1. What inspired you to write this book? Jonathan was a wonderful artist, but was considered something of a
pariah by the academic art world of the Bay Area. I am writing his biography
because I am tired of the art world ignoring him. It’s time to bring a little
attention to him.
2. What exactly is it about and who
is it written for? There must be a contingent of people who like to read
biographies. People who enjoy art or reading about artists might enjoy it. I am
going to include illustrations of his artwork and people in his life. Part 1,
his early years, growing up with his father, and his first marriage is already
published. Part 2 that I am working on covers his second marriage to a most
amazing woman, Ona.
3. What do you hope readers will get out
of reading your book? An introduction to a
man I think was extraordinary. He was also very different. I think it is good
to have an understanding of a man who is so different he is not of the ‘norm’.
4. How did you decide on your book’s title and
cover design? Bohemianism can be an
attitude or a clothing style, but living a bohemian lifestyle is difficult
and seldom accomplished. How can someone live when money is not important,
never thought about? Life is too expensive to live that way! Yet here was
Jonathan in all his eccentricity, living from hand to mouth his entire life
span, trying to get things taken care of sometimes by exchanging a painting for
work to be done (car repairs, house repairs, baby sitting, what not). The only
reason why he could live as he did was because he had no mortgage and he was
exceedingly frugal. The community Jonathan lived in has now gentrified, but in
the last century, it was common for folks to help each other without expecting
payment. It was, and still is a small community. I am also not saying a
bohemianistic lifestyle should be common. Truly, it is so much easier being
middle class and having the dollars to spend. I don’t think anyone can live as
Jonathan did any more. Thus, the moniker: Last Bohemian. The cover painting is
his self-portrait, titled Self Portrait with Brown Hat. He painted
it for a reason, but it is kind of a long story. Can’t print it here.
5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have
for fellow writers – other than run!? I am hardly one to give anyone advice. I can only suggest that
people need to follow their hearts, and that is probably a cliché.
6. What trends in the book world do you see —
and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Oh wow. A hard question. One of my problems,
and I seriously mean it is a problem, is my age. I love reading literature.
When I moved in with Jonathan I was in heaven because of the infinite
bookshelves and all kinds of books. If it is one wonderful thing living with
him did, it gave me time. I read all kinds of literature. But now I am in my
70s and there is so much I haven’t read! I just read 100 Years of
Solitude and I feel like I should have read it years ago. Now I want
to read more of Garcia Marquez’s books. But a person has only so many hours in
the day! I also haven’t read Salman Rushdie yet. I just feel like I’m light
years behind. I guess I digressed a little. Sorry.
I don’t know where the publishing industry is headed. All I do
know is I was able to publish Jonathan’s bio on Amazon, and without Amazon, it
would not have been published. Why do I say that? Because me, the one with few
sophisticated social skills, could never have flown to New York…. Oh my God,
just the thought of me flying sends zingers of fear through me. And then
approaching a publishing house…. I would be terrified, I would say
inappropriate things, I would just make a huge fool of myself! The same way I
goofed up my young life in my twenties. Socializing is intuitive for most human
beings, but not for autistics. I actually did call a publishing company in the
San Francisco Bay Area, thinking they might be interested. They were, but, they
also said they would take my illustrations and place them all together in the
center of the book. I did not want that.
7. Were there experiences in your
personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Yes. I had one college class in writing. I
can convey to you an entire semester in a nutshell: “Write whatever you
need to say with as few words as possible.” I also, at one point, read a
book called Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. That was an epiphany for me.
8. How would you describe your writing style?
Which writers or books is your writing similar to? Oh wow. I feel like a deer caught in the
headlights. I honestly don’t know. I mean, writers are supposed to write facts,
correct? How many ways are there to write facts? I do see myself as sort of
pedantic. Jonathan was a pedantic writer, too, only more so than I.
9. What challenges did you overcome in the
writing of this book? For me it was an
issue of expense and time. I am now living in the state of Washington. Jonathan
lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. All of my research took place in
California. I literally funded my own research by traveling to California every
two to three years to gain information. I stayed with friends most of the time
which helped lessen expenses, and then those two or three weeks I spent down
there were a whirlwind of places to go, people to see, and information to copy
or photographs to take. Then I would return home, work on the book, and pay
down my credit card travel debts. Jonathan’s biography has taken me over ten
years to write, and I’m not finished. I published Part 1 with Amazon, and Part
2 is coming up. I was hoping by the end of this year, but I have never been
able to meet my goals. So, I just keep plugging away. Eventually, maybe three
or four years away, I’ll publish Part 3, and in Part 3, I would like to explain
my life with Jonathan including my autism, so perhaps some people may grasp
what being autistic can be like, at least, my form of autism.
10. If people can buy or read one book this
week or month, why should it be yours? That is such a good question. I would never push anything on
anybody. I’m truly hoping that whoever reads my book will enjoy learning about
Jonathan and I sincerely hope they would find it interesting. I don’t think I
could compare it with any other book. Each author is different, don’t you
think?
I would like to add: I never expected anything from the London
Fair, and I’m so glad you are in touch with me! This is truly a privilege. The
reason why I entered in London is because they have an artist by the name of
John Henry Batchelor, and I’ve noticed that sometimes online the two get mixed
up. For example, in one website they were referring to my Jonathan, and yet
they said he drew airplanes. No! John Henry Batchelor was a technical
illustrator and he did all the airplanes and ships. My Jonathan did still
lifes, landscapes, and portraits.
About The Author: I and
my siblings grew up in a family of artists and musicians. My mother was the
artist, my father an electronics engineer who loved music and we all enjoyed
listening to him sing and hum opera music around the house while we were
growing up. He was never a professional musician, just a very musical person,
as are all my siblings. Out of the five of my generation, three of us are
fourth generation artists. So you can see there definitely is some sort of DNA
connection. For me personally, I lived a comfortable middle class existence
until my college years finished and then I was presented with the world. I did
not know at that time, but I am autistic and so is everybody in my family. We
are all on the spectrum! None of us knew anything about autism until my niece
was diagnosed in the 1990s. I must have been in my late 40s by then. At first I
was in denial (my gosh, I kept thinking, I’m nothing like my niece!) but
everything gelled when I was in my 50s and I began to learn about autistic
people. I normally do not talk about my autism, but autism is the reason why I
lived with Jonathan David Batchelor, of whom I call my hero and savior. In my
20s I attempted to make a life for myself, but I could not navigate the world,
could not ‘read’ people and could not communicate very well. I stumbled around
a bit and by the time I hit Canyon (Jonathan’s home) I was in my thirties,
exhausted and tired of people and just wanted to shut myself off from the
world. Jonathan allowed me to stay in his house in the woods. I thought I was
there only temporarily, but I just couldn’t leave the peace and quiet of
Canyon, nor those times he took me sailing on the San Francisco Bay! I never
dreamed I would live with a man older than my own father, but I settled into a
life with him and thus his biography.
Here is a link to a website that my older sister (Madeline)
created for me: https://wildhorseart.com/
Need PR Help?
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About Brian
Feinblum
Brian Feinblum should be
followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is
copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now
resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue
dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The
Writer and IBPA’s The Independent. This
award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts
over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by
BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018
as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by
www.WinningWriters.com as a “best resource.” For the past three decades,
including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book
publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses,
Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres,
right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark
Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay,
Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan
RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He
hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and
has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence
College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association,
Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and
Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have
been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY
Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington
Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, &
Co-Op Association Handbook. It was featured
in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.
