea came to me in the car while stuck in daily traffic. That was a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the history of Frank Lloyd-Wright, since I grew up in Oak Park, IL where he spent a great deal of his life. Oak Park also has the most concentrated amount of FLW structures in the world.

However, focusing on the government funding was a good exercise in learning that I could make a difference. I enjoyed using real situations and crimes the government had committed and then writing that into the story. Mixing reality with fiction was awesome. I truly enjoyed that the most.

A.   I began writing in 2001. That was about the same time I noticed my brain had re-wired. I produced my first book, From the Pits to the Pits a year later. I’d never written anything before that. I was 39 years old at the time.

A.   I’ve written four books.

From the Pits the Pits, non-fiction, 2001/02

8-Steps to Therapy, non-fiction, 2002

Winter is Coming, non-fiction, 2003

Nano, fiction, 2005

A.   No. I’m taking a year off. Then I’ll begin a new novel. Either Nano II, or Messiah. Messiah is about the second coming of Christ, except it’s a woman and she doesn’t know she’s Christ.

A.   Hunter is based on me. Dan and Brian are based on two life-long friends of mine. I love formulas. The writing formula is, write what you know. I know me and I know Brian and Dan.

A.   Crystal just came to me. She’s not really based on anyone. I must confess that many of my ideas come while I’m writing. They pop into my head and I go with them. She was one of those ideas.

The Colonel is based very loosely on Colonel Edward Mandell House. President Woodrow Wilson’s friend and long-time mentor. He wrote a fascinating book, in 1912, Philip Dru, Administrator: A Story of Tomorrow. The book speaks to the progressive period in American history. He had a major role in shaping the country because he had Woodrow Wilson’s ear.

Then, I added a voice of reason to the character to balance the Governor and Crystal’s lunacy. You could say the same for Lord Rothschild. Rothschild was a balancing figure but he also represented all the powerful bankers in American history. He was in the story to show that there are families that control many aspects of our lives even if that isn’t their collective intention.

A.   Rob is a real person. He was one of the many therapists I sought, in the early 1990s, while trying to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. He had a profound effect on me. He still does.

A.   Think of Nano-Technology as the replicator in the TV show Star-Trek. Captain Picard orders “Earl grey tea, hot”, from the replicator. Poof, the tea appears in about a second, in a nice cup!

The idea is that the tea and cup were replicated from a ‘blue-print’ the computer stores in its database. The computer built the tea and cup atom by atom. This scenario is one of the ultimate dreams of the technology.

Medical science would rebuild a heart valve or replace a broken bone, without invasive surgery. Heck, without any surgery at all. Society could produce anything very cheaply out of any kind of material. When this dream is realized society will take the leap out of an economic driven society and into something very different. What that will be I don’t know? Maybe I have another book here? Mmmm.

A.   Anyone can make a difference. Whether it’s writing stories to teach people or volunteering anyway possible, be it money or time. If a person thinks they are insignificant then that’s exactly what they’ll be. If someone thinks they can make a difference then they will. My hope is that I did just that.

Jim Goulding, www.jamesgoulding.com