Jon Cohen, author of Harry’s Trees  (one of my favorite novels from last year!),  willingly lent his talent and was featured in the July issue of Welcome Home and gave some insight and inspiration behind Harry’s Trees. Jon is a former critical care nurse and is the recipient of a creative writing grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is the co-writer of the film “Minority Report,” directed by Steven Spielberg. Along with being featured in Welcome Home, Jon graciously answered a few questions about being a writer and what’s next for him!

1. Why did you become a writer?

Interesting question. I never aspired to be a writer. One day, in my twenties, I just sat down and began to write a story. I simply clicked on, almost out of the blue. No plan, just the desire to create. I don’t think I had a choice in the matter. Writing took me.

2. What inspired your current book?
A very simple notion, that yielded wonderfully rich results. Harry’s Trees is about a Forest Service bureaucrat who works in an office in his little cubicle. Trained in forestry but in a cubicle. Which is the last place, in his heart, a man who loves trees should be, right? So of course I had to get this character out of his cubicle and deep into the wild. And by wild, I don’t mean bears and mountain peaks – I mean, a tree house, bags of gold, Snickers bars, and a delicious cast of characters who need fun and redemption.

3.What’s next for you?

Another novel. Another delicious cast of characters.