Author Bio and contact.

Author Bio and Contact -

There’s a nice bio on my other website (The Bill Munns Gallery) but it details my work as an artist and mentions nothing about me as a writer. I’ve actually been writing since I was 13, usually movie scripts. I haven’t sold any yet, but had a few close encounters with movie people interested in my writing.

So I just keep writing away, story after story, trying periodically to break through the wall between the unsold writers and the industry. In between writing projects, I go back to my artist stuff to earn a living.

This story is my most serious one and my first attempt at a historical romance/relationship type subject. I look forward to completing the trilogy and am now researching the second and third segments.

I welcome you to contact me with any questions, comments, and thoughts you might have about this story. Naturally I will welcome messages from anyone in the publishing industry who might help get a book deal to publish the novel, or anyone in the film industry who might help get the movie made.

Here are a few of the more frequently asked questions and my answers:

FAQ

Q. Did a woman actually write the story?

A. I’m actually flattered each time I’ve been asked this, because it means the women in the story are truly believable. A good writer must be able to write convincingly about people of all types, but there are still common perceptions about writing and one of them is the fallacy that men writers can’t write women convincingly. I actually was afraid of that while I was outlining the story and thought when I get ready to write, I needed to find a woman writing partner. But when I had some free time and wanted to really focus on the story, I just began and much to my surprise, found things flowing wonderfully. In a sense, my writing partner was Jameleh.

Q. Which came first, the story or the imagery?

A. Oddly, the imagery came first. I’ve been doing digital images of the Hanging Gardens for several years now, constantly trying to get the image concept more detailed, more authentically Babylonian.  And out of my research came the growing intrigue with the legend, the mysteries, my ideas of the answers to those mysteries, and of course, the woman who inspired the Garden. Finally, I began to develop the story that answers the mysteries. And now that the story is well developed, the newer images are intended to illustrate the story scenes.

Q. If the movie gets made, who do you want to star in it?

A. I have to pass on this question, because there are many fine actresses who could bring something special to the parts of Vivian and Jameleh, and if I declared a preference here and then other actresses were chosen, my stated preference would come back to haunt me and undermine the reception of the other actresses chosen.

Q. Did any particular woman inspire you to write this story?

A. Yes, but not directly. My wife Jakie was actually the most inspiring source for understanding Jameleh and the story. Jakie is Persian (for those of you who are Persian or know about modern Persian Music, Jakie is Viguen’s daughter, the poet Karo’s niece, and now a highly respected singer, songwriter and poet in her own right). She hasn’t been home since before the revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979. She loves her homeland dearly, writes beautiful songs and poetry about Persia, and helped me understand how a person can passionately love a homeland she’s separated from by life, politics, and marriage. She also uses the phrase “my husband” with a most intriguing sense of pride and love, which I am most fortunate to experience, and which I used frequently in Jameleh’s dialogue with the same sense of love and pride. Jameleh is pure fiction, but the love of one’s homeland, the love of one’s husband, and the love of life and the determination to make it better, all were drawn from the extraordinary woman I am blessed to have married.

Contact me at:   wmunns@gte.net or bill@thegardenofamytis.com

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