Friday, May 24, 2019

Authors To Watch: Steve Starger, Author of Misfits and Supermen #authorstowatch




Steve Starger is a journalist, author, and musician. His 2006 book, “Wally’s World: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Wally Wood, the World’s Second-Best Comic-Book Artist,” was short-listed for the Will Eisner Industry Award for Best Comics Related Book of 2006.







The bond of brotherhood is hard to break, but a lifetime of dealing with familial expectation, bitterness, and psychological disorders can bend and warp it into something nearly unrecognizable. This story tells the tale of two brothers: Melvyn, the elder, whose
amalgamation of disorders leave him completely unable to function within society; and Stephen, the younger, whose own emotional and psychological issues are overshadowed to the point where he becomes little more than a pale and twisted reflection of his brother.

On different ends of the same spectrum, Melvyn is blissfully unaware of their troubling connection (or so his brother can only assume), but for Stephen, it is undeniable. He lives with it every day, sensing his own otherness in every twitch, outburst, and inability of his brother to overcome his inner demons. Left largely on his own to deal with his peculiarities-while carrying the burden of being "the normal one," of whom much is expected- Stephen begins a complicated and unpredictable journey, one which will take him as far from his brother as he can manage to get, even as it brings them inexorably closer.

A portion of proceeds from this book will go toward the Camp Cuheca Scholarship - Melvyn D. Starger fund at Waterford Country School, Quaker Hill, CT., to help fund a two-week summer residency at the camp. For more information about Waterford Country School, please email development@waterforddcs.org.

“A finely crafted, affecting memoir of two brothers.”
-- Kirkus Reviews
If you want an honest book about life with mental illness in the family, this is it. Great writing. Brutally honest. Hard to put it down. Great stories about CT, NY and CA from the 1940s to 2000.”

--Amazon Reviewer

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Welcome to My Bookish Pleasures. We would love to get to know you and your book! When did you begin writing?
I began writing when I was about 7-8 years old. I would scribble little adventure tales on available paper.
Describe your writing process. When and where do you write?
These days, I write in my home office. I’ve written on trains, buses, planes, in motel and hotel rooms, anywhere I could to capture a thought or image that came into my head. My best writing time is before noon.
Can you tell us about your most recent release?
The book is titled Misfits and Supermen: Two Brothers’ Journey along the Spectrum. It’s a memoir about the relationship between me and my older brother, who was burdened with multiple psychiatric disorders that led to his being institutionalized most of his life.
How did you get the idea for the book?
I started out wanting to write my brother’s life story, as a way of preventing his memory from disappearing, something that can and does happen to people in my brother’s situation. When he died, I felt the urgency more than ever. It took years for me to face the story head-on, and five years of writing it. Now, it exists, and so does he.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?
Revisiting and reliving painful events in my and my family’s life generated by my brother’s conditions.
Do you find it easier to write nonfiction?
Being a professional journalist, I know the mechanics of research, interviewing, editing, etc. In that sense, writing nonfiction may be easier.

Do you have plans to write fiction?
I’ve written fiction and no doubt will again.
What projects are you currently working on?
My main activity right now is promoting Misfits and Supermen, but I have no doubt I’ll be back at writing new work again.
What advice would you offer to new or aspiring nonfiction authors?
If you have what it takes to be a writer, don’t be discouraged by rejections from publishers. Take the criticism and advice of family members and friends with a grain of salt, unless they are professional writers. Write true and honestly, no matter how painful. Never give up!

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