Q: How many books have you written or co-written, and what are their titles?
A: I have personally written or adapted three illustrated children’s stories that have been translated into as many as 14 different languages each. I have written and/or co-written six screenplays and five teleplays. Three of these screenplays have been adapted into chapter books, a/k/a pocket novels, by third parties.
Q: What got you started writing?
A: I started writing in grade school for advanced English classes and enjoyed it enough to continue writing throughout my life. I have used my creative writing skills in business as well, as the key author on numerous patent applications.
Q: I know writing runs in your family. The story of your grandmother can be found elsewhere on this website. Apart from passing down her writing talent hereditarily, how much of an influence was your grandmother on your writing?
A: My grandmother’s concept cards were the basis for my writing career. I doubt I would have written the series of children’s books without her inspiration. Sadly, I never met my grandmother, Kay Nylen, as she passed away while babysitting me when I was just three months old.
Q: Do you do your best writing at a particular time of day or under specific circumstances (e.g. music playing—and if so, what type—or silence? Writing longhand first, or any other specifics?)
A: I generally write in silence and late into the night when inspiration comes to me.
Q: You have a whole ’nother life apart from your literary pursuits. Would you mind telling us a little about that?
A: In my “non-writing life,” I recently left the world of investment fund management, e.g. private equities. The focus of the most recent fund was on next-generation technologies and materials that could have a profound impact on daily living. It was a satisfying and rewarding career that allowed me to dream with unbridled passion.
Q: Are both your sons writers too? Tell us a little about their books.
A: I have twin 17-year old sons who both inherited the writing bug. The twins each wrote their own illustrated children’s story. Tyler J. Fohrman wrote the children’s story SEA MYSTERIES and assembled the photos used in the book as well. Graphic artwork was overlaid and otherwise incorporated into the photographs, providing a rather unique look and feel for the book. Kyle G. Fohrman wrote the fully illustrated children’s story BUY US WAR BONDS!, an inspiring call to action for young Americans to invest in the security of their country. Both SEA MYSTERIES and BUY US WAR BONDS! were based upon unpublished and incomplete concepts left by Kay Nylen, their paternal great-grandmother.
Q: Not counting school compositions and the like, what was the first thing you ever wrote?
A: The screenplay BUMBLER was the first thing I wrote and copyrighted in its entirety. BUMBLER is a musical, feature-length film that envisions the use of animated characters for the telling of the story.
Q: Are you planning on writing any new books? If so, tell us a little about them.
A: I am not planning any new books at this time, primarily because of the time commitments involved in writing them.
Q: You’ve written movie scripts. Tell us about them.
A: I have several movie screenplays that have been fully developed and copyrighted and have had significant artwork, including storyboards, produced to support their creation.
Q: Do you plan on writing any more movie scripts?
A: I would like to write another movie script, yes, and have a well-developed idea in my head. This particular script would be fashioned out of my life experiences, with a goal of being a feature-length comedy.
Q: What else do you want our readers out there to know about you and/or your writing?
A: I hope you enjoy what we have created!