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Victoria lynn Weston interviews Sam Mills, author of THE MONEY TREE
 

Sam Mills has had his writings published in the literary magazines of both the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. Born in Brownsville, Texas, Mills grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina, locale for his novel, THE MONEY TREE. In addition, his work has appeared in the literary magazines of both the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. (See www.euphonyjournal.com, Spring 2009 issue ("The First of December") and the nonfiction archive on the site's homepage ("Army Math: Bringing It All Back Home") for recent examples of his work.)

He is a former staff member of the MOTHER EARTH NEWS, the SAVANNAH NEWS-PRESS, the ISLAND PACKET and ISLANDER magazine, and for a number of years was the Hilton Head Island, SC, sports stringer for both AP and UPI.  

Mills is a winner of both the University of Wisconsin short story contest and the Ned Ramsaur Travel Writing Award, given annually by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to the State's top travel writer.

Stop by and LIKE Sam Mills Facebook Page!

Victoria: Hello Sam.  Tell us about your novel, THE MONEY TREE

Sam: Yeh, the important part – the story. I describe it as Tom and Huck take on the Sopranos. Here's the book-jacket blurb:

Set in the wilds of Western North Carolina – near historic Cold Mountain – the story turns on two teen brothers' chance discovery of a drug dealers' money drop in the knothole of a tree. The impoverished boys enjoy the "fruit" of "the money tree" until they are caught in the act by the mafiosi whose money it is. (At the same time, they witness the murder of a pot farmer wrongly thought by the dealers of being the one who’s robbing them.)

The boys narrowly escape, setting off a wild, downriver chase through the trackless Green River Wilderness – a chase that pits unarmed country boys and armed-to-the-teeth city men in a "guerrilla" war to the death. 

My action-adventure story – in places, a literal cliffhanger – has already excited some serious movie interest. (In an effort to market it, I've done the adaptation and have been sending the screenplay around.)

My script pitch describes it as DELIVERANCE meets THE CLIENT meets HOME ALONE. You could throw in a jigger of SOUTHERN COMFORT as well. At the same time, it's in the tradition of SOUNDER and OLD YELLER –  and even THE YEARLING. And the wilderness survival elements recall Gary Paulsen's contemporary YA classics, HATCHET, THE RIVER and BRIAN'S WINTER.

If the movie is ever made, the New River Gorge in West Virginia has to be at least one of the locations. Look at these pix of the famous bridge beloved of base-jumpers everywhere. I had never seen the bridge when I wrote the book – either in person or in pictures – yet this is exactly what I envisioned: New River Groge Bridge.  In the story, the brothers can see the "high bridge" far down the river as they are chased. It becomes a symbol, an icon of their salvation – both literally and metaphorically.
 

Victoria:  Who do you see as the market for your novel?

Sam: I see it as a cross-over adult-Young Adult read. While it has teenage protagonists, adults will enjoy the writing, the story, the themes – and maybe as a nostalgic reminder of their own youth. You know, this makes perfect sense to me – after all, Hemingway's Nick Adams and Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are all adult reads – yet today's publishing won't hear of this! If your leads are teenagers, then you've written a Young Adult novel – and that's that. It's crazy!

At the YA end of the reading spectrum, I think teens with solid reading skills – particularly boys – will love the high-action plot, outdoor setting and vivid, cinematic prose style.

It's a family-friendly story with a long pedigree. In it are the coming-of-age/manhood initiation themes of teen actioners like WHITE WATER SUMMER and WHITE SQUALL. The man-against-nature, wilderness-survival elements of THE EDGE and Gary Paulsen's HATCHET, BRIAN'S WINTER and THE RIVER. And the "boys against men," underdog values of THE CLIENT and NATHAN'S RUN.

Because it's simply written, has teenage protagonists, positive, coming-of-age themes, no sexual content or obscene language, and features a page-turning plot motor, the book provides a wonderful read for both adults and Young Adults – again, especially boys.

That said, today's active girls will love the story's headlong action as a leavening from the more relational fare the industry's provides for them. With that in mind, I've given Lee's girlfriend, Jennifer Holt, a much larger role in the sequels – and she remains an important, "off-camera" presence in the current tale.

In sum, my character-driven, coming-of-age story is a literal cliffhanger that has all the elements that make for an effective novel and film. Sympathetic teenage leads with complete character arcs arrayed against dimensional antagonists. All four of the traditional sources of dramatic conflict – man against man; man against nature; man against himself; and man against society. An exploration of the timeless themes of troubled adolescence. A tight 2½-day timespan for maximum dramatic impact. And best of all, a twisting, turning chase plot, set in the visually stunning arena of the southern Appalachians.
 

Victoria:  How did you get the idea for the story?  Is it auobiographical?

Sam: In some ways, yes. I grew up in a small town near Asheville, NC, back in the Sixties. One summer's day, my brother, David, and I were playing baseball with some friends. My brother foul-tipped the ball into the trees behind homeplate. We went to look for it and, as we did, David saw a pint Mason jar in the knothole of an oak tree. He pulled it out and we found three one-dollar bills in it.

We took it home with us that afternoon and showed it to our mother – who explained that it was a money drop for bootleggers and their customers. She said that – had we not found it – a moonshiner would have taken the money and replaced the empty jar with one full of white liquor. "I'll bet the fur will fly over this," she told us with a smile. (She didn't approve of drunks and drinking.)

That stayed in my head for decades. In the 70s, I made some notes for it – but nothing more. Finally, in October of 1988, I started to work on it. The first draft was done in July of 1989; a later version was published in 1999. For 20 years, I've polished it – and I'm very proud of the finished product.

Victoria: Your novel is now a KINDLE book at Amazon.  What do you think of this new fascinaton with eBooks?

Sam: Well, it's not new for me. THE MONEY TREE was first publication in 1997 as an ebook – and in 1999, it was one of the first fiction titles for the NuvoMedia Rocketbook format. It was published by Treeless Press of Berkeley, CA. Those are out-of-print now – as are the hardcover and trade paperback. Except for used books, THE MONEY TREE is only available now as an ebook – which is fine by me.

BTW, the book should be up soon at Barnes & Noble as a Nook eBook and as an Adobe Edition for the Sony Reader. In time, I also expect to be up at Google Editions.

Also, ASAP, I want it up as a pdf at my own website, www.sammills.com. That should happen in the next month or so.
 

Victoria: Tell us more about yourself.  You live in Florida now, right?

Sam: Yes, since 1988. I love the Sunshine State – except for the sunshine. It really gets way too hot for me here in the summertime. Winter, fall and spring are perfect, though, here in the Panhandle. I live near the beach in a town close to Pensacola.

Let's see, what else? In addition to writing fiction and screenplays, I am also a widely published, award-winning travel, golf and outdoor writer. Here's my boilerplate bio blurb – the last cheesy alliteration I'll subject you to – that is part of the query letters I send out with my stories and articles:

Articles, fiction and photos for the SATURDAY EVENING POST, GRAY'S SPORTING JOURNAL, GOLF and TENNIS magazines, MOTOR BOATING & SAILING, THE DENVER POST, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, HOME & AWAY and dozens of other newspapers, magazines and websites have taken writer-photographer Sam Mills to four continents and nearly 40 foreign countries. (read below for brief bio)

Victoria:  Earlier, you mentioned theme.  That seems to be an important component for most authors of fiction. 

Sam: Yes, of course. One of the great things about story is that it allows you to comment on the human condition without the preachy quality of essays and nonfiction. That's the reason I like to write about teenagers. With them, you get the broadest of character arcs and the largest of themes. You see, heroes of this age are the best because their characters are not "locked" – that is, they're still learning big, coming-of-age truths about the universal human condition. Those are the kinds of themes that affect us all.

Here's the epigraph – the quote at the opening of the book – that tips you off to theme:

"Where choice begins, Paradise ends, innocence ends, for what is Paradise but the absence of any need to choose?" - Arthur Miller

See, on one level, THE MONEY TREE is a page-turning, action-adventure story – as I said, a literal cliffhanger. However, as the book's epigraph suggests, on a deeper level, it examines the ethical residue that accrues to all our decision-making.

A world of moral ambiguity lies at the heart of THE MONEY TREE. From the boys' first decision to steal the money, the story progresses by way of these ethical crossroads.

We western humanists believe that humans are possessed of free will; that decisions accrue to this volition; that actions accrue to decisions; and that consequences accrue to actions. When the brothers first decide to take the money, they set in motion just such a chain of consequence. If THE MONEY TREE has a single, overarching theme, this is it.

Yet, in today's "behaviorist," trail-lawyer age – when so many of our young people seem to have lost both their moral compass and their ethical GPS – this dominant theme seems especially appropos in a story that speaks to the young. I have no doubt, however, that grownup readers will praise and recommend it for the same reasons.
 

Victoria:  You've talked about the novel as a movie.  Are you considering any sequels?

Sam: Sure. In this day and age when it costs more to market a movie than to make it, there's an obvious interest in piggybacking on the previous movie's "branding." This is where the "franchise" mentality that dominates Hollywood these days comes from. With that unavoidable reality in mind, I'm hard at work on two sequels.

In the first, PREDATOR STARE, the chase is rejoined as the brothers, called on to testify at the trial of the mafiosi, must stay one step ahead of mafia hitmen over the course of one endless summer's night. Because it takes place in the urban setting of Asheville, NC – and because it employs the tight timeframe of a single night –  I liken it to the hit movie JUDGMENT NIGHT. It's also similar in theme and subject matter to such stories as THE BODYGUARD, THE JUROR and SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME.

In DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST, a legal technicality three years later earns the mafiosi a new trial and the Rainey brothers new problems – since they are still the star witnesses. This time, they are taking no chances. The boys – with Lee's girlfriend Jennifer Holt in tow to keep them out of trouble – "light out for the Territories" a la Huck Finn in a cross-country chase that involves two sets of parents, the FBI and, of course, Tony Vendetti and his murderous enforcers.
 

Victoria: So three movies!  Any other plans for the MONEY TREE?

Sam: The story's linear, episodic plot and branching, character-driven storyline make it a natural for videogaming. I don't want to give away the story – but as a player, you can body-surf the white water while avoiding Tony's lethal crew. Scale the cave walls to escape the black bear and win Deke Robinson's backpack of stolen money. Stay astride the log as you fly through the dreaded Narrows chute and gain three miles on your pursuers. These are but a few of dozens of exciting plot-points that could help THE MONEY TREE make the transition to gaming.

Oh – and I play bluegrass guitar and have written a number of bluegrass songs. There could be a soundtrack in that. I have a young TV actor – recently signed to headline a new cable TV series – committed to playing Lee Rainey, the older brother. My "talent attachment" is also an up-and-coming country-music star – so that could be a good fit.
 

Victoria:  Any final thoughts? Except good-night and good luck?

Sam: Well, the typical writer's plaint in this day and time – please give THE MONEY TREE a read. I guarantee it to be a page-turner.

One observation for you movie lovers out there who haven't read a novel in years: I'm also a screenwriter, and THE MONEY TREE is written in a language as vivid and visual as any  movie. As you read, you'll think you're watching one! I've always fancied myself what the French call a "cinema novelist." It's one of the reasons I enjoy Hemingway, Steinbeck and Faulkner so much – all of them wrote in that highly visual style. It's not at all like groping through the Victorian purple prose of a Jane Austen epistolary novel (one based on an exchange of letters).

But don't take my word for it – you're right: I have a conflict of interest. You can read the first four chapters of the Kindle Book at Amazon.com for free – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002T44I1C.

And now you can read it without having to buy a Kindle Reader ($259). On the same page, you can download the Kindle eReader software for the PC for free. It's also available for the Apple iPod and iPhone – and soon will be out for Apple PCs. All are free of charge.

About the story itself, I would say be patient. I'm not a fan of the "blood and thunder" opening. I agree with Robert Towne, the screenwriter of CHINATOWN, who says that high-action openings give rise to the "page-20 sag" – that is, since you have to set a story up, there's going to be big downbeat if you open kiss-kiss-bang-bang.

The first four chapters introduce the locale, the characters and set the story up. It's not until chapter five that the chase is joined. After that, there's hardly a let-up in the action. But if you skip over the first four chapters, you're following cardboard cutouts down the river –  instead of real flesh 'n' blood people whose welfare you care about. So – in the words of Sigmund Freud – try to postpone immediate gratification. Give the storyteller a chance to seize your lapels.

That's all, I guess. Enjoy! Stay safe! See you at the High Bridge!

Victoria:  Thank you Sam.  It's been a pleasure talking with you and learning more about your book, THE MONEY TREE.  By the way, I do have the book on my free KINDLE!  I look forward to reading over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Sam Mills now lives in Pensacola, Florida, and can be reached at sam@sammills.com. THE MONEY TREE on Amazon.com

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Barry Oden
Posts: 3

The Money Tree by Sam Mills
Reply #3 on : Tue December 15, 2009, 11:37:34

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This is an exciting novel that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Sam Mills is a most talented writer and one I hope to hear much more of in the future.

Rod Stevens
Posts: 3

Sam Mills & The Money Tree
Reply #2 on : Thu December 10, 2009, 12:08:52

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I read the book when if first came out sometime around 1989. It's a gread book--everything said about it in the interview is absolutely true. I just pray Mr. Mills is successful in getting a movie deal. I think it would be a blockbuster!

Ann Benton
Posts: 3

The Money Tree..
Reply #1 on : Thu December 10, 2009, 11:57:58

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This is a great, very descriptive, action-packed story. I didn't want it to end! Can't wait to read more of Sam's work.

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