Page 29 - Reader's House magazine

In this exclusive interview, we explore the journey of a writer who has transformed himself over the decades, turning rejection into fuel for success. Len’s experiences, both on the page and in life, are as compelling as the worlds he creates in his books. Whether you are a longtime fan or a newcomer to his work, this conversation promises to illuminate the mind behind the novels and inspire anyone with the spark of an untold story. perspective. Clayton idolized his father, a hometown hero in their small Missouri town. But when his father’s life unravels, Clayton loses his way, too. He tries to escape his father’s legacy but discovers he can’t run from his destiny. It is a story of smalltown America in the last decades of the twentieth century, that explores the many ways our relationships, hopes, and dreams can alter the course of our lives. Tell us about your writer’s journey. When I went off to college (many years ago) I was an English major and planned to become a world famous bestselling novelist. But after my American Lit professor excoriat- ed my term paper on Thoreau, my writerly am- bitions were crushed, and I switched my major to Economics and went to business school. I eventually bought an engine rebuilding company in Phoenix and for twenty years I commuted between Chicago and Phoenix. Af- ter we wound the business down in 2003, on a whim, I took a creative writing course. I got just enough encouragement that I took more courses. In 2007 I started working on a novel. It took me seven years, but in 2014, American Past Time was published. It is the story of minor league pitcher Dancer Stonemason. With his wife and son cheering him on, he pitches the greatest game of his life. And then loses everything. Told against the backdrop of America’s postwar So you have a trilogy? Yes, just like J. K. Rowling. But all the Stonemason stories are standalone novels. You’re a triathlete and a member of TEAM USA. How has that influenced your writing? They’re complementary activities. Both re- quire discipline and training. I have a coach to help me become a better athlete, and I’ve had countless instructors, writers, and editors who have helped me to become a better writer. All my novels feature athletes. A general theme I explore is the life lived after the cheering stops. Your Phoenix-based novel, Dry Heat is a love story. What was the inspiration for that tale? The protagonist of Dry Heat is Joey Blade, a promising high school athlete who is falsely accused of shooting a cop. He enlists the aid of a notorious gang leader to find the real shooter, Len Joy masterfully crafts unleashing a chain of events that alters the compelling, heartfelt stories, capturing the essence of human connection and the struggles that shape our lives. challenges from Little Rock to the Bay of Pigs to Viet Nam, American Past Time is the story of what happens to a man and his family after the cheering stops. The Stonemason family shows up again in your 3rd novel, Everyone Dies Famous. D R A F T A beautifully written, character- driven story that masterfully explores family, identity, and resilience with heartfelt emotion and relatable depth. course of his life and that of the girl he loves. I worked in Phoenix for twenty years and the story, while fictional, is inspired by a real event that happened to one of my employees. Your novel Better Days has been described as an “attention-grabbing crime story.” How do you craft compelling plots that keep readers engaged from start to finish? Better Days is the story of Darwin Burr, a man who has coasted for years on the fading glory of his high school basketball success. The novel has marital discord, shady business dealings, corporate intrigue, gang warfare, and most important, girls high school basketball. In my earlier drafts, American Past Time It was a rewarding challenge to keep all was a multi generational family epic, but that was too ambitious for a debut novel. I cut those plates spinning and bring the story to a satisfactory conclusion. Well, at least I was the scope so it would end in 1976. Dancer satisfied. Some readers hated the ending, but I Stonemason is the main character in Everyone prefer hate to indifference. Dies Famous, but he is now a griefstricken seventy year old. The story takes place on a single day in July 2003. As a tornado threatens their small Missouri town, Dancer teams up with an Iraq war veteran to deliver a jukebox to a wealthy developer who is having an affair with the soldier’s wife. Bad things happen. A jukebox. Interesting. Your latest novel is American Jukebox. Another Stonemason story? Yes. American Jukebox is Clayton Stonema- son story. It covers some of the same ground as American Past Time, but from Clayton’s In “Freedom’s Just Another Word...”, you explore complex family dynamics. What inspired you to delve into these intricate relationships? Jake Doyle, the main character in Free- dom’s Just Another Word… used to be fa- mous. Twenty years ago, his Chicago political column was syndicated in two hundred papers, but he had an affair – and a son – with his intern and lost it all. Now he writes a local col- umn and drives for Uber to pay his bills. The book has a lot of hotbutton issues: abortion, biracial families, gang wars, wokeness. It’s not a polemic – it’s the story of a 20th century man trying to survive in a 21st century world. I was inspired to write about a newspaperman, because I love newspapers, and I’m sad to see them fade away. What advice do you have for aspiring writers? My writing career was squelched early on by harsh criticism. Looking back, I now understand that it wasn’t that harsh. I was a sensitive young man who wasn’t ready to be a writer. After thirty years in the business world, I was more resilient and more experi- enced. Delaying my writing career helped me. I have learned from that experience to not take criticism to heart. Use what is useful and ignore the rest. And when offering critiques of other writer’s work, be honest, but consider- ate. Be kind. Reader’s House II 29