Author Spotlight: Interview with Hank Smith

1. Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline:

Addict to Addict Without Parallel/ Relapse Prevention.

Tagline: The beast of addiction is severe and deadly. if you want to understand the realities of drugs and the effects it has on us then please give yourself a break. please read this book.

2. Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?

All audiences who have or who know someone who has struggled with addiction. I believe that would be just about all of us.

3. How did you come up with the title of your book or series?

The book derives from the only known cure of addiction. One addict helping another addict without parallel. It is the only proven way to arrest addiction for more than a short period of time. DRUGS DO NOT WORK.

4. Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork?

It's basic. Just a word cover. I made it that way because it's the design of simplicity.

5. Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

All who inspired me. Every addict that I know of who has died in the fight of the disease of addiction.

6. How about your least favorite character?  What makes them less appealing to you?

Death. addiction always wins if not treated with utmost respect. SURRENDER.

7. If you could change ONE thing about your novel, what would it be?  Why?

I would have gotten more serious about doctors prescribing addicts drugs to fight addiction with.
its a sure way to kill them. Not cure them.

8. Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:

Up to this point. I hand made all my books and i have given away over 500 books to inmates and recovering addicts for free.maybe someday I will be paid for them.

As I was writing on a subcommittee of an unnamed 12 step fellowship. I realized that more people
become addicted to doctor prescribed meds in treatment than in hospitals due to injury. I
guess thats not very fun but its the truth.

9. What other books are similar to your own?  What makes them alike?

I haven't found one quite like mine. it is a spiritual view on addiction and the arresting
assets of the disease of addiction.

10. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?

I am a musician and i build harleys. and i love to go camping with my kids and my sweetheart.

11. How can we contact you or find out more about your books?

hanksmith.us  

904-236-2259...dont prank call me. I work hard at this.

12. What can we expect from you in the future?

I'm working with local teens about bullying and a series of booklets for free at all public schools
so the kids can just grab one off the wall in any hallway. Although, I'm a little disgusted with the
so called lack of funding that is offered for this project.

13. What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

Give it to someone who it may save them from an untimely death due to the lack of knowledge
that it takes to stay alive from the deadly disease of addiction.

14. Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Just speak your mind and write it down. And for gods sakes don't believe that someone will come along and make it happen for you. Prepare to do it yourself. then do it.

15. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

A lot, but we shall remain silent in order for you to say something.

Thanks to the smell of gunpowder in my mouth. if you visit my website and read my book, you will understand that.

16. And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:

THE BEGINNING
To prevent relapse, we must first began a
life of recovery. The only correct way to begin a
life of recovery is to detox from all drugs, work
the twelve steps and live a spiritual life. If these
“so called - wonder drugs” worked, then why
are millions of addicts going to the clinics every
day like cattle and taking drugs they would have
never even taken in the first place. It seems very
disturbing to me that the vision of recovery is
being catapulted into a blur of deception by
doctors and clinics. The medical field has this
backwards. It doesn't take a very bright star to
figure out that a junkie needs to loose the
crutch and begin a new way of life without
drugs. To put someone on synthetic heroin, or
any other drug, is murder. This is belittling to
do to someone who already has a deadly
problem with addiction. In order to prevent
relapse, we must be clean and free from all
drugs in order to begin to recover.
Recovery is the opposite from the way a
drug addicts mind thinks. It’s deadly to cover up
anything that may be of use to them in a
recovery setting. The point here is to help
them recover from “all” drugs. Not to get them
started on new ones that would have never
even reached them in the first place. What’s
the difference in giving a drug addict heroin,
crack, meth, alcohol or cocaine then giving them
oxy-cotton, methadone, suboxone or any other
drug that the doctors see fit to make money
from? It’s no different from the local drug
dealer. Only this is done legally, and there is no
prison sentence behind it. We wonder why the
relapse ratio is so high on addicts leaving
treatment and recovery centers. Funny how
jails don't give addicts their “FIX” while their
incarcerated. Nor do they give them any as
their being released. Sounds like addicts have a
better chance of surviving the deadly disease of
addiction being in jail instead of treatment. But
sadly enough, most dependent inmates quickly
return to their doctor to be instantly
reintroduced to the same old program of
substitution recovery.
This is absurd, and must be arrested now
in order to begin a new life of recovery. To
believe that recovery is just remaining clean
from the drugs that we “illegally abused” is
absurd. The recovery process from anything
that is destroying our lives must be driven by a
crystal clear vision of what it is that we’re
trying to achieve. The medical field tells drug
addicts to remain clean from the drugs that they
came there using but immediately gives them a
replacement drug. This is insane. It only
creates a brand new situation in an old pattern
of thinking. We must begin with a new way of
thinking. To replace drugs, with drugs, is deadly.
This does nothing for the addict or their quality
of life.

*****

Thank you Hank for taking part in my Author Spotlight interview! I hope your writing continues to flourish and we hope to see more of you in the future.
*****
If you or an author/illustrator you know is interested in being interviewed, feel free to send me an email at authorjejohnson@gmail.com