A Word Please

R.J. McDonnell is the author of the humorous, riveting, Rock & Roll Mystery Series featuring P.I. Jason Duffy. While promoting his books and getting to know his readers, R.J. learned some interesting facts. He put what he learned in practice together with what he learned in theory during his college years and has come to share a few excellent tips with us today.

First, a little about R.J.:

RJ McDonnell is the son of a Pennsylvania State Police Detective. In addition to a traditional education, RJ also had the benefit of seeing every police detective drama on television and in the movies. His father would frequently critique these stories for believability of characters and police procedures.

Instead of becoming the third generation of McDonnell’s to enter the police force, RJ found that his talents lie elsewhere. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Penn State University and a Masters at Marywood University. During his college years RJ was a rhythm guitarist and vocalist in two bands. Shortly thereafter, he moved to San Diego where he went to work for a professional writing service. In addition, he wrote a monthly column for the Military Press, and another for a San Diego publication, providing advice to job seekers.

In the 90s, RJ discovered he had a knack for comedy writing. He wrote for a local San Diego cable television show that had a Saturday Night Live-type format. Over its two seasons on the air, 34 of his skits were produced.

While he continued to work as a professional nonfiction writer, his creative juices were now flowing. After college, RJ’s interest in crime stories transitioned from television and movies into novels. He discovered that the lack of detail and intricacies that his father complained about were abundant in the novel format.

“Rock & Roll Homicide” is the first novel in a series featuring private investigator, Jason Duffy. The second novel, “Rock & Roll Rip-Off,” was released 3/29/10. RJ is currently writing the third novel in the series, which will be Jason’s first serial killer case.
***
And now an insightful article R.J. has written about his experiences in passing on the love of books to “nonreaders”.

How to Interest Adult Children in Reading Books

Did you ever take a vacation to a place you’ve never visited, and find that your expectations and the reality of the trip were very different? That was my experience when the first novel in my Rock & Roll Mystery Series was published. I anticipated a traditional mystery audience in the 35- to 70 age range, and I was half-right.

Four months after Rock & Roll Homicide was published, The Christian Science Monitor ran an article on how the novel was generating a very unusual demographic phenomenon. By analyzing the social networking profiles of 200 people who purchased the book through a marketing campaign on MySpace they determined that the other half of my audience was comprised of 18- to 35-year-olds who enjoy music, but rarely read books. They made this determination by looking at the “Books” section of their profiles and seeing comments like, “I hate books,” and “I hate to read.”

A few weeks after the article was published I began receiving emails from parents telling me of their experience in passing my book on to their adult children and grandchildren. After receiving several of these, I got one from a wise grandmother who went one step further by initiating a discussion with her grandson about the strained relationship between my detective and his retired police detective father. She said that it didn’t take long before the grandson started noting similarities to the problems he was having with his own father.

I was fortunate to have an amazing behavioral psychology professor as an undergraduate at Penn State. Dr. Alan Kazdin went on to chair the Psychology Department at Yale and was named the president of the American Psychological Association in 2008. I applied what I had learned from Dr. Kazdin and shared it with my readers who were trying to pass their passion for reading on to their adult children.

Following a couple of years of trial and error, I am now doing a library tour where I share what I’ve learned. The highlights are as follows:

Read a fiction novel that should be consistent with your child’s interests. Recommend the book to a few of your friends. Relate a movie trailer-length version of the book to your child and ask for help in understanding certain parts of it. Rock & Roll Homicide is a whodunit were most of the suspects are either in a band or affiliated with the music business. Tell your child that you expect your friends to ask questions you’re not prepared to answer, and ask for help.

After the child has finished the book ask questions that will make your child appear bright and insightful. Watch a few Larry King interviews if you need help in this area. Be generous with your praise. Try to get on a topic that will lead to a heart-to-heart discussion; then ask for a commitment to read a second book. Go with the first and second books in a series if possible.

Avoid topics that could lead to arguments when discussing the first three books. Drugs, religion, and politics are volatile topics that should be deferred until at least the seventh book.

Introduce such topics as themes, subplots, and levels of meaning as subtly as possible. Make sure that your child remains the star of the discussion. Avoid assuming the role of mentor or English teacher.

Transition into nonfiction around the tenth book. Start with something simple and avoid thick books. Be sure you are on target with their interests – give them what they want, not what you think they need.

Keep it positive. If your child stalls at any point in the process, don’t resort to the tactics you used to get him to finish his science project. Conjuring up bad memories from high school will derail the program. Make it his special time with Mom.

Above is the five minute version of my 90 minute presentation. If you opt to initiate a reading program for a family member and get stuck, feel free to send me a brief email. I may be able to put you in touch with someone who succeeded in overcoming the obstacle you are experiencing. I can be reached through my website at www.rjmcdonnell.com. If you have a child with an interest in music, I have a two-chapter excerpt of the first two books in my series on that site.

Initiating a successful reading program can be a bit labor intensive, but the payoff can be immense. Like the vacation that I alluded to in the first paragraph, the reading program can take you down some unexpected paths. If you can ride through the rough spots it can positively impact your family for generations to come.
***
R.J.’s books are young adult-friendly. There’s no strong language or graphic sex scenes to deter parents from sharing his books with their young adult and/or adult children. Plus, they are fun reads!

You can find R.J. on his website: http://www.rjmcdonnell.com. He’s a friendly guy. Don’t hesitate to drop a hello his way!

Tags: How to get kids to read, Jason Duffy, mystery series, P.I. series, private investigators, R.J. McDonnell, reading programs, Reading with your children, rock and roll books, Rock and Roll Homicide, Rock and Roll Mystery Series, Rock and Roll Rip-Off