Candid Talk with Author, Walter Rhein on His New Book, Family and Life in Peru

 A lot of wonderful changes have happened for author, Walter Rhein this past year.  The Rhein's welcomed a new baby daughter, Sofia and, happily married to his wife, Zulma, whom he met while spending 10-years in Lima, Peru are happily adjusting to the cold winters in Wisconsin as opposed to the mild seasonal climate of Peru which is where Zulma was born and raised.  Welcoming a new baby is not the only new change on the horizon; however, Walter just published a new book called The Bone Sword which is now available.  The Bone Sword is a sci-fi/fantasy genre of books and is action packed from start to finish with a very interesting character named Malik who finds himself in a multitude of action-packed adventure.  I don't normally choose this type of book to read; however, it piqued my interest getting to the know the author and is similar to the Harry Potter Books by J.K. Rowling and writer Charles Bukowski.

I talked candidly with author Walter Rhein about finding his "true voice" as a writer... He started out by stating that this is actually a question he has been pondering a bit lately since he is about to start teaching an AP English class.  The class is filled with very bright students who know the value of good grades and are making a sincere effort to be the best they possibly can.  To that end, part of the class structure is to do "grammar diagrams" in which they break down the works of great writers into their component parts and then analyze them.

"Getting out of your own way..the difference between good writing and great writing.."

He goes on to state that although he feels that this is a good exercise for learning what adverbs, gerunds and prepositional phrases are; he doesn't know if it is a good exercise for actually "learning how to write." 

"I think one of the most important things about writing is that it has to come naturally.  It can't be artificial, overworked or forced."  He goes on to state that "essentially, the most important thing a writer can aspire to do is take himself or herself out of the equation.  The counter-intuitive part of this is that when you are writing well, you are, in fact, revealing yourself.  You see, it's best when you just present yourself honestly and hope that presentation makes a connection without underscoring it too much.  It has to be subtle and potent and all at the same time.  For example, when your wife gives you a gift on Christmas, that's nice and everything, but it doesn't surprise you because it's Christmas and you are kind of expecting a gift.  But compare that to the times you come home from work after a bad day, and without saying anything or asking you about it, your wife puts her hand on your back and just renews the sense of self and your positive equilibrium.  That's the difference between good writing and great writing.  In great writing, you get out of your own way, don't try so hard to create some "magical" moment, and just let the feelings flow.

How Life Experiences Affect Your Writing...  Writing is a great way to process the things that have happened to you.  Each and every one of us carries regrets and these are the types of things that eat at you as you turn them over and over and over again in your mind.  If you are not careful, you can be a little too hard on yourself and even punish yourself in a way that is far more brutal than is warranted for any transgression you might have committed against anyone.

In writing, you only have your own experiences to drawn on.  All good characters are idealized representations of yourself and the bad characters are the parts of yourself that you despise.  It is fairly common knowledge that bad characters are always a little more "interesting" than good characters and this is probably because we're all so hard on ourselves that we can't conceive that we really know what "goodness" even is.  Taking a step back, this tendency is reassuring (people who think they are 100% right all the time are terrifying!).   However, it is really too bad that aspiring to greatness requires so much self-chastisement.

"An 18-year-old in the U.S. has the opportunity to go away to college or move out of the family one to find a job..in Peru, an 18-year-old is more likely to continue to live at home and pursue college at a university locally and live at home until marriage."  This extended family arrangement is strikingly different than in the United States and overall there is a certain peace of mind amongst those of Latin descent that Americans just don't have.   There are certainly radical differences in the cultures of Peru compared to the United States...In the United States there is a certain amount of materialism.  Jobs in Peru are, for the most part, scarce, and always have been.  Therefore, people are just a lot more likely to help each other out.  Families in Peru are very close knit and children living with their parents until they marry affords them the opportunity to pursue college education and employment while contributing to the family's economy and being responsible for their own bills (credit cards, living expenses, taxi and bus fare).   In Peru, it is easier to walk everywhere, it is not common for families to own an automobile, but rather they choose public transportation, taxi/bus.

Living in Wisconsin, new baby and wife...and the balancing act of a writer..  Aside from the obvious clashes in climate (Wisconsin has brutally cold winters) whereas Peru is mildly warm in the winter (around 50-degrees Fahrenheit), adapting to life in the United States with his wife, Zulma (who is from Lima, Peru) and baby has been fairly easy.   Zulma, of course, misses her close knit family in Peru, but the Rhein's felt that this move was important fr their family.

"Taking care of my daughter, Sofia, has been the greatest privilege in my life.  I don't know if it's because I was raised to be forward thinking, or if it's just how I'm wired, but there has never been any doubt in my mind that 50% of the child-rearing responsibilities are mine."  Rhein is obviously a very doting father, states with obvious affection that he recognizes that it was difficult to pry Sofia away from her mother.

As new parents, they are certianly no different than anyone else and are adjusting to the needs of a baby which are 24/7, 365.  Rhein's wife, Zulma chose to wait until after the birth of their baby to seek employment in order to have time to adjust to the needs of a new baby.  After Zulma found employment as a Bilingual Assistant in a school, the Rhein's made adjustments to balance work and family as all of us do.  Zulma was no different than most mother's who feel the pulse of mommy-guilt which is often as palpable as a pulse.  Loving encouragement from her husband helped ease any qualms Zulma initially felt; however, and Sofia has settled into a wonderful new routine that includes naps on dad's chest.. "I think I'll remember every second of those naps forever" states Rhein.  "She's already four months old and she's HUGE!"

Writing schedules... Cramming writing into free moments is necessary rather than setting it aside these days.  "There are days when I just get started and Sofia starts crying, so I run and take care of her."   Where in the past, numerous interruptions would be a diversion to writing, Rhein has adapted to the distractions.  "Honestly, if it's my daughter crying, I'm instantly 100% focused on her.   It's pretty easy to get her giggling again..she usually just wants to nuzzle nto my chest and go to sleep..and that's fine with me..I can write again when she's too big to cuddle"...

Whether Walter Rhein is relating stories of his 10-years in Peru, where he met his wife, talking about his writing and new book, or his favorite subject, his new daughter, Sofia, the Rhein's certainly have a lot to look forward to this year, especially with the joy of the upcoming holidays. Things seem to have worked out well and the Rhein's look forward to a visit to Peru, this time, with daughter Sofia.