THE GREEN HOUSE - DAN LAWTON
The green house is more than a greenhouse.
Seven flowers, seven colors, seven meanings, and one 37-year-old secret—the green house is the keeper of it all. Its creator, Girard, is a fragile elderly man whose life was shattered by tragedy nearly four decades ago. And when tragedy strikes again—this time to his beloved wife, Miriam—Girard struggles to cope.
The pain of the two interwoven tragedies drives Girard to places of his psyche he desperately tries but is unable to escape. And while the green house he constructed reminds him every day of the regret and the agony and the heartache, it's the only place in his world that offers him peace and tranquility.
Girard turns to the green house as his savior, and with it, he discovers the power behind it not even he knew existed—hope for a second chance.
Hi, Dan! Welcome to Martin Matthews Writes!
Thanks, Martin!
Tell us a little about yourself!
Aside from my writing, I'm a copy editor and copywriter by day for an advertising agency in New Hampshire, where I reside, and I love it! I live in central New Hampshire and haven't ventured too far throughout my life. I'm a sports lover and vegetarian by choice and a dad. I unassumingly make myself laugh every day. While I'm an introvert, I'm not shy; I just often don't know what to say. Most importantly, I'm happy and thrive on positive energy and good vibes, and believe people need to find their own happiness. I love life.
Tell us a little about your new book.
The Green House is literary fiction. I always incorporate a suspenseful plot, so it's a literary mystery. Further, it's a psychological analysis and shroud in romance. Admittedly, it's dark and with a slow pace, and the focus is on the mental health of the main character, Girard—to identify him as a protagonist or antagonist is difficult to do; he's both in many ways. Mental health, depressive thoughts, alcoholism, grief and loss, healing, and hope are all parts of the story. Symbolism is a huge part of the art of the work too, which is represented by flowers in Girard's greenhouse (also a green house; the title is two words intentionally). You'll have to read it to understand, but there's seven flowers, the colors of which represent different emotions, which tie into Girard's story.
Sounds pretty deep, Dan. As someone who lost his best friend to mental illness, I’m intrigued by your story already. Tell us about some of the characters.
Girard Remington is an elderly man with mental health issues and a heavy burden of guilt. He's flawed and unlikable at times, but once you learn the reasons why he is who he is, you'll sympathize. Girard is the primary focus of the novel. The secondary characters are just that—secondary.
Where did the idea for this book come from?
The story is deeply personal. At the time I began writing it, I had a close relationship with someone who experienced mental health issues, which I struggled to understand. As a writer, the best way for me to understand was to put myself in their place—as a character with these same issues. That's where the general concept game from. Later, a larger concept about the green house and the flowers and the symbolism came to life and connected it all together.
Is there a message behind your book?
There is! The underlying message is hope. There is hope for a better future and for healing and understanding.
Who or what are some of your biggest influences?
John Hart has been my biggest influence. He writes literary suspense—a beautiful juxtaposition of literary writing with fleshed out characters and descriptive writing, and suspenseful plots. I try to write like he does.
What are you currently reading?
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It's dark and tough to get through sometimes, but I'm about halfway done and determined to finish.
Are you working on another novel? Can you tell us anything about it?
I finished my sixth novel a few months ago and will be starting my seventh very soon. For the first time, I have a three-book series planned (all my other books up to this point have been standalones). The first in the series is done. All I'm willing to share right now is that it's called That Was Before (I'm very secretive until it's ready).
Thanks for stopping by and chatting with me today, Dan!
Thanks so much!
THE GREEN HOUSE AVAILABLE HERE
Website: danlawtonfiction.com
Twitter/Instagram: @danlawtonauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/danlawtonfiction
Dan Lawton is an award-winning literary suspense, mystery, and thriller author from New Hampshire. He is an active member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) Organization.
His fifth novel, The Green House--a Bronze Medalist in the Adult Fiction E-Book category for the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), a finalist in the Fiction category for the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and a finalist in the Mystery category for the 2020 Book Excellence Awards--will be released on 7/30/20.
Dan's fourth novel, Plum Springs, won the 2019 New Hampshire Writers' Project Readers' Choice Award for Fiction. His first novel, Deception, was named one of the best thriller novels of 2017 by the Novel Writing Festival.