Interview with Alfred J. Garrotto

Dear Friends:
I invite you to read this interview I did for the monthly newsletter of the California Writers Club, Mount Diablo Branch [Central Contra Costa County, California].

I invite you to read my new book (follow this link)

Approximately how long have you been a California
Writers Club (CWC) member and why did you join?

I joined CWC in 1996. I knew about it beforehand but wanted to have a published novel (A Love Forbidden) before joining a professional writers’ organization. This reasoning was skewed, I admit, because the novel was my fourth commercially published book. The first three were a series on adult faith formation. At the time, I didn’t think those “counted.” Go figure.

How has your CWC membership helped you or your writing?

Membership in CWC has been invaluable in helping me grow (gradually) into    a much more mature writer in every way. Looking at my early books, I feel like 
going back and reediting/republishing them. I am a better, more professional
writer now than I was when I first joined the branch.

You have published a lot of books! What is the total number published, and did you have a traditional publisher
or publish them yourself? If your work was self-published,
why did you decide to publish your work  yourself?

I have just published my 13^th book (5 nonfiction, 8 fiction). I had agents for my earlier books. When I hit the “senior citizen” stage of my life, I realized that I no longer wanted to endure the year or two it took to see my books in print from the time of sale. I switched to print-on-demand for my last four or five books because I can control the entire process from concept to writing to editing and publishing. I have been able to go from first written word to publication in less than a year. 

If your work was published with a traditional publisher, 
how did you find your publisher?

The now-defunct Winston Press (Minneapolis) published my first three nonfiction books. They were very good to me throughout the process, even flying me to their home office for consultation. I had no agent for those books. They sold pretty well in the low thousands).

I had two different agents for my next set of books. These were bought by small publishing houses (Genesis Press and Hilliard & Harris). It was then that I learned the harsh reality of small presses. They did little if anything to market my books. After the agent’s cut plus the publisher’s profit, I got a very small percentage on the sale of each book.

Do you have a favorite, or one that you enjoyed
writing more than others?

Nothing ranks higher than completing and selling my first
novel (A Love Forbidden). I got very emotional—even wept—
when I felt opened the box containing printed copies of my
novel. Seeing the book “in the flesh,” so to speak was
overwhelming. Next to that, my most joyful writing
experience was the planning and creation of Bishop
Myriel: In His Own Words.

How long have you been writing?

            Professionally, for about 30+ years.

             Do you have a website?

Yes, I have a website (https://www.alfredjgarrotto.com) and 
a blog site (https://wisdomoflesmiserables.blogspot.com)
I’m on Facebook at AlfredJGarrottoAuthor
and Tweet at @algarrotto

What are you currently working on?

My novel, Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words, is now
available in e-book and print formats at Amazon.com
(see link above under cover photo. By mid-May it should be orderable at any bookstore. The paperback
edition saw the light of day in March 2020. In Les

Miserables, Victor Hugo outlined in detail a book
that his character, Bishop Myriel, intended to write. 

Then, Hugo added that the bishop got no farther
than the outline.

In my book I dare to write the text for the bishop,
following the exact outline Hugo laid out, just as the
author might have written it. It is a great challenge, but I do my best to crawl inside the bishop’s mind
and channel his beautiful spirit.

In which genre(s) do you write?

I write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, with an occasional
magazine article or book review. My fiction works range
from romantic thrillers to the spirituality of creative
talent (The Soul of Art.).

How have your background, previous work and/or
experience contributed to your writing?

Mightily. I spent 12 years in the seminary and 18 years as a
Catholic priest, before being called to another vocation—
marriage and parenthood. 
For the last 20 years, I have served as a lay minister in
my local parish, so my earlier education in philosophy and theology and my life experience in parish ministry
were not wasted.

What do you like about writing?

The most fun in writing is that you never know what is inside
of you until you see it on a page. When I look at any of my
published work, I’m likely to say, “This is really good. I wonder who wrote it?” Even though my name is on the cover
or in the byline of a magazine article, I’ve had the same
experience of wondering where all those ideas and their
literary expression came from. It can’t be the same guy
I see in the mirror every morning.

Who or what has influenced you the most as a writer?

It may sound corny, but I think of my ability to write publishable
prose (and some poetry, too) as pure a gift from the Creator Spirit.
I don’t want to seem too pretentious, but that’s how I identify
my primary muse. 
I’d say my greatest source of inspiration has been the Mt. Diablo
Branch of the California Writers Club and all the amazing authors
I’ve met and been influenced by over the last quarter century.

How do you define success as a writer?

I write because I cannot not write. I am not a famous or
even noteworthy author. I make very little money
considering the hours, weeks, and months of thought and labor
writing and publishing demands. I am a “successful” author,
if I am faithful to my originating inspiration to write and have
done my best to translate that inspiration into language that
might inspire others in some way. In short, I am a success if I gave it my best effort and feel good about the finished work.
Anything else that follows is a welcome surprise.

What part of the writing process is most difficult
for you? 

Most difficult socially is to balance the time I need to write with family time—I can’t write in 5-10 min. spurts. When I’m on a roll, it’s hard to break away and be present to the
people around me.

In the independent publishing process, the hardest part is meeting the specs of the automated software. This is especially true of paperback and hard cover publishing. I’ve found KDP persnickety but doable. I finally had to hire book designer Andrew Benzie to upload my cover and interior
to IngramSpark. 

What kind of research do you do, if any, and how longdo you spend researching before beginning a story/piece of work?

In writing Bishop Myriel, my research has been ongoing for a
number of years. I’ve read the text so many times that it’s
ingrained in me. I did have to do some research but found
everything I needed online (mainly Wikipedia for dates
and name spaces/spelling, etc.).

Paying attention to pre-awakening (morning) inspirations is valuable. I get some of my best ideas, answers, solutions in the haze of waking up.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

I’d say it’s more energizing than exhausting, but there are
limits. After in intense session, I need to just shut down,
then pick it up again later (or the next day.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I run into so many people who want to write but never seem 
to make time for it. They say everyone has at least one book in 
them, but only a few of us actually take the time to do it. If onewants to write, there’s no other way but to do it.

What are your future writing goals? I have at least two more books in me, if God gives me the yearsand good health to accomplish this. 
(1)   I want to write a 3^rd volume in my Wisdom of Les Miserables series. Bishop Myriel is #2. The first was Lessons
from the Heart of Jean Valjean. I intend to finish with Inspector Javert:  In His Own Words. Part of me shrinks from
entering that man’s dark hole, but I’d like to fill in some
blanks of his life. 

(2)   I want to do a second expanded edition of The Soul of Art.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

No, I’ve probably said too much already.

Bishop Myriel--A Professional Review

Spiritual writer, Judith Ingram (Forgiving Day by Day), has just published a review of my new novel, Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words.  I am pleased to share it with you here:

REVIEW by Judith Ingram

A Stunning Achievement!

Alfred J. Garrotto has composed a novel that ushers Victor Hugo’s fictional character, Bishop Myriel, out from the shadows of the Les Misérables stage play to the front-and-center position to which Hugo’s famous novel assigns him. Hugo hints in his novel that the bishop was writing a volume on Christian duty but left it unfinished. Garrotto steps in to cleverly elaborate on the bishop’s detailed Scriptural outline—thoughtfully provided by Hugo himself—and composes a work of theological reflections as if penned in the good bishop’s own hand.

Calling himself the ghostwriter in this tri-level authorship he shares with Myriel and Hugo, Garrotto quickly immerses his readers in the voice and heart of Bishop Myriel through a series of autobiographical vignettes. The charming formality of the bishop’s narrative and pitch-perfect style befitting an early nineteenth-century writer render the ghostwriter invisible and magically transport the reader to the very feet of this humble priest, wise beyond his years and devoted to Christian service.

After his introductory vignettes, the bishop presents his “completed” work, Duty. While the stories charm and endear the bishop to his readers, Duty stuns with its brilliant, incisive treatment of fundamental truths of Scripture and their application. The bishop laments his own shortcomings, yet his love for Christ and passion for giving himself to others in service outweigh his flaws. The reader is left to wonder whose soul is truly revealed by these deep wells of compassion, understanding, and purity of heart—is it Myriel’s, Hugo’s, or the ghostwriter’s? The bishop might answer that all such beauty must ultimately spring from the Christ Himself, to whom all three authors give first honor.

*    *    *

Bishop Myriel is now available for presale in e-book format. The paperback edition is due out in early to mid March of this year.
 

I hope all you Les Miz fans out there will enjoy this most unusual book. Unusual how? It is a fictional story whose protagonist is a fictional character created by the master fiction writer  Victor Hugo.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bishop+myriel%3A+in+his+own+words&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1003393

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bishop-myriel-alfred-j-garrotto/1136384449?ean=2940163463299

I'm delighted to announce that my latest novel, BISHOP MYRIEL: IN HIS OWN WORDS, is now available for presale on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084FVJQBX?pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pf_rd_r=SBW6388S744NB5YSMGJ5

The paperback edition will follow shortly after the ebook's release on February 25.

All Les Miserables and Victor Hugo fans will enjoy this novelized version of the man who changed Jean Valjean's whole life.

I claim the title, ghostwriter, with

great humility and esteem for

Bishop Myriel, Victor Hugo’s catalyst

character in Les Miserables. Basing this novel on an already

well-known and beloved fictional protagonist posed a

challenge, to say the least. As did "channeling" the bishop's spirit, so I could speak in his voice.

*    *    *

In the dramatic stage adaptation of Les Miserables, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, French lyrics by Jean-Marc Natel and in English by Herbert Kretzmer, Bishop Myriel appears early in Act I for barely a few minutes. During that brief encounter with mendicant Jean Valjean, the bishop bestows upon the wild-looking parolee the inherited Myriel family treasures (silver dinnerware and candlesticks). Before they part ways on stage, the bishop spontaneously “commissions” Valjean with a new calling in life:

“Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!”

With that surprising and confusing revelation, the bishop withdraws from the stage not to be seen again until Valjean’s deathbed scene when he appears to the dying man as in a vision.

How different the scene in Hugo’s original!

The first lines of that sprawling epic present Bishop Myriel front and center as a major player in the story:

In 1815, M. Charles Francois Myriel was Bishop of D____. He was a man of seventy-five and had occupied the bishopric of D____ since 1806.

Fantine, Book the First, Chapter I, Myriel

In the commission scene, the bishop’s final words to Valjean are:

“Remember this my brother, you will use this precious silver to become an honest man. By the witness of the martyrs, by the Passion and the Blood, God has raised you out of darkness; I have saved your soul for God.”

Soon after being released, however, Valjean robs Petit Gervais, a lone child on a deserted road. Suddenly, he recalls the bishop’s mandate (in this abbreviated form):

“. . . you have promised me to become an honest man. I am purchasing your soul; I withdraw it from the spirit of perversity and give it to God Almighty.”

Myriel and Valjean never meet again, at least not until Jean Valjean lies on his deathbed. Hugo describes that scene as follows:

The portress had come up and was looking through the half-open door. The physician motioned her away, but he could not prevent that good, zealous woman from crying to the dying man before she went”

“Do you want a priest?”

“I have one,” answered Jean Valjean.

And, with his finger, he seemed to designate a point above his head, where, you would have said, he saw someone.

It is probable that the Bishop was indeed a witness of his death-agony.

Over the century-and-a half of the original novel’s existence, a number of abridged versions of the 1,200-plus pages have appeared. Some publishers made an editorial decision to abridge the text. In doing so, they generally omit the statement that Bishop Myriel was in the process of writing a book on the topic of Christian duty. I am grateful for Charles E. Wilbour’s  unabridged English translation (1862, the very year of the novel’s first publication. Wilbour includes Hugo’s detailed, Scripture-based outline of the bishop’s opus-to-be. Random House’s Modern Library Edition of Wilbour’s translation (2000) filled that important gap.

We are told by Victor Hugo himself that the work remained unfinished. The bishop’s detailed outline captured my imagination and launched me on a twenty-year inner quest that has resulted, finally, in this historical novel. Probing Les Miserables’ expansive spirit became my passion. I can only hope that I serve the good bishop well by attempting to channel his spirit. And so, I dare to offer what I call a first draft manuscript of Bishop Myriel’s book. In doing so, I have done my best to preserve Duty’s outline as created by the original author. 

My Favorite Books of 2019 (that I read)

I am happy to share my favorite reads of 2019

Literary Fiction

The Walls of Lucca

by Steve Physioc

A wonderful family sage

set from WWI to the Rise of Mussolini

—history, drama, humor, spirituality all in one story

Best Short Novel

Tortilla Flat 

by John Steinbeck

Sweet tales of Mexican-American people

in post-WWII era Monterey, CA

2019 Religious nonfiction

Paul: The Apostle
by N. T. Wright

Excellent insights into Paul, man and apostle;
top-notch scholarship and spirituality

The Universal Christ
by Richard Rohr, OFM

A reminder and reawakening of the true,
everlasting nature of Jesus the Christ

Jesus and the Jewish Roots
of the Eucharist
by Brant James Pitre

masterful biblical scholarshipties the events of the Last Supperto the fulfillment of Passover

Poetry

 Rain and Embers
by Ali Nouri

Beautiful, heart-rending poemsin a cycle of love lost and love found

Bishop Myriel--in his own words . . . new novel to arrive in early 2020

Early in 2020, I’ll be releasing my 8th novel, “Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words.”Les Mis fans will enjoy this inspiring story. 

Current tentative cover

Writing in the voice of Victor Hugo’s beloved fictional character is requiring me to climb inside the body and soul of this great yet very humble man. 

Writing in the bishop’s own voice is a personally rewarding challenge. It requires me to “channel” Hugo’s bishop, Les Mis’s catalyst character. 

The bishop’s generosity and personal challenge (“to become an honest man”) sent the former convict,  John Valjean, on his way to becoming the courageous, exemplary man who served to the poor and suffering (les miserables). 

Stay Tuned.

Coming in 2020--Wisdom of Les Miserables. Book 2

I'm working hard on the second book of my Wisdom of Les Miserables series. It's tentatively titled, The Beauty of Goodness.

My focus in this second volume is on Bishop Charles Francois Myriel, the catalyst character in Victor Hugo's masterpiece novel. Myriel, you'll recall, is the man who launched the paroled convict, Jean Valjean on his life of compassion and social justice.

What many Les Mis readers do not recall from the book is the fact that Bishop Myriel had a dream of writing his first--and only--book. The theme was to be Duty in the life of a Christian. (Not exactly a winning title were it to be published today.)

Victor Hugo Statue
St. Peter Port
Isle of Guernsey
Photo by Toni DiModica

Hugo provides a fairly extensive and complete outline of the book. But it ends there. He (the author and "puller of literary puppet strings") did not let the bishop complete his treatise. In The Beauty of Goodness, I dare to write my own imagined "first draft" of the bishop's book--using the first person voice of Myriel.

The book will also contain my own personal reflections on the the bishop's themes and chapters. I am also adding original poetry and questions for the reader's reflection as part of the structure of each chapter.

I'm looking at a 2020 release for this work and invite you to contact me with any comments, suggestions, cautions . . . whatever, if you'd like to share them with me, as I move along through the text and draw it to completion.

Father's Day Homily 2019

The following homily was delivered on Father's Day 2019 (June 17, 2019) by Alfred J, Garrotto, owner of this blogsite, and his daughter, Cristina Garrotto, at Christ the King Church, Pleasant Hill, CA.  

Click the link below to view the video:

YouCut_20190616_140154167.mp4

The Following is the text of the homily in print.

Father’s Day Homily

Part I

Dad

Good (morn/aft/eve) . . .
(Introduce Cristina, who is sharing this Father’s Day homily.)

We’d like to share with you a very personal family story. How our family came together . . . and something about our lives together over the past 30 years. 

Every family needs an origin story—ours is best told in a bedtime story I used to tell the girls when they were little:

God commissioned two angels . . . each was to deliver a little girl to the Garrotto Family in Martinez . . . . On the way they made a wrong turn!

. . . . . One ended up in El Salvador . . . the other in Honduras

. . . . .Esther and I had to travel thousands of miles to find those lost children.

Cristina

Dad talked about “lost” angels. I want to share my story of finding my angels.

I was almost 4 when I first saw my parents. My first impressions were:
•  my “knight in shining armor” . . . most beautiful woman I’d ever seen—still today.

Some years later, I wrote a poem about my experience:

“Never shall I forget . . .”     

It began….. Never shall I forget
the day that changed my life forever,
the day that made me so excited
and so scared
at the same time.

Part II

Dad

6 years ago, our family hit a very rough spot in our history. . . Cristina made a choice that resulted in her leaving home . . . . and living on the streets . . . practically right in our own neighborhood.

This led to a lot of self-questioning on my part . . . sense of failure as a father/parent . . . I needed to let her go . . . I had to find that fine line between helping her . . . . and enabling her to remain in her addiction (which would have made her situation even worse).

We never stopped loving her . . . never stopped wishing her well . . . never stopped praying for her . . .

We committed ourselves to providing a safe port—if she ever decided to change her life . . . and come home to us.

During that whole time, our parish community joined with us in praying for Cristina . . . .

Every week, people asked about her and supported us with their love and promises of prayer . . . .

Some of you may be here today . . . . for which we will be eternally grateful.

Cristina

When I chose to leave my family. I felt broken and didn’t know how to fix myself. I made many poor choices. I lost my identity. At the same time I lost my family, my career as a Social Worker . . . all that used to be important to me.

Shame and guilt had built up so much that I couldn’t come back home. I didn’t care about the damage I caused my family.

I did to my parents what I feared most myself—I abandoned them.

I reached a point—my rock bottom—where the pain was unbearable.

I remember one specific day, just 15 months ago….

 • when 3 random strangers said, “You look like you need a hug.” Each one hugged me and I felt some sort of connection to their spirit.

•  The very next day . . . I called my mom who told me about her prayer the day before . . . “Jesus, find someone to put your arms around her today and guide her back home.”

At the point when I surrendered, I received the gift of desperation. This is when I reached out to my Higher Power.

I found peace . . . which led me back to my family . . . that peace gave me courage to be a daughter, reconcile with my sister (who is now my best friend), and—best of all—being a mother to my son again.

Part III

Dad

Over the past year our family has experienced the miracle of reunion . . . . This has been a time of healing for our family . . .
laughter has returned to our home . . . . . We rejoice over finding again the one we had almost lost.

We didn’t get the old Cristina back . . . . she was a whole new person
. . . . the Cristina we had not seen for many, many years.

Cristina

This journey has inspired me to be a beacon of hope to others in recovery and in my social work career, assisting the underserved homeless population.

I feel truly grateful for the love of my family . . . and never having to walk alone again. I’ve made my recovery my life, and I will never go back.

Conclusion

Dad

Dads (and moms, brothers, sisters), is someone in your family “off the rails” -- TODAY?

Today we heard St. Paul writing to Christians in Rome:

“trials produce patience, /  from patience comes merit; /
 merit is the source of hope, /  and hope does not disappoint us, /
the Holy Spirit has been given to us, /
pouring into our hearts the love of God.

So, never give up hoping . . . Don’t stop praying . . .

Be the Christ for your son, daughter, or loved one . . .
Be a safe harbor in the storm . . . when they find their way back.

Make your own the prayer that Esther prayed . . . .

“Jesus, find someone to put YOUR arms around my loved one today . . . . and guide them back home.” Amen!

Book Reviews: Walls of Lucca -- Above the Walls

The Walls of Lucca

A multigenerational romantic saga in the tradition Alessandro Manzoni’s 1827 Italian classic, “I Promessi Sposi” (The Betrothed). Physioc weaves his beautifully drawn characters through the destruction WWI to post-war rebuilding, heading toward impending disaster again as Benito Mussolini rises to power and WWII threatens to blacken the skies and hearts of Europe again. Along the way, the story treats the reader to lessons on Tuscan cuisine, the joy of vineyard life, and the wine-making process. The author adds more than a dash of humor to his narrative style, along with a spirituality that is both earthy and heavenly. Above all, “The Walls of Lucca” is about family, with all its human messiness and undying love. Family is the common link that speaks to readers of all ethnicities and citizenship. The sequel, “Above the Walls,” picks up where the first book ends. It deserves its own review. Combined, the two volumes provide a worthy companion—not rival—to Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables.”

Above the Walls

This sequel to The Walls of Lucca continues from the preamble to WWII to its devastating end. The plot revolves around three intertwined Tuscan families caught up in personal and global horrors of wartime Italy. Together, they strive to hold the middle ground of sanity and faith amid events that are both insane and antithetical to even the most basic spiritual and ethical values. Reading this book eighty years after the end of the war puts us at a disadvantage. For some readers, many of the close calls and narrow escapes of various family members strain plausibility. Had we lived in the conflicted Italy of the 1940s, we might not be so critical. This is a great read, offering tons of suspense and native wisdom, supported by a deep sense of spirituality amid the unimaginable evil surrounding one of the darkest periods of human history.

When Steve Physioc isn't writing, his other job is radio/TV commentator for the MLB Kansas City Royals.

Reviewed by Alfred J. Garrotto
Author and Manuscript Editor

Why "Les Miserables" Will Always Be--TODAY

It's no mystery why Victor Hugo's Les Miserables will forever be timely to every human society everywhere. It's all there in Hugo's own preface to the first edition . . . .

Preface to Les Miserables

So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and customs, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine, with human frailty; so long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; as long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and form a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.

Victor Hugo

Les Miserables

Hauteville House, Isle of Guernsey

1862