<h2 style="margin-left:0in;">adam skolnick on his journey from journalist to ghostwriter to fiction writer</h2>Adam Skolnick is an author and journalist who covers travel, adventure and endurance sports, and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Wired, Lonely Planet, and Men's Health. He's the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, and the ghostwriter and audiobook narrator of the bestselling David Goggins memoirs, Can't Hurt Me and Never Finished. A frequent contributor on The Rich Roll Podcast, he lives in Southern California where he was born and raised. His fiction debut American Tiger is a riveting blend of adventure, mystery, and coming-of-age with a touching father-daughter relationship at its core.<h3 style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/American%20Tiger/9781544549866">American Tiger</a></h3>by Adam Skolnick<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img data-ot-ignore src="https://CWSImages.ingramcontent.com/cdsImages/imageloader?id=YI+gIMp2/2+ybdi7fNhJlyGYfQuQcDxlMyd88Bcf+ovkEQO3weoW63vmvp2OPMQvOyNsTwpBjg/UYCBe8M2IWdErt352fFSv04ewoDW/lj2gBRwovW1oPXZ3fapMad827xniZnJE5kf/NMAWiR6Duy7mE0s5xVJvu6QLi+y25+A=&amp;size=640" alt="isbn: 9781544549866,template: list"></figure>A motherless nine-year-old girl glances out her school bus window and notices a tiger licking its paws behind Target. Nobody else sees it and nobody believes her, not even her father, a local game warden, because it is well known that Bell Tern has an untamed imagination. But evidence mounts and with it, the possibility that Bell is telling the truth and a most unlikely predator could be prowling a seemingly placid suburb of Los Angeles.Based on true events, rooted in the stunning Southern California landscape, and populated with vivid characters, American Tiger is about more than a frantic tiger hunt. It's about a child's quest for self-discovery, her stoic father's struggle to come to terms with their past, and the innate wildness of every living thing.<h2>Interview with adam skolnicK:</h2>As an indie author, what has been your favorite part of the publishing journey?&nbsp;I’ve enjoyed being hands on in every part of the process. From cover design, to choosing the fonts, to producing the audiobook. It’s made me stretch in new directions and given me so much appreciation for every part of the process and the people who make it all happen.&nbsp; &nbsp;You have ghostwritten some incredibly popular self-help books with David Goggins. How did your creative partnership with him begin, and what is your favorite part of working to tell someone else’s story in that way?&nbsp;I was already aware of his story and had a tremendous amount of respect for him when we were introduced. His was the best story not yet told on the page, in my opinion, and I was very fortunate that he chose me to help him tell it. The most thrilling and challenging part of that collaboration was working to channel his voice. As writers we are always channeling story. We don’t control the process so much as navigate it. As a ghostwriter, that is especially true. We must remain open channels to the author and serve them and the story at the same time. When it works, it’s incredibly rewarding.&nbsp; &nbsp;With such an extensive background in non-fiction work, how was your experience writing your debut fiction novel? Was your creative process similar or different to past projects?It was similar in that there was a research phase followed by a writing phase. That’s normal for journalists. But in every other way, fiction felt foreign and much more difficult to get right. I wrote more than twice as many drafts as I ever had for a non-fiction book. I felt much more doubt, but once I felt like I found the book, the process felt familiar again. Writing is rewriting. Fiction or non… revision is everything. And I feel like the end result is my best and most personal work yet.&nbsp; &nbsp;How would you describe American Tiger for those readers who haven’t heard of it yet?&nbsp;It's one of the great father-daughter stories, one that happens to take place within the search for a tiger that is suspected of lurking through a Southern California suburb. Bell Tern is a nine-year old girl who sees the world through a unique lens provided by her single dad, Jay Tern, a local game warden. Bell doesn't know anything about her mother and Jay won't share the details she craves because it's too painful. When the tiger—whether real or imagined—slinks onto the scene, once buried secrets come to light.&nbsp; &nbsp;How did the central story or idea come to you?&nbsp;It's based on a true story I covered as a reporter way back in 2005, when an escaped tiger was loose in Simi Valley, California for weeks. The game wardens couldn't find it. Some of the best trackers in the country were called in. They couldn't track it down either. My story takes place in a fictional Simi Valley, but the ecosystem and the premise are true to life.&nbsp; &nbsp;Early reviews for American Tiger have praised your stunning descriptions of southern California nature and thoughtful depiction of wildlife. Where does this insight &amp; reverence for the environment come from?&nbsp; &nbsp; I revere nature. It’s my power source. It calms my heart and opens my mind. And I’m a lifelong Californian and once worked in environmental restoration here in Los Angeles. Meaning I pulled out asphalt and planted trees with kids at local schools, and worked with volunteer crews in the local mountains. That was my day job, so I spent a lot of time with arborists and naturalists who know the local ecosystem. Their lessons stayed with me.&nbsp;&nbsp;This novel has elements of adventure, mystery, eco-lit, coming-of-age, and magical realism all mixed in. Did you always know this novel would be somewhat genre-bending, or did you discover certain pieces throughout the writing process?&nbsp;The book revealed itself over time. I set out to tell a more straight ahead tale, but the story demanded something more original. I have a very organic process… I work from an outline but I allow the story to evolve. I’m not overly calculating, writing for specific audiences, but I did have the sense that it is a story that could appeal to different kinds of readers. That it could span genres. From a marketing aspect that can be challenging, and has proven a bit challenging, but the readers who have found it, love it.&nbsp; &nbsp;A captivating father-daughter relationship is at the heart of this story. How do you craft an authentic, believable, and intimate relationship like this on the page?&nbsp;Just pour your heart into the characters and let them be who they need to be.&nbsp; &nbsp;What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from a fellow writer, and what advice would you give to a fellow author looking to create something special and meaningful?&nbsp;Write like you talk. Don’t try to cook up fancy words or sentences. Simple and true is best.&nbsp; &nbsp;As a storyteller across so many different styles and mediums, what do you think makes a great story across the board?&nbsp;I’m a believer in the hero’s journey. There is a character who wants and needs something. Something hard to get and that’s not guaranteed. There are countless obstacles but the character believes they can do it, against all odds. And they go for it, and they get beat up. The journey costs them, yet ultimately rewards them with an entirely new way of being. In American Tiger there are multiple heroes on their own journeys. All of them seeking something.&nbsp;What do you hope readers take away from your work? &nbsp;That there is more potential within them than they know. And that there is much more beauty and magic in this intricately interconnected world than we grasp. It’s our job to tap our potential and find that magic for ourselves.&nbsp;<h2 style="margin-left:0.0px;">Excerpt From american tiger:</h2>&nbsp;<blockquote>Bell considered her sighting a quirk of fate. Normally, she found a window seat on the right side of the bus on her way home from school because she preferred mountain vistas to parking lots, but on the day in question, she’d been held after school. Instead of paying attention during math, Bell had been caught drawing herself into a trance. Again. This time, her illicit illustration depicted her teacher at the blackboard surrounded by a snickering gaze of raccoons. Four scrambled around her desk. Three hung from her extended arms, and one bit her on the behind. Ms. Levine seemed especially irked that Bell was confused by her reaction. &nbsp;Bell insisted it was all a giant misunderstanding. Her father used cameras to record evidence, and he’d told her that law enforcement agencies had relied on sketch artists before the age of photography. Newspapers too. That was what Bell considered herself to be: a sketch artist who had captured her teacher’s harrowing ordeal in real time. Unfortunately, Bell’s attempt to explain illustration’s investigative history only made things worse. The terms “fib” and “liar” were ban- died about. As in, “You cannot continue to fib your way through my class, young lady,” and “You know the other kids think of you as a liar, don’t you?” Eventually, Bell was sent home with another exasperated note for her father penned in an elegant, looping cursive Bell couldn’t help but admire. Jay would have to sign it, or Bell would not be welcomed back to class. &nbsp;Deflated, Bell was the last to board the bus. The only window seat still available was on the left side, and she claimed it. Seven minutes later, the bus chugged up the overpass spanning Highway 23, skirted the backside of the new mega-shopping center, and stopped at the most infuriating traffic light in town. The one that took forever to change. &nbsp;The school bus was filled with the tedious chatter of happier children. Bell peered out the window toward the sagebrush, beyond Target’s sparkling, supersized loading bays and dumpsters. And that was where she saw the tiger, halfway in and halfway out of the brush, its front paws on the asphalt, one directly in front of the other. It was staring right back at her. Stunned, Bell tore open her pack; sifted through such essentials as pruning shears, a compass, a collapsible butterfly net, and a space blanket; and dug out her field glasses. &nbsp;She raised them up and focused in. She was no longer on a rattly old bus packed with the Smelly, the Irritating, and the Stupid—the three scientific classifications she used to categorize her fellow students. She was in her own bubble, suspended in time and space. That was how absorbing it was to watch a tiger—an actual tiger!— on the loose in the real world. Or was it? She had her doubts. She pinched her ears and clenched her eyes shut, but when she opened and released them, the tiger was still there, less than sixty feet away. &nbsp;Bell watched it lick its front paw. She noted its liquid-amber eyes, and was that a mane bunched up around its shoulders like a ruffled collar? Did tigers have manes? She’d have to research that. Its coat was the deepest ochre and a creamy ivory brushed with jet-black stripes. Its nose was two-toned, half baby pink and half black as beach tar. With each inhalation, its nostrils pinched closed, then opened wide. Through her lenses, she felt as though she could reach out and touch it. &nbsp;The tiger snarled and flashed its pearly canines. A flatbed truck stacked with pallets of recycled cardboard came squealing around the corner, pulled up to the dumpsters, and obscured Bell’s view. As the clueless driver got out of the cab, Bell saw a banded tail float to the edge of the fresh blacktop and recede into the brush. &nbsp;Bell dropped her field glasses. The traffic light turned green. Mrs. Parker eased her foot off the brake. The bus sighed dramatically and pulled away while Bell cursed herself. She should have ditched the bus and tracked the animal. That was what any decent investigator would have done. Tail the suspect, no matter how menacing. Don’t let any witnesses slip away. Roll out of a moving vehicle if you must! But bailing out the side door of a school bus demanded training she did not have. Instead, she went public. &nbsp;“There’s a tiger behind Target,” Bell said. &nbsp;</blockquote><h2 style="margin-left:0in;">And more!</h2>Lose yourself in Adam's tender and wild debut novel<a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/American%20Tiger/9781544549866"> American Tiger</a> <a href="http://bookfinity.com/book/American%20Tiger/9781544549866"><img data-ot-ignore class="image_resized" style="width:5%;" src="https://CWSImages.ingramcontent.com/cdsImages/imageloader?id=GtCyr1drZZSl9Jh3tt071DB3eo/k8dBVwRyCBGkM1XvzpItedtx3oVfXrYvHRggPujafv0v4IpL8sEBoFOzpFZ7KlRcjHmfkkt2B4bpS21AiExpS4L0S5Nu8DU+xa+V+AxlB7Rba5vBM0rwtYXYBcmi215lRQMlb24wc3l4dqe8=&amp;size=640"></a>Check out <a href="https://www.adamskolnick.com/">Adam's website</a>, and follow him on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/adamskolnick/">Instagram</a> to stay in the loop with his work!Ready to write your own hero's journey like Adam? <a href="https://www.ingramspark.com/how-it-works">Start publishing your novel with IngramSpark today!</a>

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