About David Unger, PhD:
DAVID UNGER, PhD, is a writer, therapist, educator, and author of the mystery series A Lesson in…, which currently has nine books, with two more coming soon. He is also known for his series of relationship training manuals, which includes a guide to parenting teens. A graduate of UCLA, he’s been a licensed therapist and Chair of a graduate psychology program most of his career.
What inspires you to write?
Growing up my best friend’s father was an author. His study door was always open and when my friend and I walked by he would call us in for a chat. The bookcases were floor to ceiling and overflowing. He was so welcoming and always had time to engage us. My parents both left the house to go to work and I never saw them actually working. I thought I’d enjoy working at home and being accessible to my family so the image I had of a writer beckoned me.
I’ve always enjoyed telling stories and holding people in suspense waiting to hear what will happen next. You might think that since I have a doctorate I liked school, but the opposite is true. I mostly thought it was a waste of time. It wasn’t until I took a Psychology class at UCLA that I experienced what an interactive, experiential teacher could do. In that class I realized I wanted to do what he did – teach things that people would find meaningful and useful.
Whether writing a love letter as a teenager or a mystery novel today my inspiration is the same. I want my reader to be engaged in the process, enjoy it, and learn from it.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
I have too many to list, but here are a few. Agatha Christie, Harlan Coben, David Rosenfelt, Kinky Friedman, Don Winslow, Joel Dicker; and, in the non-mystery field, A.A. Milne, J.D. Salinger, and Joan Didion.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m a pantster, which means I write by the seat of my pants. I’m in good company, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and Raymond Chandler wrote some of their books by the seats of their pants. When I begin to think about a new book, I know all the words in my title but one. They all are titled, A Lesson in ____ and Murder. I’ve filled that blank with Sex, Music, Therapy, Mystery, Baseball, Cowboys, Comedy and Reunions. I dream and/or think of a topic or event I’d like to write about and usually I come up with a location and a scene or two. Since I don't know what I'm going to write until I write it, the books are just as much a mystery to me as they are to the reader.
I don’t have a set time or amount of time I devote to writing. Since I love to write I know I will find time for it most every day. I tend to write for 20-40 minutes, do something else for a spell and then come back to the writing. It’s pretty clear to me that there is no right or wrong way to approach writing. Writers just have to find what works for them.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
They talk to each other, and I overhear their conversations. My mystery series is on audiobooks so now I often hear my recurring characters voices as they are spoken by my narrator.
My characters have minds of their own and I just follow them. Being a pantster the scenes organically follow each other. Sometimes I have an idea of what is to come, but don’t know how my characters will react to it. It seems odd to say, but they don’t always do what I would prefer they do.
What advice would you give other writers?
I asked my best friend’s dad how I would know if I was a writer and he told me, “writer’s write.” My advice would be to write. While writing can be difficult at times, most authors love to write. Not everyone gets to do what they love and make a living at it. Whether you make money at it or not, invest in what you love – be it writing or anything else.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Rejection helps. When I wrote my first books I sent them out to agents and publishers. Although I got some encouraging letters, i didn’t get any contracts. I chose to self-publish by default. I kept doing it as I liked being my own boss. Lately I have gotten tired of managing all the different aspects of the process and have given more thought to having a mainstream publishing house take over some of the tasks.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It is hard to be optimistic about the future, but people will always want to read. I think that publishers will have to get more creative in finding readers and perhaps the novel as we know it needs to diversify itself. I’d like to see newspapers and magazines publish books in installments.
It’s empowering that people do not have to have a publisher to have their work be seen. Having more people be able to tell stories is a service to us all and hopefully we continue to find more ways to have voices heard.
What genres do you write?: My books fall into the cozy realm as they don’t have violence. They do have some four-letter words, drug use, and sex. I’ve heard them called soft-boiled. They are also historical fiction as they take place in the 1980’s.
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
David Unger, PhD Home Page Link
Link To David Unger, PhD Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
