Interview with Jeffrey Mechling, Author of The Safe House

What can you tell us about your new release, The Safe House?

Wow, without giving too much away, The Safe House is my follow up novel to The Adults in the Room. Tim Hall continues to live in his ex-wife’s residents but is now in charge of the Safe House duties. If I say too much more it will spoil the ending for those who may have finished The Adults in the Room.

What books are currently on your nightstand?

Free Women Free Men-Sex Gender Feminism by Camille Paglia.

Below The Line by Meredith Jordan.

Ripper by Isabel Allende.

 What advice would you give your teenage self?

What I would say to a young Jeff Mechling would be “Everything that you feel is incredibly important in your life right now, is not important at all so get off your ass and finish college”. I am just afraid that I still would not listen.

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?

Practicing Yoga. Yoga keeps me centered and relaxed and has made me a better person especially to the other people in my life.

What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?

My wife Kathleen. We are both truly dedicated to taking care of each other. Why does that give me Joy? When you truly discover that you are in love with another person, it transcends everything else that you ever thought was important in a relationship including sex. That is one of the reasons I also laugh when I hear a couple say, “We are working things out in therapy”. At that point, the relationship is over yet the poor couple just does not know it yet. Forgiveness is another very misunderstood emotion. Many people feel that their willingness or capacity for forgiveness is similar to a Presidential Pardon where in reality it is a simple process of letting things go and letting things go starts with the ability to forgive one’s self. It is very difficult to forgive another when one cannot forgive themselves.

What scene in The Safe House was your favorite to write?

I just love writing about Florida and the Florida Everglades. The Everglades are truly one of the last unconquered lands in the United States. I used to love how the late author John D McDonald used to editorialize about the Florida environment in his Travis McGee novels and wish I was able to write the same why.

Jeffrey Mechling is the author of the new book The Safe House.

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