The 40 But 10: Robert Hoffman

 

I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!

Today we are joined by Robert Hoffman, who recently retired from teaching after 34  years.  He was a blogger for six years for his local paper, the Albany Times Union. He also blogged for Albany.com, Fark.com, CrooksandLiars.com, and kneesandfists.com. In 2021, he published my his first novel, "Blind Spot.  He also wrote a television pilot with a friend which was just named an "Official Selection" at the  Las Vegas  International Film and Screenwriting Festival.  "Taken to the Grave" marks his second attempt at writing a work of fiction.

Why do you write?

I’ve enjoyed writing since I was in high school.  My dream was to be a sports writer, but then I began to enjoy writing about a host of issues.  In college I had my own column which I enjoyed immensely.  However I was unable to further my writing career when I graduated and ended up as a social studies teacher for my career which worked out fine.  About 12 or 13 years ago I started blogging and I was picked up by our local newspaper, the Times Union of Albany.  I did that for a few years, but began to get bored doing it, and so I decided to try writing a work of fiction.  I enjoy getting to express my ideas and opinions through characters that I create, and I enjoy the challenge of completing a story that moves people.

 

What’s the most useless skill you possess?

My wife says I have a head filled with “mindless muck.”  If I were to translate that I would say that I have a head for trivia.  As a social studies teacher, this skill can come in handy, I mean, if somebody asks you who the 14th president was, and you don’t know that it was Franklin Pierce, aren’t you going to feel silly.  I also have a head for sports trivia, and can quote a lot of movies and old television comedies.  If being able to do that is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.

 

 Describe your book in three words.

 Journey of Discovery

 

Would you and your main character(s) get along?

Well that’s pretty funny because the story was inspired by something that my wife experienced and for a while, because of it, we did have a few disagreements, however, I’m happy to say we get along just fine.

If you could cast your characters in a movie, which actors would play them and why?

Maria could be played by Julia Louis Dreyfuss, although I’m not sure she’s Italian enough looking, but she’s spunky and intelligent and passionate like Maria.  Mark could be played by Matt Walsh from “Veep.”  I would think that Annie could be played by Chloe Grace Moretz, and perhaps Michael could be played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Sofia and Lawrence would have to be played by multiple actors since their stories are kind of told through flashbacks.

What are some of your favorite books and/or authors?

 I tend to look for books that have some comic relief to them.  I like Richard Russo, as well as Gary Shteyngart, and Kurt Vonnegut.  I also enjoy Philip Roth because he seemed to always be ahead of his time when it came to understanding where America came from and where it’s going.

 

What’s the one book someone else wrote that you wish you had written?

 “Confederacy of Dunces,” and it’s not even close.  The characters, the setting, the way the story all comes together at the end, it is brilliant and laugh out loud funny.  My favorite book of all time.

 

If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?

 I actually wrote a blog about this several years ago.  I took a look at what many of the most infamous amongst us who were on death row ordered for their last meal, and it was quite illuminating.  I narrowed mine down to three choices:

               A - A Burger King bacon-double cheeseburger with onion rings

               B - A meatball pizza from almost any Long Island or New York City pizzeria

               C - A pastrami sandwich from almost any Jewish deli in New York City or Long Island.  After that, all I can say is, “Warden, do your worst!”

 

If you could time travel, would you go back to the past or forward into the future?

 I would go forward in time.  There are no “good old days.”  The past was pretty awful, racism, no air-conditioning, no medicine, who wants it?  I would like to travel to the future so I can see how my grandchildren turn out.

 

What’s the one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

 I don’t have regrets because they are the biggest waste of time that there is.  You can’t change the past, and even if you could go back and talk to your younger self, you, being you, would you even listen?  However, I would have given writing a real shot as a profession, so I would have told myself to be ore daring and less cautious, but I’m sure wouldn’t have listened because that’s who I am, thus, a waste of time.  It would be more lucrative to go back in time and tell my younger self to bet it all on the 2008 Super Bowl, and pick the Giants before the season started, I would have made a mint.

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E-book  |     Paperback   |   Goodreads 

Maria Abrams has always needed answers. A college professor with a gift for logic, she believes that if you dig long enough, the truth will rise to the surface. But when she turns her relentless curiosity toward her own family, she unearths more than she bargained for: a web of secrets her mother carried silently to the grave.

A precious gift from her favorite niece reveals a hidden relationship and its lasting consequences, Maria’s pursuit of clarity collides with the resistance of relatives who would rather leave the past buried. Her journey takes her from small-town New York to séances with reluctant mediums, forcing her to confront uncomfortable truths about loyalty, betrayal, and the fragile bonds that hold families together.

Taken to the Grave is a layered family mystery about identity, silence, and the cost of uncovering what was meant to remain hidden. At once intimate and suspenseful, it asks the ultimate question: when does the truth set us free, and when does it break us apart?