A Sportscaster's Guide to Watching Football

I was a sportscaster in the NFL for many years and wanted to help people who found the game confusing understand it a little better.

How long did the book take you from start to finish?

About 7 months.

What aspect of writing the book did you find particularly challenging?

Being disciplined enough to get it done.

What surprised you the most about the book writing process?

That I could write a book.

Did you have any favorite experiences when writing your book?

Not really. It was just a process.

What do you hope your readers will gain from reading your book?

An insight into the chess-like aspects of football.

What projects are you currently working on?

A book about a cardiac surgeon.

Is writing your sole career?If not, what else do you do?

I’m a portrait photographer and a stage actor. At different times, of course.

Did you do any research for your books, or did you write from experience?

Both. How did you come up with your title?

The publisher did. What books have influenced you the most?

The history works of Steven Ambrose and David McCullough.

Who was your publisher and why did you choose them?

Synergy Books. Because the president of the company called to tell me that the carpet in their conference room was Dallas Cowboy colors.

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 An Author Profile with Richard Jarzynka, author of Blessed with Bipolar

Blessed with Biploar

Letting yourself go wild in your writing. A relentless unwillingness to settle for anything less than brutal emotional honesty – with yourself. Driving into the pain, bleeding a little, and winking at it with a knowing grin.

Favorite quote from a book?

 “. . . it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen.” – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

When and why did you begin writing?

I was 18 and had just given up a football scholarship to Georgia Tech. Without that dream, I was clueless about what to do next, so, naturally . . . I proceeded aimlessly to another college. My head was already filled with everything that I did not yet know to be bipolar. I was lost. I started listening to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan because I loved their story-telling, passion, and what seemed to be honesty. I tried to write like them to get the bipolar out of my head. It helped, but I still ended up on a psych ward.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Natalie Goldberg. She is the author of “Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life.”

In it she offers these seven simple rules for writing: Keep your hand moving; Lose control; Be specific; Don’t think; Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, or grammar; You are free to write the worst junk in America; Go for the jugular.

It works for me.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I do most of my writing in the food court of a shopping mall. Something about that environment stimulates my brain. I think it has something to do with being surrounded by people that I don’t have to talk to.

Find out more about BLESSED WITH BIPOLAR

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