Essays from Dysfunctional Families: Literary Betrayal

Casey Bell is an author from New Jersey who has written a few books. We have conducted an interview with him about his latest book: "Essays from Dysfunctional Families: Literary Betrayal."

Why did you name your latest book, "Essays from Dysfunctional Families: Literary Betrayal"?

"Essays from Dysfunctional Families: Literary Betrayal" is two books in one. I wanted to write books based on true events without the permission of the people it happened to. After giving it some thought I realized how angry some of them might be. I began to write "Literary Betrayal" which is about an author who used his families’ and friends’ darkest secrets as his subject for a best-selling book he wrote. In "Literary Betrayal" the reader gets to see the negative effects of the author writing such book. In the process of writing the book (Literary) I chose to write the book the author wrote ("Essays from Dysfunctional Families.") so the reader could understand why his family and friends were so angry with him. In short, "Essays from Dysfunctional Families" is the first book written by Dean K Brent and "Literary Betrayal is the book about the author Dean K Brent."

Is it based on real life stories?

The second book "Literary Betrayal" in this book is completely false. The first part of the book "Essays from Dysfunctional Families" is a book with ten essays from ten different people from all over America. Each story is either completely false, or loosely based on true events.

When did you start writing?

I wrote my first book in 2004, but did not finish it until 2016. I wrote and finished my first book “The Diary of Stephanie Dane” in 2007. I have been writing off and on since then and published a few more books.

What did you first write about in your poems and songs?

Life. Any time I got angry, disappointed, sad, or even happy I wrote about it.

Do you know the characters you have crafted in your book?

Yes and no. Most of the main characters in my books are based on me in some way shape or form. Other characters are based on people I’ve met or know. Other characters are based on a person I would like to meet. And in some cases a character is based on a personality I wish at some point I could have had (mostly the assertive characters.)

Who is your favorite character? Why

I personally don’t think a writer can have a favorite play, book, film, or character. They are almost like your children. Each one has their own personality so you can love/like them all uniquely yet equally.

Which kind of child neglect or abuse is the most unforgivable?

Wow. I wasn’t expecting that kind of question. I don’t think that can be answered simply because different people forget or don’t forget situations for different reasons. I believe they are all inexcusable and should be dealt with either by the abuser the abused and/or both. Everyone deals with them differently so one could be worse than the other depending on the person (child) who is being abused.

Do you plan to write a sequel to this book? If yes, what will be its title?

I have not intensions at the moment to make a sequel, but things can change. My only purpose for writing this book was to get over the want to turn life changing stories into a book and I believe I am over it. Right now I hope people read this book and realize if you all share (and stop keeping secrets) than no one can judge or condemn anyone for their past mistakes or bad/wrong decisions.