Author of American Heroes
By: Trisha Bleau Smith
Book Overview:
What better way to remember and memorialize our country’s heroes than to hear the stories of this century’s soldiers?New York Times bestselling author Stephen Mansfield has captured some of the most captivating stories of soldiers since 9/11 in his latest gift book,American Heroes. Your audience can hear such stories as Corporal Jeffery Starr, who gave his life on Memorial Day 2005 after a sniper’s bullet hit his heart and Kenny Vaughan, who created the most popular dog tags for soldiers
T4JYM: Since 9/11 there have been countless books published and stories written about heroes of America. And people still can’t get enough of these wonderful people! Therefore, this is sure to be yet another bestselling book. What made you decide to do a book along these lines, since there are so many already on the market? Do you ever question whether your own works will get lost amongst the numbers already available?
SM: From time to time, a great theme thrusts itself upon you. When I heard the stories I recount in this book, I knew they had chosen me and I had to make this book happen. Yes, there are other books on the subject and there will be better ones to come. The great writer writes because he can do no other, crowded markets aside. I am not a great writer but I intend to act like one.
T4JYM: How did you go about obtaining the stories of the heroes featured in this book? Can you outline the research process for our readers?
SM: I was embedded with the U.S. forces in Iraq at the beginning of 2005. The Pentagon had given me permission to be with the troops so I could research my book, The Faith of the American Soldier. As I went into the fighting with the soldiers and then talked at length with them back at the camps, I began hearing amazing stories of heroism and sacrifice that I knew Americans weren’t getting back home. Even though what the soldiers told me of their heroic comrades didn’t fit into the book I was working on, the tales were so stirring that I decided I had to find a publisher for them. J. Countryman, the leading gift book publisher in this country, agreed with me and then did an amazing job designing and printing this little volume. My dream of honoring fallen heroes was fulfilled.
T4JYM: How much editing is involved in a book of this nature? Is it any different than books that do not chronicle the lives of real people?
SM: The editing process on a book like this is unique for several reasons. First, when you are writing about soldiers who have died in combat and you know their families are going to read your book, you want to get every detail right. I spent a great deal of time on the phone with widows and children who had lost parents to make sure I got the facts right and that I didn’t say anything that would dishonor. Second, because the war is ongoing, many of the stories I tell had to be altered slightly in light of security concerns. So, in addition to making sure the manuscript was solid as I would with any book, I wanted to make sure the text was cleared with both the survivors and the Pentagon. This made the editing process the most unusual one of my career.
T4JYM: Who have been your biggest influences in life? Who have been your biggest influences in your life as a writer?
SM: The man who has most influenced and inspired me in my life is Winston Churchill. Though I honor the public Churchill, it is the private Churchill who suffered so intensely but prevailed to offer courage and wisdom to the world who stirs me to be a better man. Among the authors who have shaped my writing, I’d have to list Shakespeare, Peggy Noonan, George Grant, David McCullough and Paul Johnson.
T4JYM: What are your next plans for writing? Do you plan to do any more books along the same lines as this book? Will you move on to new writing?
SM: I’m currently working on what I hope is a cool, inspiring, informative look at the First Amendment and what it means in our time. When I’m done with that, I’ll likely do a biography of a leading contemporary politician. I’d like to return to the subject of soldiers eventually. I even have an idea for compiling their writings in a single volume. Coming from a long line of military leaders as I do and having been raised in the military, I’m sure I’ll never get too far from the subject of wars and those who fight them.
T4JYM: Being a best selling author you have obviously written other books. Could you please share a few of them with our readers? Which are your favorites?
SM: My favorite among my own books is called Never Give In, which is a biography of Winston Churchill with character lessons from his life. I’m probably best known for The Faith of George W. Bush, a book Newsweek magazine said helped Bush get elected. I also wrote a book on the new pope called Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission. Aside from these, I’ve also written biographies of Booker T. Washington and George Whitefield, a history of religion in Tennessee, and an introduction to the philosophy of history. I suppose my favorite is always the one I’m working on at the time but the Churchill book will always be deeply meaningful to me.
T4JYM: How do you find time to write? Life is busy and time management is hard to do sometimes. When do you do your best writing and where? Is writing your full time job or do you work, too?
SM: I split my time between writing and a very full schedule of speaking, so I have to really guard my writing time. I’m a bit unusual in my approach to getting words on the page, though. I cannot write, then do other business, and return to writing. So, I block off entire days to write and I write all day, sometimes twelve hours at a time. I’ll do this several days in a row when I can and then I take a break so I don’t get stale. I use my travel time for reading and editing but I’ve found I can’t write on the move.
T4JYM: Who are some of the authors you read? Why do you like their works?
SM: I find my creativity and literary sense are best stirred by reading widely. It isn’t uncommon, then, for me to read a novel by Dan Brown, a book of Longfellow’s poetry, a biography of Lincoln and a volume of spiritual mediations all in a row and then start a completely different series. I’m easily bored and fall easily into ruts, so I try to answer my intellectual hunger while feeding my soul a varied diet. That said, I try to read everything that Paul Johnson, Peggy Noonan and David McCullough write.
T4JYM: What is the last book you read? Did you read it for research purposes or for pleasure?
SM: The last book I read was a dry volume of Supreme Court cases and I read it for my book on the First Amendment and to atone for my many sins. The last book I read for interest was An Army of Davids, which is all about how technology is empowering the little guy. The last book I read for joy was Kipling’s Captains Courageous.
T4JYM: What training do you have in writing? Did you take any writing courses in college to obtain the skills you have currently?
SM: I’ve never had any formal training in writing other than the usual general education writing classes that are required in most colleges and universities. I learned to write by reading and I learned to write well, if I do, by cultivating a passion that animated my words. I learned to write for effect by writing without effect.
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career in writing?
SM: Don’t pursue a career in writing. Pursue something that sets your heart aflame and if it can be put in words, write it. Nothing makes for bad writing and an empty life like striving to write without devotion to something worth writing about.
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone interested in publishing their works?
SM: Get good. Get an agent. Get a life outside of writing. Get used to sustaining the blows of rejection. Get ready to celebrate the high moments and learn from the low.
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