INTERVIEW WITH JOHN FITCH V

John Fitch V is a self-published author of five novels. His latest, "Turning Back the Clock," could best be described as a sports fan's time travel story. In real life, his name is Sean Sweeney and he is a sports writer, which lends even more authenticity to his latest book.

The following is an interview I conducted with him via Facebook:

ME: Have you always written fiction?

JFV: No, I haven't. I started my writing career back in 1993 as a freelance sports writer while still in high school. I branched out into fiction in 2003, and it's been all downhill from here.
from there

ME: Was fiction something you always wanted to do?

JFV: I'm still writing sports; that's the so-called "real job." And yeah, I've always wanted to write fiction. I've always been a storyteller, someone who has wanted to inform, always wanted to entertain. Fiction-writing -- and, on the same level, sportswriting -- is a way to do all of those things at the same time.

ME:Speaking of sports writing, this novel "Turn Back the Clock" incorporates both of your disciplines, is this the first time that's happened

JFV:For me, definitely. I've always been a sports historian, so this was just another way of doing something I love. I actually learned things I didn't know while I was doing my research for it, too.
The novel begins with the events surrounding October 17, 2003: Game Seven of the American League Championship Series. My protagonist is watching the game, and after the game, his drunken thoughts lead him to the idea of building a time machine...Greg determines that if the Black Sox Scandal -- the throwing of the 1919 World Series by the White Sox -- didn't happen, that trade would be able to go through, and the "Yankee Dynasty" would be severely weakened.

ME:Anything involving a drunken protaganist is automatically a move in the right direction. Is that typical of your "heroes?"

JFV:Most of my heroes are stone-cold sober. The only reason why I had Greg intoxicated is because that is how I was on that night. The prologue to TBTC -- and essentially the entire book -- is a personal tale.

ME:Those are often our best work. I wrote Dreamers at Infinity's Core in six weeks and the characters are similar to me. Are these characters you plan to use again?

JFV:Oh no, this is a one-off tale. When I was originally plotting TBTC, I had a whole list of things that they could change with the time machine: The 1972 Olympic basketball final, the 1986 World Series, Celtics draftee Len Bias' death in 1986. But as the novel evolved and took shape, the story as it is came about, without need of the other things.

ME:Are all five of your novels self-published?

JFV: Yes, they are. I went with Lulu.com for the first four and even went with them again with a compilation of the first three novels, my Obloeron Trilogy. I went with Amazon.com's CreateSpace entity for TBTC, and I am in the process of re-releasing the others through CS for the sake of continuity.

ME:How are sales?

JFV: Unfortunately, without the backing of a big publishing house, sales are low. I'm hoping that will pick up. As for TBTC, I've sold a few copies and I'm hoping more come in as the holiday season approaches.

ME: What projects do you have in mind for the near future?

JFV:, I have the Obloeron prequels that will be coming out over the course of the next 16 months; I have a standalone sci-fi/space opera/Star Warsy novel that I will release in April. I'm currently working on a young adult zombie novel that is based in Tombstone, Arizona.
This spring, I'm going to start a novel that features a female protagonist; I haven't brainstormed that out, but I have ideas in my head about it.
I'm currently working on a young adult zombie novel that is based in Tombstone, Arizona.
This spring, I'm going to start a novel that features a female protagonist; I haven't brainstormed that out, but I have ideas in my head about it.


ME:You have quite a bit in the works.

JFV: , I have my next year planned out, and I plan on being VERY busy



You can learn more about this author by visiting his website:
http://www.johnfitchv.com/