Welcome to OPEN BOOK, where we open the book on our authors and discover their literary stories!
Our second episode is with Cynthia Herbert-Bruschi Adams, author of First He Killed the Minuteman.
To see a video version of this post, head to the Olympia Publishers Instagram or Facebook page, where Cynthia Herbert-Bruschi Adams answers the questions herself.
What is your name and what book have you written?
Hi! I'm Cynthia Herbert-Bruschi Adams and I've written First He Killed the Minuteman.
How long did you take to write it?
It only took about 18 months, including the editing.
Which genre best describes your book?
It's absolutely true crime - it's a true story. I've interviewed the witnesses and gone to court when the perpetrator was there and read all the newspaper clippings. It's absolutely a true crime.
Who is the first person you have gifted a copy of your printed book to?
When the book first arrived, I gave it quickly to Cyndi DeMers, who is the widow of the first man that was murdered in this story. I wanted to make sure that I honored her by giving her a copy and I knew how interested she would be in reading it.
What is your earliest reading memory?
When I was in first grade, I was in the slowest reading group, although in Math and other subjects, I wasn't in slow groups. That wasn't diagnosed in those days, but I think I had a reading disability. Nowadays they would have figured that out it took me about two years to come to grips with the fact I had to memorize whole words rather than sound them out because sounding out just didn't make sense to my brain.
Which book is your current favourite?
The book I have enjoyed the most in recent memory is A Gentleman in Moscow.
How quickly can you finish reading a book?
If I'm under pressure, I can read one maybe in three days, but I prefer to read a book more slowly and savor it.
Do you prefer reading a book yourself or listening to an audiobook?
Oh, I prefer reading much more!
Who is your favourite author?
That's a complicated question because I have several: Percival Everett, who recently published James, is currently on the top; Wally Lamb has been my favorite over several decades - everything he writes I find lovely; and Amor Towles who wrote A Gentleman in Moscow has certainly become a favorite as well.
Which book took you the longest to finish?
The Complete Writings of Sigmund Freud took me months to finish. It was an obligation I put on myself because I wanted to become a psychologist, so after senior year of high school I made myself read it. It wasn't much fun.
Are there any books which have inspired your writing?
Yes, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, for which he got a writing Pulitzer, inspired me to think that writing true crime - if you did it well and not for the wrong reasons, including a lot of information about the characters and not just the crime - could be a very worthy cause.
What book is at the top of your reading pile?
Orbital by Samantha Harvey is at the top of my pile. It looks like it'll be very exciting. It's almost poetry as she writes, from what I can see at the first few pages, about the world from a distance where she's in orbit and looking back.
Which book do you think everyone would enjoy?
I'm going to have to plug my own book because First He Killed the Minuteman has a lot of suspense has a lot of human psychology in it, a lot of emotion with the terrible losses and is educational about what different things have influenced this young man to cause him to wreck the havoc he did. The backgrounds of the victims also makes them very, very appealing.
How many books have you read so far this year?
Three, I believe.
Why should people read your book next?
If they at all enjoy true crime, this book is a little bit more than the typical one. It's not just about the crime; it's about the human beings. The different lives that are affected by the crime and how people have coped during the time since - but also while it was going on and what might have been done to prevent it - is also a big theme.
This interview has been edited for our blog.
First He Killed the Minuteman is available now in paperback.
