Crafting Stories of Love, Loss, and Resilience
Joseph Seechack discusses his transition from television to writing, the emotional depth of his debut novel, and his unique approach to character development and storytelling.
In the world of literary fiction, few debut novels come with the kind of profound depth and emotional resonance as A Love To Die For by Joseph Seechack. Seechack, a seasoned veteran of television network operations, has turned his narrative talents inward, crafting stories that delve into the human condition with a rare blend of humor and heartache. After decades of honing his storytelling skills behind the scenes at ABC-TV Network and serving the City of New York, Seechack has embraced his long-held passion for writing, exploring the intricate layers of human experience through his prose.
Seechack’s writing journey is rooted in a lifetime of personal exploration and a desire to understand the complexities of human nature. His stories, often sprinkled with moments of humour amidst the struggles of his characters, reflect his belief in the power of laughter and its ability to make life’s trials more bearable. “A Love To Die For” stands as a testament to his literary philosophy, portraying a narrative that is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting. The novel follows the journey of Grace Butler, a woman shattered by the sudden loss of her husband, as she navigates the tumultuous path of grief and finds solace in the unwavering support of her friends.
In our interview, Seechack shares insights into his transition from a successful career in television to the world of novel writing, his approach to character development, and the inspiration behind his compelling debut. His reflections offer a glimpse into the mind of a writer who not only seeks to entertain but also to challenge and transform his readers. Join us as we delve into the creative process and personal philosophies of Joseph Seechack, a storyteller dedicated to exploring the depths of the human spirit.
What inspired you to transition from your career in television to becoming a novelist?
I worked in Television for 35 years. I was laid off from my last employer, ABC-TV Network. I then worked for the City of New York for eleven years before retiring. Being retired, I had fewer distractions, the time, the motivation and the need to write more seriously, more productively.
Your short story To Catch A Thief was included in the “Writers of Tomorrow” anthology. How did that experience influence your writing journey?
I am forever grateful to Ms. Ruchi Acharaya of Wingless Dreamer. She saw some talent and potential in me and included my story, in her short story anthology, “Writer of Tomorrow which was published in 2021. That was tremendously encouraging and it gave me some validation and credibility in the marketplace. Thank you Ruchi.
A Love To Die For is your debut novel. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what readers can expect from it?
My debut novel, A Love To Die For will grab the readers by the collar with two hands and pull them into the story. I want readers to connect and FEEL, really FEEL and hopefully be changed and find hope and energy from the story.
A wonderful wife, Grace Butler, has found legendary true love with Ron, The One, the one true love of her life. If Love had a Mount Rushmore, they would be on it. She comes home to an empty house, and later learns that her husband has died, without a chance to say goodbye. Their kiss before she went out, was their last kiss.
She is far beyond devastated; she was annihilated. Her Perfect Love is dead. How will she survive with two fatherless children? How can she deliver a eulogy worthy of their incredible marriage? When she buried her husband, her heart pleaded to be buried with him, and so it was. She couldn’t stand the idea of their hearts apart from one another.
How can she move on and try to build a new life for herself and her children?
Thank God she has been blessed with strong, amazing, loving girlfriends, who carry her along to some form of new life. Grace is the triumph of the individual over adversity. The triumph of love over death. In Time, she evolves to a place where she can teach others to move on with their lives like she has.
As readers, they cannot enter the story and help Grace. They can only struggle along with her and cheer her on and cry with her in her tortured struggle over the “Sudden Vacuum” in her life and in their legendary marriage. The reader will experience a Cathartic Release in seeing Grace overcome the endless, torture that her life become only to triumph, just by surviving and evolving into a new life thanks to her loving girlfriends. We are not powerless. We are not alone.
The only villain in my book, is Death itself, with the death of Ron. But death is the end of life, not the end of love. Love transcends death and moves on to a higher, more celestial level of loving, as readers will see.
You mentioned that you like to explore the strengths and weaknesses of your characters. How do you approach character development in your writing process?
Despite what you see on TV and in the movies, space is not the Final Frontier. People have been, and always will be the Final Frontier. Why do people do the things they do? “Tis a Puzzlement!”
I’ve been blessed with the ability to see through more than just my own eyes. I can see through the eyes of my characters, so that I can better tell their stories. I like my characters to face Moral Dilemmas, and see what choices they make. Moral Dilemmas explore the inner workings of the characters, and maybe the readers as well.
As a writer, I believe that a blank page is a new canvas for a writer, an invitation to adventure, for the writer as well as the reader. The blank page is an entirely limitless universe before me. My mind is my own Starship Enterprise.
I like to write myself into a corner, if it helps the story. Then I have to figure out how to write myself out of that corner to advance the plot and move the story along. I believe that the more ways you look at a problem, the greater the number of solutions become visible.
Your writing style is described as artistic and focused on arranging words and ideas into beautifully orchestrated sentences. Can you share a bit about your approach to crafting prose?
I write what I feel. I write what I know, what I’ve lived. I really love humour. I believe that God has a sense of humour. That is where my sense of humour comes from. It may well be that God created Human Beings with their unpredictability and their human foibles for his own amusements. I feel that my stories are much more entertaining for the reader when I add some unexpected humour, or at least some snide comments which they can relate to, because they have lived it too.
I write because I have to love write, and I write to get the ideas out of my head and onto the page and are now visible on the page, and not just a figment of my imagination.
Writing undresses a writer, in what he has written. No fig leaf for modesty; more honest, more exposed than originally intended, often before unworthy eyes, including critics. To write something truly worth reading takes dedication and discipline. You have to adhere to personal honesty and honour within yourself to higher standards so as not to rob your own talent. Exactly how that concept manifests itself is up to each individual writer, if they actually strive to create real art, real literature, to know that they have lived up to the true full potential of their talent.
With your background in television, do you envision any of your stories, perhaps A Love To Die For, being adapted into a film or TV series? If so, how do you think the visual medium might enhance your storytelling?
I truly do believe that A Love To Die For would make a wonderful, timeless classic movie about life, the power of love in spite of the loss of true love, the feelings about powerlessness, and the Human Spirit’s ability to change things and overcome the problem which life puts before us. Grace has amazing, strong, loving girlfriends whose strength of love carry her along when she gives up. They move her forward and work to get her back on her own two feet to persist in creating a new life for herself and her fatherless children. The love of her girlfriends forms the foundation upon which she can build her new life. And to evolve to a place where she can teach others what she has learned, and therefore elevate their lives.
There are some thematic similarities to the classic movie, It’s a wonderful life. So maybe A Love To Die For can someday become that type of timeless classic movie with an uplifting story.
