Today’s author guest is writer N Daniel to chat about his creative non-fiction memoir, Burn This City to the Ground.
Bio:
N. Daniel works as a medical caregiver in the greater Minneapolis/Saint Paul Metropolitan area. His debut writing effort, Corners Untouched by Madness: A Personal Journey of Overcoming Mental Illness, has enjoyed modest success in certain writing circles. Burn This City to the Ground is the sequel. The author lives with his wife and two dogs just outside of downtown Minneapolis.
Welcome! Please tell us about your current release.
As Daniel (The Main Character) recovers from a psychotic episode and months long mental health civil commitment, he befriends a youthful quadriplegic named Samantha who is dealing with life-threatening health problems. When cohabitation becomes necessary for Sam, caregiver and client both move to downtown Minneapolis to begin a new life together. Before they can get settled in, Daniel is diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and must undergo multiple surgeries. The two navigate the American healthcare system and work towards Samantha’s eventual independence, However, their relationship becomes toxic when a global pandemic shakes the nation and George Floyd is murdered by Minneapolis police officers.
Based on the author’s life, this endearing platonic love story is the gooey center of a turbulent world set aflame. Through the laughter and the tears, Samantha and Daniel play off each other like a tragic comedy duo that’s hell bent on finding humor within the most savage aspects of their everyday lives.
What inspired you to write this book?
When I set out to write this book I was living with my quadriplegic client in Downtown Minneapolis. I had already written one book, Corners Untouched by Madness, which was a memoir. I felt my life had been interesting enough to warrant a second story from my exploits. At the time I was volunteering in the same homeless shelter George Floyd was working in. When I returned to the initial manuscript I had put down after he was murdered, I found that I had written some scenes with a character based on him. It was an emotional experience getting this work out there into the public because it runs in a tertiary vein to what was going on in Minneapolis in 2019 and 2020.
Excerpt from Burn This City to the Ground:
“Janet,” I poked her. “Guess what I am listening to?”
“What?” she smiled.
“Sade!”
“Damn man, you are always listening to Sade down here. Sweetest Taboo, Cherish the Day, Lord those were my glory years. Amen.”
I did the sign of the cross and got into the serving line. I dished out chicken tenders and waffles with some very thin soupy maple syrup that tasted a lot better than its consistency suggested. I glanced over at Janet who had her back turned to me. A weary, toothless woman approached the buffet. I made her plate and handed it to her.
“Son, I need more chicken than this to get through the day. Why don’t you give me a few more pieces? Even just one more would be good.”
Janet’s ears perked up. She turned to address the woman.
“Hey, hey! Listen. If we be giving you extra chicken, we will need to be giving EVERYBODY extra chicken. You just move along, lady. Don’t hold up the line. If there is extra, we will hand it out but for now everybody has got to eat.”
The woman mumbled something to herself and moved on, slowly down the line. I saw Floyd remove a lot of disgruntled customers through the months but that only happened when they threw up a fuss. Janet kept it orderly, disciplined. Floyd took care of the troublemakers. That’s just how things worked at the Salvation Army shelter.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I have a few ideas on the back burner. One is a nostalgia-filled romp through the early days of the internet in the mid-90s. Basically a story set during the period when kids knew more about the internet than their parents. The other more of a psychological book about my own paranoia and delusions, about finding meaning in the news and international events and how “trying to put the pieces together” can lead to disastrous consequences. I have always wanted to write a conspiracy theory book about ordinary people and their distorted perceived realities. A sympathetic look at tin-foil hats that really gets into the nuts and bolts of why they are the way they are.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I don’t really want to say I considered myself a writer when I got published. It’s a bit obnoxious to others who devote their entire lives to writing and have trouble publishing work. I would say when I finished my first manuscript I considered myself a real writer/author. Even if you are just scribbling thoughts in a diary or notebook you should be considered a writer. It’s a title that I feel should be thrown around quite liberally!
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I am a full time high medical caregiver, which means I care for severely disabled individuals. My new book, Burn This City to the Ground, details some of those experiences. I work a lot of overnights, so I often find time to write while my clients are sleeping, checking on them throughout the night. The people I serve include those suffering from quadriplegia, traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, severe mental illness, blindness, old age and a host of other ailments. I take refuge in figures like Mother Theresa who cared for the untouchables in India and have made it my mission to always work in a profession that is helping others. I seek to shed a light on this suffering as well as my own struggle with mental illness in my writing. So many people live in constant pain and being a part of their world, even for a short time, can be life changing.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know if I have an interesting quirk in my writing. I guess I need absolute silence when I write, no music, no outside noise to disturb my train of thought. I might have a glass of alcohol when I write to kind of loosen things up. Otherwise, I just try to let it flow like a man possessed!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to make and design Lego playsets. The closest I got was organizing landscape designs using 3D models on a computer and then building them in real life. Maybe not as fun but still worthwhile.
Anything else you’d like to share with the readers?
In an era where every single story on the planet is being remade for the new generations, I want to encourage authors to write down their experiences. There is still wilderness to discover writing fiction. The human story is constantly changing and evolving with plots ever expanding out and forming humanity’s timeline. Write about it. Speak your truth. Tell your tales. Just keep writing my friends!
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Thanks for being here today.