Mike:
Hi, Don.
I’m happy to have yet another Association of Rhode Island Author (ARIA) to
introduce to my Overlords fan base. As
with the others, we’re going to do an old fashioned interview. Here we go!
Mike: Don, please introduce yourself to my
Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.
DNH: I’m Don N. Hagist, a native Rhode Islander
with a great interest in the people who fought in the American Revolution.
Mike: What are you working on
these days and what’s the current status of that project?
DNH: I’m just finishing up the manuscript of a book
called “The Revolution’s Last Men: the Soldiers behind the Photographs” which
will be released by Westholme Publishing in March 2015. It deals with six
veterans of the American Revolution who lived long enough to have their
photographs taken, but whose actual wartime service has never been accurately
told.
When that’s done, I can get back to my real area of
interest, the British soldiers who fought in America. The same publisher has
asked for a new work on that subject, which I’ll start as soon as this current
book is done.
Mike:
Can you tell the audience what inspires you to
write?
DNH: I always enjoyed reading military biographies
and autobiographies. When I began to study the American Revolution, I
discovered that there are great numbers of personal stories in manuscripts that
have never been published.
Mike:
What genre do you enjoy
writing the most?
DNH: Well annotated but readable non-fiction. I
strive to write history that a casual reader will find lively and engaging, and
that a subject-matter expert will find impeccably accurate.
Mike: Any upcoming projects we should now about?
DNH: I’m on the editorial staff of a web magazine
called Journal of the American Revolution which has been highly successful.
It’s a great example of embracing a modern publishing model – the internet – to
reach a wider audience than would otherwise be likely for informative, readable
history. See it at http://allthingsliberty.com
Mike:
OK, time for some quick ones, ready? Favorite movie?
DNH: Um… anything with airplanes. If I wasn’t
writing about the American Revolution, I’d be writing about aviation.
Mike:
Favorite food or dish to make?
DNH: Oh, I like food to much to pick a favorite.
It’s all my favorite!
Mike:
Favorite place you have ever visited?
DNH: Ooo, that’s also difficult – I’ve had the good
fortune to travel a fair amount and to live in some other countries. I really
enjoyed living in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. But every place is full
of interesting details.
Mike: Favorite music band?
DNH: Whatever’s playing on the alt rock stations
right now.
Mike: Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of
yours!
DNH: Again, I can’t pick just one. To Kill a
Mockingbird; The Life of Pi; A Thousand Splendid Suns are favorites that I’ve
read recently. I don’t write fiction because I could never do as well as those
authors.
Mike: Don, thanks for being such a good sport! Is there anything you would like to leave my
fans with?
DNH: Besides “Thanks for reading?” In all modest, I
do really good book talks, so if you need a speaker, keep me in mind!
Whether it’s reading, food, travel or what have you,
always be open to trying new genres – in the famous words of Calvin and Hobbes,
“There’s treasure everywhere!”
Mike: Don, thanks for
being part of this great blog series. Please follow the links below to
get in touch with Don and most importantly, buy his books!
You can get to all of his current books here:
You can follow the progress of the new book here (you
don’t need a Facebook account):
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