… if we want to take our stories to the next level, then it’s imperative that we check our egos at the door and take it all in.
After a couple of decades as a media personality in the Houston area, while standing in a bookstore, Freddy Cruz’s kids suggested that he needed to write a book. Since then, he’s written two, a dystopian thriller, When America Fell Silent, and more recently a dark comedy, They Canceled The DJ.
Lyndi: How did your work as a media personality lend itself to writing fiction?
Freddy: Working in the media means constantly monitoring current events, locally, nationally, and around the world. Since this is daunting, I found that writing is a way for me to channel my energy into something productive.
Lyndi: You wrote your first book, When America Fell Silent, a dystopian thriller, in a matter of months. How does one suddenly get their bum in the chair and write their first novel?
Freddy: Easily. Because my kids challenged me to write and I wasn’t going to accept a challenge from them and NOT come through. The novelty of Dad writing a book eventually wore off during the manuscript phase. After that, it was just me vs. myself vs. the blank screen. So I treated the writing process like a job, meaning, I implemented short term and long term goals. But it never felt like a job (or a chore) because most of the time, I was so obsessed with creating the story, the characters often called me to write.
Lyndi: When writing They Canceled The DJ, you thought you were writing a satire but discovered your book’s genre fit more with dark comedy. What is dark comedy and what makes They Canceled The DJ a dark comedy?
Freddy: My developmental editor told me the book was also a good fit for dark comedy, something people who watch Comedy Central would read without getting offended. A dark comedy differs from satire in that it uses taboo subjects as tools for provoking its audience/reader. These subjects can include death, crime, war, etc. Here’s one example my editor gave me when assigning the dark comedy label to They Canceled the DJ.
Before I hit the tweet button, I hit the backspace button fifty-seven times. Not because I have a beautiful soul but because he deserves more than a tweet. Something to restore order to the internet universe. And most importantly, my universe. Something that’ll ruin him. Well, not completely ruin him. I don’t want it to be a Hiroshima on his life, just a targeted drone strike.
Lyndi: How did working with a good developmental editor guide your writing?
Freddy: I’ve been so lucky to have worked with two phenomenal developmental editors, Sandra Haven (Haven 4 Writers) and Diane Callahan (The Quotidian Writer). They found weaknesses I knew I had but couldn’t identify. They were tough. Really tough, but in a good way. As a writer, it’s hard to receive feedback when we’ve spent so much time with the worlds we’ve created and the characters we’ve grown close to. But if we want to take our stories to the next level, then it’s imperative that we check our egos at the door and take it all in.
Lyndi: As a music lover, how does music influence your writing?
Freddy: I sometimes listen to ambient music that matches the theme of whatever scene I’m writing. For example, if it’s an action scene, I’ll go to YouTube and search “adventure music.”
With They Canceled the DJ, music was at the forefront of the plot and the main characters’ development. My background in Top 40 radio made the process of writing the manuscript seamless.
Lyndi: How did you go about building a reading community for your books?
Freddy: My radio career gave me a head start. From there, it’s all about posting updates and sharing a passage here and there. Getting out and signing books and shaking hands always helps. Now that it seems like we’re truly at the end of the pandemic, I’ll be out and about again.
Freddy Cruz is a Houston area media personality, last heard on the Marconi Award winning 104.1 KRBE. He is also an author, philanthropist, lover of new music and old books, and the host of the Book This with Freddy Cruz podcast.
Fueled by coffee, laughter, a shared delight in his community, and love for his family, Freddy often marvels at his luck in being able to spend his days filling the buckets of all the things he values most in life.
You can learn more about Freddy on his website at www.thefreddycruz.com or follow him on Instagram (@thefreddycruz) or Twitter (@radiofreddycruz).
