Lessons Learned From My First Interview

I was a guest on a radio show recently called Last Word with Carly Newfeld. That was the first time I was ever interviewed about my book and my writing process. I tried to do some research about the host before my slot by listening to past interviews with other authors. I noticed there were a few conversations that had a spiritual tone. There was one about the power of healing through music and some about beliefs passed down through families. In a way, it might have been a mistake to explore those interviews ahead of time because I tried to continue that trend in mine. The first question was on my inspiration for the Mystic Rampage series and I brought up my interest in linking physics concepts to supernatural ones. What I said during the interview was true and that really was one of the things that shaped the events of the series, but based on the host’s reaction she didn’t seem interested in letting the conversation go too far down that road. Instead, the interview was steered more toward comparisons of Mystic Rampage to other fantasy authors. The host was a fan of Carlos Castaneda who I haven’t read but I’m interested in his books now.
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It was good practice because it taught me that if interviewed again I shouldn’t approach it like I do for most events. I’m a planner, and I always do background research if I know I’m going to be talking to someone about a specific topic. That’s why I listened to old interviews and tried to keep the subject matter similar to what the host discussed before. In hindsight, it seems as though the intention was to have my interview go a different way from previous talks with other guests. If I hadn’t been so focused on what I’d planned, I might have noticed that sooner. It was still a good interview. Both of us were able to talk continuously so there weren’t any awkward pauses on the air. But there are always lessons to be learned from experiences and in this case the lesson was that interviews are a time when preparation can actually become a distraction.
 
Link to the interview: https://www.ksfr.org/show/the-last-word-show/2023-07-20/fritz
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