Ed Wyns discovered he had a knack for writing when he entered a literary competition in high school. Though he’ll always be a Floridian at heart, after graduating from Bethune-Cookman University, he moved to Charlotte, NC, where he lives with his wife and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading, going to wine tastings or watching Scandal. He is the author of When Everything Isn’t Enough, and the upcoming novel My Last Breath.
BPM: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
EW: I not only remember how my interest in writing originated; I also remember approximately how old I was and what I wrote about. I was around 14 years old, had just finished reading The Diary of Ann Frank, and my English teacher gave an assignment to write from one of the characters point of view while in hiding. I got an A on the assignment, realized that I not only liked writing the story, but also had a natural talent for writing and telling a story.
BPM: Introduce us to your book and the main characters. What makes each one special? Do you have any favorites?
EW: The main characters are David Tanner, Mia Collins Tanner, and CJ Fields. The characters are all like my children. I can’t say that any one is my favorite; I love them all…differently.
David Tanner: A man who believes he’s lost everything that makes him a man, and goes down a destructive path of alienating his one true love. The thing that makes David special is his intelligence, his love for his family, and his loyalty.
Mia Collins Tanner: A woman who suddenly realizes the man she’s built her life around no longer wants what she desires to give him. The thing that makes Mia special is her strength and her unyielding faith.
CJ Fields: A self-made man that spends his adult life amassing a fortune and using women as his sexual toys, all in a vain attempt to vicariously exert his will over those who caused him so much pain. The thing that makes CJ special is his brutal honesty.
BPM: What drew you to tackle the topic of infertility?
EW: Simply put, this is a story that either hasn’t been told at all, or not enough. After getting the idea, I researched the subject, and couldn’t find one novel on infertility that was written from the male’s perspective. The subject is raw, emotional, and painful.
BPM: Can you outline some areas where your characters agreed? Disagreed?
EW: There were a number of areas in which the main characters agreed and disagreed. Mia and David agreed that David’s fourteen year old cousin should abort her child, and Mia and David disagreed on when they should start working on conceiving a child.
BPM: How do you feel about ebooks vs. print books?
EW: Because I am a collector of books; I prefer print books. I like to be able to see the number of pages decrease as I read. As an author I personally don’t have a preference as long as the book is purchased.
BPM: Do you think book sales are the only indicator of your success as a writer?
EW: I don’t think book sales are the only indicator of success; it really depends on the author. Authors publish for different reasons. As for me, book sales are the barometer that determines success followed closely by shinning a light on the subject of infertility.
BPM: What can we expect to see/read from you during the next stage of your career?
EW: I am currently working on the sequel to When Everything Isn’t Enough, My Last Breath, and from there a possible a spinoff book.
BPM: Share with us your latest news. How may our readers follow you online?
EW: I have an interview that’s being posted on the Urban Fiction News site (the date has yet to be determined). My Last Breath is tentatively scheduled to be released the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015. Readers can reach me at www.edwyns.com and on Facebook under Ed Wyns.
Website: www.edwyns.com
Email: edwyns01@roadrunner.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ed.wyns.14
Excerpt from Chapter 28
2003
…If anyone had told me that I would handle the news of the infertility the way that I was handling it, I would have called them a liar to their face. Mia and I always talked about adopting a child, when I thought that the problem was with her. I thought that I would have been fine with adopting. I had grown in my faith and love for God, I read my Bible daily, was active in our church. I thought that there wasn’t any test of faith I wouldn’t pass with flying colors…I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I’d heard our pastor say countless times, “It’s easy to praise God when things are going good, but will you praise him when things are going bad?” My answer to that question prior to finding out that I was basically sterile was always a resounding yes. I will praise God in good times and in bad. However I could no more praise God, than I could love an adopted child. I felt as if I was alone in a sea of darkness, without anyone to talk to because no one could truly empathize with what I am feeling, only someone that was taking the same journey through this thing called life.
I hated when someone that knew about the infertility would tell me, “It’s not that bad,” “The way that you’re handling it is all wrong,” or they would get holier than thou, and say something like, “Let go, and let God,” and when they did, I was just as forthcoming with what I thought about their advice by telling them that it was easy for them to tell me I shouldn’t be depressed about my situation, when they didn’t have a damn clue about how I was feeling.
People were so willing to stand in front of their glass houses and throw stones. How in the hell could you talk to someone that had a terminal illness, about what they should or shouldn’t feel, when the worst pain that you’ve ever felt was the flu, or a broken bone! I’m not minimizing what people with a terminal illness go through, nor do I think what I feel is anywhere near the same level as what they feel. What I am however suggesting is that my pain is just as real, and every bit as painful to me, and unless you’ve experienced a life altering event, who in the hell are you to tell me what I should or shouldn’t feel.
A woman could miscarry or abort a child, suffer from depression, and mourn the loss of her child for the rest of her life and it was understood and accepted. But I’m supposed to suck it up, move on, and not endure the pain that I’m feeling. Forget that! I didn’t ask for this, and sure as hell don’t like dwelling in this dark and miserable place, but this is what losing the child that I would never have did to me.
I felt as though I was being tormented, and there was nothing I could do about it. Every time I turned around there was my daughter, Kennedy, being manifested in another man’s daughter. I recall the day that I was sitting in a McDonalds eating a quick lunch when the prettiest little girl caught my attention, or should I say, demanded my attention by trying to play with me. She was smiling at me, laughing and doing what children do. Before I could stop it, I was wiping tears from my eyes.
The countless Sunday’s in church that there always seemed to be a little girl sitting in the pew directly in front of Mia and me that wanted to play peek-a-boo. Again I would have to wipe away tears and try to keep my composure, because as Michael Baisden so eloquently penned, Men Cry in the Dark. What do you do when the thing that torments you, does so in the light? When everything that you’ve worked for is the one thing that drags you into an abysmal darkness, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do...
( Continued... )
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