I was privileged to invite Author Robert Boog for an interview to discuss his latest book Hang Shakespeare and the inspiration behind it. Enjoy!
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What's
your book about, and what inspired you to write it?
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On Xmas Day, 2019, my wife and I sat down and
watched a documentary called Nothing is Truer than True. The film takes a
viewer on a voyage to Italy and tried to recreate the voyage of Edward de
Vere, the 17th earl of Oxford. I was fascinated by the movie and raved about
it one month later. However, my wife disagreed. She thought the movie
portrayed a "snobbish" view. So I thought, maybe I missed
something. I returned to the First Folio poem and saw the name de Vere
staring me in the face. Then I saw the words "hang Shakespeare"
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Who is your target audience, and why do you
think this book will appeal to them?
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I did not write with a particular target audience
in mind, but hopefully anyone who has ever taken a Shakespeare class in
school or who had watched a WS movie might be interested.
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What message do you wish to pass across to your
readers with this book?
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The idea that William Shakespeare was given credit
for works that were created by Edward de Vere should be taken more seriously.
We kick students out of colleges for plagiarism. So are not we condoning
plagiarism by allowing Shakespeare to be given credit for works he clearly
did not write?
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What was the hardest thing about writing your
latest book?
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Nothing. It was a lot of fun.
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As a writer, is there anything you've learned
about yourself while writing this book?
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What I learned about myself is that I wanted to
write my original thoughts down first, and then research. For example, I
start with the deaths of the two men and then work backward.Too many people
get bogged down in the grammar school education and I did not want to fall
into that trap.
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For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or
traditional paper/hard back books, and why?
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I like both. Sitting on the toilet reading an ebook
and reading a traditional hard cover book while sitting on the couch or
outside.
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What is your niche genre, and if you were to
write in a different genre, what would it be?
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I have written in both non-fiction and fiction
genres and fiction is by far much harder. I am thinking of writing some short
stories as that is something I have never done and I would like to try it.
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What books and authors have most influenced you?
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Mostly self-help books like How to win friends and
Influence People, by Dale Carnegie as I do try to apply the principles.
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Is there anything you'd like readers to know
about you?
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I believe in simple things: wear a mask because we
are in a pandemic. Wash your hands often. Keep a safe distance. Also, the
authorship question has nothing to do with being "snobbish". I like
to write songs as a hobby and you can find them on YouTube if you do a
YouTube search for Robert Boog. So, let us replace the word "plays"
by William Shakespeare with "songs". Shakespeare's songs sound like
Frank Sinatra with a jazzy style and Frank likes to hold notes. He has
impeccable timing. Now let us compare a Sinatra song to a 90's rap song by
Cypress Hill. They don't hold notes. They rhyme hard.
Sinatra sings: The summer wind, came blowing in, from across the sea. It lingered there, to touch your hair, and walk with me." CH sings: "So you want to be a rock super star, and live large, the five cars, the rent charge, coming up in the world, don't trust nobody." When you compare the words of Shakespeare after 1604 when deVere died, you can hear that Shakespeare sounds different. He does not sound like Shakespeare. (And by the way, I love 90's rap and Cypress Hill) just as i love Frank Sinatra. |
Do you have any more books in the works?
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Not at the moment.
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Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal
with bad or good ones?
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Yes. I deal with bad or good ones by drinking a
glass of wine. A bad one I got with Hang Shakespeare was, "this is a
book I wanted to throw across the room, but it's probably the best book I've
read by someone who does not believe in the authorship of William
Shakespeare." Then the review was mysteriously removed. I mention this
because people who favor the man from Stratford want to ignore the authorship
issue. They don't want to give it oxygen.
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How can readers get in touch with or follow you
(website, personal blog, social media handle, Goodreads)?
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facebook.com/boogmusic
www.robertboog.com @bobboog01 Yes, I am on Goodreads. |
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I live in Los Angeles and my father and mother were both real estate brokers. We had a big family. I was the 5th child in a family with 9 children, so I had 4 older siblings and 4 younger.
I live in Los Angeles and my father and mother were both real estate brokers. We had a big family. I was the 5th child in a family with 9 children, so I had 4 older siblings and 4 younger.
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