Featured Interview With John Mann
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Poland and am a Holocaust survivor. After the war my family and I immigrated to Australia. In 1959 I moved to Israel, studied and taught Hebrew, finished Architecture, married and became a proud father of three children Michael, Yael and Ariel.
Although born in Poland, I was raised, educated, discovered freedom and my inalienable rights when we moved to Australia when I was nine.
Now I live In an Old Age Home, typically euphemized as a “retirement home” or “golden age” home.
Do you have any pets? My wife, children and an irritating cat!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? At the age of 8 – after the war – when I was given my first book!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I first fell in love and wrote pretentious poetry to my inamorata!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
The first three that come to mind are: Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, Ayn Rand, but many others! My favorite genre to read are books involved with the idiosyncrasies, characteristics, weaknesses and strengths that typify human beings! Who inspires my writings? My fascinating journey through life!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book “Enter& delete” is about Saul Poliakov who is caught in an unsalvageable marriage that is slowly dragging him, his wife Fay, and their daughter into a morass of depression and self-doubt. His obsession with Nataly, the only woman he truly ever loved and whose sudden and inexplicable disappearance in the past still haunts him, lies at the root of his problems. The novel that Saul is writing lays unfinished as he realizes his work, his marriage, his life cannot move on until he solves the mystery of Nataly’s vanishing. So he sets out in earnest to find her. Somehow Saul knows that he is at least partially responsible for her disappearance.
Saul’s best friend, David, exploits Saul’s marital failure to pursue and hopefully implement his own romantic plans with Fay. He has always loved and desired her, but his friendship with Saul, until now, has prevented him from following through with his feelings. He encourages Saul in his quest for his own less-than-honorable intentions. As the mystery of Nataly’s disappearance is steadily uncovered, it has extreme repercussions on both Saul and David’s life, resulting in their rude awakening and an unforeseeable and staggering end.