Interview with Douglas Cooper

Author of Write Your Book with Me

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I was born in Manhattan, one of the five boroughs of New York City. I have lived in Upstate New York, Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts, Ramsay, New Jersey,and now back to Walden, New York, where I went to high school. We live by Lake Osiris.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

I went to Cornell, served at Ft. Detrick Biological Labs, graduated from Penn State, got my Ph.D. in engineering from Harvard, was a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Public Health, and eventually was a Research Staff Member at IBM’s T.J. Watson, Jr., Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I have been in love with Tina Su, whom I met at Cornell, but whom I did not marry because both sets of parents objected to an inter-racial marriage (1960s). We reunited and married 20 years after I graduated from Cornell, and I have helped care for her during her struggle with multiple sclerosis, being quadriplegic and on a ventilator for the past 15 years. She and I wanted our story told, a story of love, courage, devotion.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

TING AND I is a love story of two people who have maintained their love despite the challenges of racial / ethnic differences and a terrible, debilitating illness. Reviewers have found it inspiring and unique. It shows the power of love, the importance of marriage, and the value of human life, even severely disable life.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Romantic idealists, like ourselves, will find their ideals reinforced and know that true love is still possible.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

It was easier to write and more difficult to reach our readers than I knew.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

Just do it. the process was informative. The response of those who read the book was so encouraging. It led to my helping others write and publish their books, and it may have influenced my former employer (IBM) to set up the very generous catastrophic illness support program that has provided Tina with millions of dollars worth of around=the-clock skilled nursing in our home.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

The more the better.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Publicizing the book.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Writing is easy. Publishing was through Outskirts press, a subsidy publisher that was very helpful.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Marketing has been hard, despite much social media and paid ads.

When do you think you will write your next book?

I followed up TING AND I with WRITE YOUR BOOK WITH ME and HOW TO MANAGE NURSING CARE AT HOME and WATER WARS: Sharing the Colorado River.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I used hybrid publisher, Outskirts Press.