1) Tell us about your book.
One Moment in
Time simply put is a story about how one person can
change the world. Jack Barrett is an
average guy, at twenty-three, he lives with his parents and works for his
father. On a stormy November evening,
his Ford Mustang is hit by a drunk driver running a red light. As he was fighting to survive, Jack realized
there was more to life, and he wanted to experience it. This revelation changed Jack’s life, his
journey taking him all over the world, gaining experiences and skills that
would propel him to the global stage. In
the end, Jack would become one of the greatest leaders the world had ever seen.
2) Tell us about your lead, Jack.
When creating Jack, I thought about what type of
person could excel in politics and business, while keeping his personal ego in
check. Jack has his quirks, like an odd
sense of humor and an impulsiveness that has gotten him into trouble. However, Jack has a good heart and often
looks for the greater good over personal gain.
3) What is the main theme your book explores?
There are two main themes of One Moment in Time. The
first is about taking opportunities.
Everyday, each of us are presented with opportunities to do
something. It can be as simple as picking
up a piece of trash on the ground versus walking by and leaving it there. Jack is an example of what can happen if one
proactively looks to take advantage of the opportunities that present
themselves.
The second theme is about the state of politics
today. Too many times, our leaders seem
more interested in getting re-elected and saving their jobs than doing what’s
in the best interest of their constituents.
Imagine what the world could be if our leaders were more focused on
leading than personal gain.
4) You've said the idea of this book came from a
dream. Tell us a bit about that.
We all have many dreams every night, however most
of the dreams are forgotten by the time we awaken, and those that are initially
remembered often fade quickly. However,
sometimes we have dreams that really stick with us. That was the case with One Moment in Time. I didn’t
come up with the whole book from that dream, but the dream did give me the
premise and the twist that makes One
Moment in Time a unique tale. I
would tell you more, but I don’t want to ruin the story.
5) Please tell us about your literary influences.
Although there were many historical novels and
plays that I absolutely love (A Tale of
Two Cities and Hamlet to name
two), I didn’t really get into mainstream reading until I read The Firm by John Grisham. The story was engaging, and Grisham’s writing
style was simple and allowed the reader to quickly move through the story. After The
Firm, I started to get into stories by Jonathan Kellerman, Michael
Crichton, David Baldacci, James Grippando, Dan Brown, and Brad Thor.
There were also many authors that I didn’t enjoy
who influenced me as well, but I won’t mention their names. Those authors seemed more interested in
showing off their vocabulary than telling a story. I’ve tried to keep my writing about the story
more than the individual words.
6) Please share with us about your other projects.
I am currently writing my second novel. It’s a story about a successful stock broker
whose wife is poisoned. His life begins
to crumble, as he’s accused of the murder.
The press hounds him and the publicity costs him his job and
friends. He’s in a fight for his life,
all the while trying to grieve for his wife that he dearly loved.
7) Do you have any particular excerpts you'd like
to share?
The following excerpt is from one of my favorite
segments of the book. Jack and his wife
Maggy are in Oaxaca, Mexico visiting an orphanage…
Jack put the
dishes and utensils, along with the serving bowls, in the sink. Isabel and Araceli
started on the dishes while Jack took out the trash. Isabel pointed to a door at the far end of
the kitchen that looked more like a heavy dark screen. Jack probably hadn’t noticed it before,
because its thickness made it difficult to see through. Jack grabbed the two trash bag bundles and
headed outside.
The other side
of the door was an alleyway off the main road.
The small, unpaved path, which was similar to the road at the front
entrance, was squashed between the walls of La Ciudad para los Niños and the walls of the backside of what
Jack could only assume were houses. Jack
noticed a giant trash bin to his right and threw the trash over the side of the
bin. Suddenly, Jack heard a woman
screaming “¡Ayúdame! ¡Ayúdame!”
Jack didn’t know much Spanish, but he did know that scream meant, “Help
me!”
Jack looked
around the bin and saw a woman in her late twenties running with a small child
in her arms. She looked frazzled and
exhausted. She was slender and couldn’t
be more than five and a half feet tall.
She was wearing a torn cotton striped shirt and ripped jeans. As she got closer, Jack noticed she had
several bruises on her face and arms.
The child she was holding wasn’t very big, but it was hard for Jack to
gauge. Jack couldn’t imagine what this woman
was going through, but she continued running towards him yelling “¡Ayúdame! ¡Ayúdame!”
Instinctively,
Jack moved closer to see how he could help the woman and yelled back in
English, “What? What’s wrong?”
The woman
continued her sprint towards Jack and continued yelling “¡Ayúdame! ¡Ayúdame!”
When the woman
was next to Jack, she handed her child to him.
He looked down at the little girl suddenly in his arms. She was quiet, but tears rolled down her
face. Jack looked up and the woman was
already twenty yards away from them, running up the hill. He looked down at the girl again, then a
vehicle came seemingly out of nowhere.
With all of the excitement, he hadn’t even heard the large SUV bouncing
up the alleyway.
The car was a
dark blue Chevy Tahoe with two young men seated in the front. Jack couldn’t get a good look at them,
because by the time he noticed the car, they were passing him. He didn’t think either man in the Tahoe
noticed him or the little girl. The
Tahoe continued up the hill after the woman.
The driver rolled down his window and stuck out his arm. In his hand was a large gun. After two quick, deafening explosions from
the gun, the car stopped.
Recognizing that
the girl was probably also in danger, Jack jumped behind the trash bin, holding
her tightly in his arms. He peeked
between the lid and the bin and saw the driver get out of the car. He was dressed in slacks, a dark dress shirt,
and black cowboy boots with a white star on the side. The colors of his clothes were difficult to
determine because of the way the sun was reflecting off the Tahoe. The driver held his arm out. Another two shots. The man spit on the woman, looked around, and
Jack jumped out of sight praying they didn’t see him. The young girl was squeezing Jack as tightly
as she could, and Jack squeezed back. He
heard the door to the SUV close, and then the vehicle turned around and began
moving back down the hill.
With his senses
on full alert, Jack could have sworn that as the Tahoe was passing the rear
door to the kitchen, it slowed down to take a careful look. By this time, Jack had completely barricaded
himself and the little girl between the trash bin and a small wall near the
kitchen. They sat perfectly still and
silent.
The car
continued down the road, but Jack did not move until the Tahoe was out of
hearing range. He slowly got up and
peeked down the road. The coast was
clear. The little girl was still
clinging to Jack’s neck. He wanted to go
check on her mother, but didn’t want the little girl’s last memory of her
mother to be of her lying dead in a dirt alley.
He walked into the kitchen and it was empty; all of the dishes had been
cleaned, dried, and neatly stacked. He
continued into the dining hall and found Maggy and Victoria chatting away. They looked up at him and noticed he was
sweating profusely.
About Glenn Snyder:
Glenn Snyder grew up in Marin County, a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. After graduating from UCLA, Glenn worked as a finance professional. In 2001, Glenn earned his MBA from the University of San Francisco. Shortly after his MBA, Glenn pursued two of his dreams, teaching and writing, while still working full time. For five years, Glenn taught Finance at San Francisco State University, while he also wrote the first draft of One Moment in Time. In May of 2011, Glenn published his first novel, One Moment in Time. Glenn is currently a Finance Director and is working on his second novel.
Visit www.OneMomentInTimeNovel.com to find out more.
Glenn is offering some coupons until the end of the year:
Paperback: $2 off when purchased through www.OneMomentInTimeNovel.com - coupon code WL5W3K6Y
E-book (any format): 25% off when purchased through Smashwords (www.smashwords.com/books/
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