Meet Robert O’connor | Writer
We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert O’connor and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi ROBERT, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My father kept a poster on his dresser. Mounted on cardboard, it was the size of a file folder. He must have seen it every day. The poster was a quote from Thomas Huxley, a nineteenth-century British biologist. Tan words on a brown background: “Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not.”
Huxley was self-taught. The education he was referring to was probably not four years at King’s College, Cambridge. I believe his words were an inspiration and a scourge for my father. They have been that for me.
I broke down a few years ago. The nearest causes were a failed marriage and a business that was breached and sinking, my income and fragile ego handcuffed to the oars.
I had a month of harrowing anxiety, perfect insomnia and despair. The only thing I did with any conviction was to journal and hope for the return of my right mind.
I journaled about Huxley’s words and the opportunities I had missed to do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done. I recalled the concept of gumption in Robert Pirsig’s ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.’
That journaling became my first book, ‘Gumptionade,’ and that book lead me to understand my work: writing. My new WWII novel, ‘Jeep Show – A Trouper at the Battle of the Bulge’ is the latest example of my work.
If you don’t know what your work is, the world will tell you. You don’t want that.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is storytelling. Research is fun, writing is hard. I overcame the challenge of writing historical fiction by spending several hours a day at it, starting before sunup.
Simple. But simple and easy are not the same thing.
The following starred review of Jeep Show from Kirkus is what I want the world to know about my story: “It seems odd to call a World War II novel ‘delightful,’ but that’s exactly what you get with O’Connor’s mix of history and fiction.” I wrote a delightful story. So cool!
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hog & Hominy.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to Jim Hetzer, the inspiration for my novel ‘Jeep Show. ‘
Jim was a circus promoter in the 1950s and 1960s. During WWII, he was an enlisted entertainment specialist (Military Occupation Specialty 442).
Private Tanzer was shipped to the European Theater of Operations and assigned to Jeep shows: three enlisted entertainers were driven to the front lines, where the USO could not go. The Jeep show soldiers put on small variety shows there for combat infantry. Private Mickey Rooney lead Jim’s squad. Incredible WWII story that has been lost to history.
Website: https://JeepShowBook.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeepshowbook/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boboconnor25/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtVJkUkvcyU
Image Credits
1) OKPI, Inc. 2) U.S. Army (Public Domain.
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
