Sample Interview with Jason Goldtrap, author of Sarah Conrad of Eagle Creek

Interviewer: Jason Goldtrap

Media: Feel free to use these quotes. This should answer most questions. To schedule an actual interview with the author....

RCS: There is a lot about religion in this novel, but it’s not always positive.

JG: To clarify, the Bible is shown as being the Truth as part of the story. The novel itself is entertainment. The whole of any person's life must included what they believed or did not believe about God.

RCS: I understand. How do you correlate that reverence for God with the often outlandish behavior of those who claim to believe in Him?

JG: Because that is the nature of dealing with teenagers. Most of the adults in this story are settled. They have grown up and worked out their own understanding about God.

Teenagers are in a constant flux. They are continually pulled by their wants and needs. Their goals become skewed, emotional fulfillment in young women, such as Sarah, and a barometer for self-identity in young men, such as Kevin.

RCS: Why can’t Sarah just be a “good girl”?

JG: Because that would not make for an interesting story. It’s the struggle that defines us and compels the reader to ask, "What would I do in that situation?" If I was unattractive, physically or socially, than my chastity would be largely by default. However, because I am desirable the temptations are more familiar, more real.

RCS: And that explains her behavior?

JG: Exactly, it's a modern story.

RCS: But its set in 1910!

JG: Right, we are living in a similarly transitional age. All around us new technologies are making us question our values. This story could not take place in 1900 because of the dominance of the strict moralizing of the Victorian Age. Nor could it take place in 1920 when the newly liberate American libido was running wild. She’s not Laura Ingalls.

Sarah, like all of us, needs to ask, “Who am I?” and “What do I want?” And she can only do that by riding the tumult that choices bring. She needs innocence, but, even more so, the reader needs to see the reason for it.

It is an honest look at the multiple reasons why we do what we do. You can’t just read allusions to sin; to truly know anyone, you have to relate. Girls her age do not go from white as snow virgins to promiscuous sirens overnight, it is a gradual process. Its all about power.

RCS: But at the same time, you want to be respectful of the delicacies of your audience.

JG: Agreed. Every character who experiences any level of romance must deal with the consequences. This is life. Our actions, our decisions affect us and other people. What goes on behind closed doors can elevate or obliterate the human psyche. With this novel, those closed doors are opened.

RCS:: Where did the town originate? Did you grow up in a place like Eagle Creek?

JG: No. I was raised in Nashville, Tennessee. I graduated from Goodpasture Christian High School, in Madison, a suburb of Nashville. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Mass Communication from David Lipscomb University in Nashville.

RCS: That’s quite a “safe” education. Two private schools?

JG: That is one way to look at it. Unfortunately, in the late 20th century, when I was growing up, such private institutions were frequently the only options for a quality education.

RCS: So, how does city life relate to the small hamlet of Eagle Creek?

JG: Eagle Creek reflects a part of America which is dying in the 21st century: the hometown.

It is increasingly difficult to find a spot where folks look out for their neighbors and decency is the rule.

In 21st century America, nihilism (a belief in nothing) and narcissism (an absolute focus on self) is the predominant view. These attitudes instead of being condemned are often celebrated or portrayed as being the norm.

RCS: So, Eagle Creek is what America should be?

JG: Yes. It should be family oriented, orderly, culturally united and livable.

I fear that unseen, determined forces in this country are working feverously to make it childish, chaotic, mongrelized and sick for their own purposes. With this book, years hence, people will be able to see how they should live.

RCS: But, you can’t have a workable society and still be diverse.

JG: Why not? What does the word diversity mean?

All humans are diverse. Even if they look alike or sound alike or have the same traditions each man is unique. It is only the simple minded who believe that whites have to behave a certain way or blacks have to enjoy certain types of music or Hispanics have to have a certain work ethic. All of that is nonsense. Every person has something to give.

There is no need to celebrate diversity like there is no need to celebrate gravity. It exists, now move along.

RCS: So, cultural diversity does not matter?

JG: On the contrary, it’s everything. America is a strong nation because people came from all over to a new land. Once on this new land they tossed out the parts of their old cultures that did not work and they embraced this new world which ensures liberty and the opportunity for personal excellence.

No other nation can claim that prize, but, believe me, every nation can earn it.

RCS: That sounds like politics.

JG: It's liberty. A free people need a process by which we enact methods to protect those freedoms and we have it. Often it is fails to live up to the promises, but that is a failing of the electorate. Politics is a chasing after the wind but self determination is the solid rock of this republic.

It’s not about whose in office; it’s about the ability of men to shake hands and agree that something must be done.

RCS: You have some rather traditional views of women and men in the book.

JG: I believe that men and women have peculiar and important roles to play in maintaining a strong, peaceful and enlightened society like the one in Eagle Creek.

Sarah is a strong woman who embraces her femininity. She would have marched for suffrage but she would not promote the self destructive attitudes of the modern feminine movement.

RCS: Men need women/women need men?

JG: Precisely. The common bond that unites them must be marriage. If that institution is held in contempt, societal collapse is both expected and deserved.

RCS: Then why are imperfect marriages discussed in this book?

JG: Because we are imperfect people.

RCS: Can we expect other media from this project?

JG: I don’t see why not. Once again, it all has to do with market demands. To make the story more viewable to a mass market, like a movie, no doubt the story would have to be trimmed down.

For me, Sarah’s story is a summation of many different fields of interests. I’ve written about religion, but no one wanted to read it. I’ve written about politics and philosophy, but very few have cared. So, I thought, why not combine all of my interests and create a universe of my own?

RCS: Is this the only book?

JG: Oh no, there are several more on the way. So far, there are two others completed and a fourth is being written. Many other books have been outlined.

Sarah And Her Friends, discusses the summer of 1910. She has lots of fun. Emily learns more about herself.

In Sarah: Senior Year Sarah confronts her greatest fears. She must use stamina and creativity to overcome insurmountable odds and a plethora of deceivers.

I am currently working on Christmas In Eagle Creek. Her world is expanded. New characters are introduced and there is much more background into the torn relationship between Emily and her mother.

RCS: When will we expect to see these novels?

JG: That all depends on how well the first one is received. If Sarah Conrad of Eagle Creek is a bestseller, and I have reason to hope that it will be, than the other books will be released in short order.

RCS: Thank you for your time, sir.

JG: Not a problem. I enjoyed answering your questions as well as writing them.