Interview with Jeffrey Keenan, author of Benning's War

Do you recall how your interest in writing began?

In my late teens I got the idea for a novel about humans being surgically altered
to be enabled to fly. My sister was in nursing school at the time and she informed
me that putting wings on people would not work. Of course, Jack Patterson took
a similar idea decades later and wrote a bestseller. I didn't try writing again
until I was in my forties.

What do you see as the influences on your writing?

History, and my voracious appetite for books in most genres, motion pictures,
theater, and of course television! Those last three inspired me to write in
a visual way. I want the reader to 'see' what I am writing.

What are your current projects?

I'm fiddling with a prequel to Benning's War that relates Isaac's
father's experiences in the French and Indian War. I'm also struggling with
a Science Fiction piece called Space Pirate.

You write both historical fiction and science fiction. How do you explain
these diverse genres existing in your mind at the same time?

My love of reading was born in science fiction. As a child, I hated to read.
My father bought me Edgar Rice Burroughs The Moon Maid and The
Moon Men and I was hooked. I read every science fiction novel my father
had. He bought Analog magazine every month and I devoured that as well.

That love of SF remained with me. But as I grew and discovered other genres,
I found great enjoyment in reading histories. Particularly American history
and biographies of Americans. American History has been my passion for a long
time. But I still enjoy a well-written SF story. In my mind, both genres, when
written well, are tremendous adventures. Compare Rise And Fight Again
with Heinlein's Starship Troopers and you will see what I mean.

Is there some personal reason you are interested in the topic of war?

Although relatives served in the army and marines, I never enlisted. I just
missed the draft, becoming eligible in 1973. It isn't so much that war interests
me, it's more that war is the great leveler. War can destroy or create nations
and empires. So I wanted to show what the common soldier might feel, witness,
and experience in war.

What was the idea that inspired you to write a book?

A chapter in Rise And Fight Again - about the American Revolution
- described the Massacre at the Waxhaws. It was sad and interesting, and I tried
to find more information about it. It occurred to me that a magazine might like
an article about the event. But the article never felt right, the short story
was too weak, and the next thing I knew I was writing a novel.

Article Author: Parker Owens

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