Five Questions With ... Robert Barclay, author of "If Wishes Were Horses"

Today, I’m thrilled to present debut author Robert Barclay for this installment of “Five Questions With …”

After graduating from Colgate University with a B.A. in Economics and a minor Art History, Robert J. Barclay has enjoyed a successful career in business, and served as chairman of his industry-related consulting group.

After selling his business and moving from upstate New York to Florida (and with some rather successful prodding by his wife), he was able to finally devote his full attention to something he had always wanted to do: write a book.

Robert lives in sunny south Florida. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys weightlifting, Shotokan Karate, and going to the beach to do absolutely nothing. 

Robert’s first novel, “If Wishes Were Horses,” is an amazing novel of love, forgiveness and self-discovery. He took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about writing and his career.

Sharon: At what age did you know that you wanted to be a writer? 

Robert: I was always writing a little something, even when I was a young kid.  The yen was just always there, it seemed.  Even so, I had never written anything meaningful until I decided to try my hand at penning my new book, “If Wishes Were Horses”.  After graduating high school my writing had been limited to college papers, and later on, it was all business letters.  I guess it just goes to show what one can do when he doesn’t know any better, as they say!

Sharon: At what point in your career did it finally sink in – “hey, I’m famous,” and did it make a difference in your writing?

Robert:  I do not consider myself famous.  If it happens to me that will be nice, but that is not the reason why I finally wrote my first novel.  In fact, the odds against becoming famous in this business are very long, even if one is lucky enough to be published.  In truth, few authors’ names are household words.  For example, next time you’re in a bookstore, walk up and down several of the aisles and take notice of as many author’s names as you can.  My guess is that you’ll be familiar with very few of them

Sharon: Who are some of your favorite authors? Who inspires you?

Robert: When I was growing up I very much enjoyed Ian Fleming, and I still read him from time to time.  Later in life, I came to appreciate Ayn Rand, Ernest Hemingway, and Robert B. Parker.   

Sharon: What do you have coming up in the future?

Robert:  My next book is tentatively titled, “More Than Words Can Say”.  It’s about a young schoolteacher who learns that she has inherited her late grandmother’s lakeside cottage in the Adirondack Mountains.  During her first visit there, she discovers her grandmother’s hidden journal from the summer of 1942, in which the grandmother describes her growing, (and illicit), love for the man in the neighboring cabin.  I’m having a lot of fun with this one. 

Sharon: What advice would you have for anyone wanting to break into the writing biz today?

Robert: Get the best possible agent.  I was lucky enough to secure representation from Marly Rusoff, and she’s fantastic.  A good and influential agent will not only help to critique your work, but he or she also stands the best chance of selling it to a reputable house.  So far, my experience has been fantastic, and Marly has been the key.  One of the greatest days in my life was when she called me, and said that we had deal an offer for “If Wishes Were Horses” from Harper Collins.  It just doesn’t get any better than that…           

My thanks to Robert Barclay for spending time with my readers, and to Christine Maddalena with Harper Collins for her help in obtaining a review copy of “If Wishes Were Horses,” and arranging this interview with Mr. Barclay.

About The Book:

Wyatt Blaine desperately seeks a reason to continue. Devastated by the senseless deaths of his wife and son at the hands of a drunk driver, he remains unable to forgive, and to love again. Searching for a sense of peace, he decides to revive his late wife's equine therapy program for troubled teens at the Blaine family ranch. By honoring her memory in this way, he hopes to find the sense of closure that has long eluded him.

But then Wyatt's pastor asks for the impossible—for Wyatt to meet with Gabby Powers, the widow of the man responsible for Wyatt's unbearable sorrow. Wyatt knows Gabby is not to blame for the tragedy, so when she begs him to accept her troubled teenage son, Trevor, into the program, he reluctantly agrees. With some help and guidance from Ram, Wyatt's irascible but lovable father, Wyatt does his best to accept Gabby and Trevor's unsettling presence at the ranch. Even so, Wyatt still feels that he is somehow betraying his late wife's memory rather than honoring it.

But to his great surprise, Wyatt also finds himself drawn to Gabby's warmth, tenderness, and surprising ability to soothe his troubled soul. Day after day, their mutual attraction becomes more intense, more impossible to ignore. But to heal completely, Wyatt and Gabby must first overcome the common tragedy that separates them and learn the true nature of forgiveness. And only by conquering these seeming impossibilities might their hearts become free to love each other.