John Rutherford sits down with RM Hive Host Rob Lambeth in ReadersMagnet’s Featured Author Interview to discuss his book “Bella – Chronicles of a Karmic Dog” and his writing journey.
John Rutherford’s Bella—Chronicles of a Karmic Dog is a book that follows a pregnant dog named Bella. During her pregnancy, her loose-lipped owner shares his plans to sell Bella’s puppies for a profit. Some eavesdropping thieves abduct Bella to gain the profit themselves. Fortunately, Bella was able to escape from her abductors to the wild forest, where she was protected by the forest animals. In return, Bella tells them the stories of her gifted ancestors who were silent witnesses to significant events and human endeavors that made history. The stories are entwined with the 12 laws of karma, illustrated by different characters in the last 200 years.
Rob Lambeth of ReadersMagnet interviewed John Rutherford to talk about his writing process and inspiration behind Bella – Chronicles of Karmic Dog in RM Featured Author Interview. Here’s how it went:
John Recently Discovered His Love for Creative Writing
The interview started with Rob asking John about his journey as a writer. Author John Rutherford said he used to work in the Airline and Travel Business, as well as in the field of Software Development. He discovered his love for creative writing after he retired. He first started writing short children’s stories for his grandchildren and their friends.
“I started with a series of children’s stories, but later I branched out, and now I have written and published my first novel, which is [in the] adult genre. I wrote stories for my grandchildren. They live in New York. I used to write stories for them and their friends, and they eagerly listened and enjoyed. I decided to publish these children’s series, various stories with different intriguing characters. It was a lot of fun.”
The Newly Found Passion Drove Him to Enter Competitions
Through writing stories for his grandchildren, John found his passion in writing. He found himself practicing every day. His newly found passion led him to enter different writing competitions, where he gained followers and connections with other authors, learning all the time.
“I was writing every day. I discovered a hidden passion for creative writing. Ever since, I’ve been practicing daily, the art of writing and storytelling. So, I entered some competitions as well. And I gained a lot of followers and some prizes. That encouraged me to carry on. I realized the passion had been sleeping inside, and now it was the right time to write. I remember winning some prizes at school for my writing years ago.”
John Wanted to Create a World Like the Theater
Rob Lambeth asked John about his inspiration for writing. The author said he wanted to write a story for his grandchildren and create a world like a theater stage. He said that he wanted to create a series with classical characters and context, together with educational and moral values.
“The first series that I wrote, ‘Madooree: The World of Klim and Marec.’ I read a lot of children’s stories for my grandchildren, reading to them at night. I decided to write a children’s story myself. I wanted to create a world like a theater. I remember, as a child, we used to go to pantomimes and Christmas shows and things like that. I wanted to create a series that [was] more classical in context. Really, the world of Klim and Marec is a parallel world, based on a theater stage. And the characters created are somethings based on classical literature .”
John’s Writing Style Evolved Through Competitions
Rob asked John about the initial spark that inspired him to write his book Bella – Chronicles of a Karmic Dog, pointing out his evolution from writing children’s books to creating stories for the adult genre. The author said that he started writing adult stories by joining writing competitions. He got feedback from the other authors that his style of writing is appropriate for the adult genre.
“I started writing adult stories and entering them into competitions. It’s a different style, obviously, and depending on the topic it needs a lot more technical information, more descriptions, and things like that. I gained valuable feedback from the competition from the other authors in these competitions. I gained information from the other authors about my style of writing and what was appropriate for adult genre. So, I practiced there for a while and started entering competitions weekly with adult genre content.”
The Book Brings the Idea of Cause and Effect
Touching on the book’s theme, Rob lets John talk about the advocacy of his book Bella – Chronicles of a Karmic Dog. The author said that his book introduces the concept of cause and effect – causality. As the title states, the story also illustrates the laws of karma.
“I wanted to make sure that people understood that there is good and bad karma. And the question of whether it’s your choice., Whether it’s a person’s choice, or whether its fate is quite an interesting topic. The whole theme around cause and effect is the underlining part of these stories. They’re all factual stories, events in recent history, but I’ve fictionalized them. I brought in another view of the character and try to illustrate through words their desires and challenges and at the same time introduce the concepts of cause and effect, or causality.”
“I’m doing research. It’s important!”
To conclude the interview, Rob wondered if John had a message he could leave to the audience or aspiring writers who may follow his steps. John Rutherford recounted about the time he spent submitting his entries to writing competitions. He shared what he did to create his masterpieces – he always spent time doing research on the topics.
“When I entered these competitions, the genre of the competition may have been romance or horror or detective or many other genres. I really didn’t have any experience in the genre. I have life experience, but my imagination and creativity play a greater role in the submissions. I do this because I want to test myself. I believe everybody has to test themselves. I think it’s important for myself that I’m tested with all these different topics and subjects because I like to do a lot of research for books. Even with children’s books, I’m doing research. It’s important! I think it’s something that’s necessary in writing that one should really try different genres and topics. Even if it’s fiction, you have to try and keep some reasonability or common sense in the storyline. For me, it’s about challenging my art.”
Watch Rob Lambeth’s full interview with John Rutherford on ReadersMagnet’s YouTube Page.
If you want to get a copy of John Rutherford’s Bella – Chronicles of a Karmic Dog, check it on Amazon. To learn more about the author and his books, visit www.johnrutherfordbooks.com.