Category Archives: Blog

Revisit: Your new book “Conversations on the Bench: Life Lessons from the Wisest Man I Ever Knew” seems like a guide book of sorts, can you describe it for us? RobertJRGraham.com Interviews Robert “Digger” Cartwright

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Conversations on the Bench is an inspirational book that chronicles a number of conversations between two friends, Robbie and Sebastian. Most of the conversations took place on a bench outside a local pub or outside a restaurant or at a golf course. Basically, the conversations span a variety of topics but in each conversation Sebastian provides a lesson to Robbie. These are life lessons that you pick up along the way—things that you can use in business situations, personal relationship, and perspectives on life and living life that you may not have considered. There’s no book where you can go look them all up…at least until I wrote Conversations on the Bench. It’s wit and wisdom from Sebastian, who was a remarkable individual with a very unique set of life experiences, as could only be told by Sebastian. So it is a guide book of sorts, a guide book in life and a primer for life. http://www.diggercartwright.com/Blog/Latest

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Revisit: Was “Conversation on the Bench” inspired by true events? RobertJRGraham.com Interviews Robert “Digger” Cartwright

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Yes, Conversations on the Bench was inspired by true events and true people. The story really revolves around Sebastian Peréy and his young friend Robbie and their conversations over a period of years. Robbie met Sebastian in the mid-1990s. They both worked at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Robbie was a full-time college student studying finance, and worked full time. Sebastian worked two jobs—tax investigator by day and hotel reservationist by night—but had an educational background in economics. They would spend hours talking about anything and everything, and thus began a lifelong friendship. After Robbie graduated from college, Sebastian had some very poignant words of wisdom and anecdotes to share to help the young college grad. Robbie ended up starting his own successful business at about the same time that Sebastian was forced to retire due to health issues. That gave them the opportunity to spend a lot of time together, Sebastian mentoring Robbie and giving him encouragement and Robbie integrating Sebastian in the business as much as possible. They ended up starting a think tank, Thinking Outside the Boxe, to share their writings about any topic they could debate as well as their economic commentaries and research. As Sebastian’s health declined, Robbie was there to offer support and encouragement. These two guys had this great brotherly relationship. Robbie even referred to Sebastian on many occasions as the brother he never had. And I think Sebastian liked that and really thought of Robbie as his little brother. He was there for Robbie to give him advice on women, relationships, business, whatever, and all the advice came from Sebastian’s own experiences. It’s the type of friendship that very few people are lucky enough to find in this life. It’s really just a heartwarming and truly inspirational friendship that I have recounted in Conversations on the Bench. http://www.diggercartwright.com/Blog/Latest

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Revisit: What inspired you to write such a book, and how much research went into it? RobertJRGraham.com Interviews Robert “Digger” Cartwright

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Robbie actually encouraged me to write the book. We were playing golf after the Thinking Outside the Boxe symposium that I attended in 2007 in Myrtle Beach, and he asked if I would be interested in writing this book that told Sebastian’s story. I was a little hesitant at first since I had never written a nonfiction book before, but as I talked to Sebastian over the course of a couple days, I realized that I needed to write this book. I felt that Sebastian’s story need to be told and memorialized in a work that other people could benefit from for years to come. So, Robbie and I started a series of conversations of our own so that I could get an understanding of what he and Sebastian had talked about over the years. I finished the manuscript in 2012, so it was a project that was five years in the making. It didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of conversations with Robbie to really get to know the situation and to get to know Sebastian, but it was time well spent. Sebastian’s story needed to be told, and I told it.

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Revisit: You must certainly enjoy writing, as you have several works under your name. What’s been the most challenging part of the writing, editing, or publishing process for you? RobertJRGraham.com Interviews Robert “Digger” Cartwright

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Each step of the process has its own unique challenges. The writing process is a challenge unto itself. While I’m generally pretty disciplined at sitting down and writing during the time I had schedule for that, I inevitably get interrupted or delayed or sidetracked. That’s one problem. Occasionally, I’ll be writing and box myself in with the storyline. I usually have an outline but the story itself as I’m writing it is pretty fluid. I change things while I’m writing. I’ll take the story in a bit of a different direction or I’ll introduce something that changes the outline a bit. So, writing itself is a bit of a challenge, but I like that. It keeps things interesting. I do my best to catch errors in the manuscript while I’m writing to make the editing process a little smoother, but I’m a writer and not an editor. I’ve been lucky to work with some really good people who have handled the editing process. They’ve gotten to know my writing style and tone, so they don’t go crazy in making edits that affect the story, characters, tone or style. Probably the biggest challenge is marketing the books. I made the decision many years ago to go the self-publishing route, so I’ve turned the entire process into a business. As with any business there a number of challenges, and I’ve found that marketing and gaining exposure has historically been the hardest part of the process. Luckily, I’ve built a good team for marketing, so it’s not as difficult as it once was, particularly with the various social media platforms that allow you to reach far more people than through traditional marketing methods.

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Revisit: Interview By Mdluchies: ML: What was your inspiration behind the Conversations on the Bench?

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DC: I was actually asked to write Conversations on the Bench by the founder of Thinking Outside the Boxe as a tribute to his good friend and colleague, Sebastian.  I met Sebastian on one occasion and over the course of a couple days got to know him and hear a little of his story.  He was a larger than life type of guy, a real life of the party.  He just had this tremendous positive energy about him, and he had a story that I knew had to be told.  I was a little hesitant at first to undertake a project that was out of my comfort zone, but the more I learned about this guy, the more I wanted to write this book.  He was a truly inspirational figure to a lot of people, and I figured it was my calling to tell his story.  It was almost as if Fate had arranged this.  I get invited to this symposium being held by this think tank that I hadn’t heard of at that point.  This was back in 2007.  I get introduced to the two principals of this think tank, the real brains behind the operation, and I was intrigued by these two individuals and their story.  It fascinated me.  Then I get asked to write this book.  One thing led to another, and now we have Conversations on the Bench, which is a great tribute to this brilliant individual.

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Revisit: Interview by Mdluchies: The protagonist in Conversations on the Bench is Sebastian. Who is Sebastian?

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DC: Sebastian was one of the main figures of Thinking Outside the Boxe.  He was in his 50s.  He was morbidly obese, but he didn’t let it get him down.  He was brilliant.  He was quick with a joke and with statistics.  He had a mastery of economics and a good grasp of world affairs.  He could debate with you.

He could be devil’s advocate.  He was a mentor for a lot of folks.  He was the life of the party.  He had this aura about him.  He just emitted this tremendous amount of positive energy.  You couldn’t help but like the guy.  The women all loved him; they thought he was a giant teddy bear.  The guys loved him because he was like a brother to you.  He was always a very positive person.  He offered such encouragement and support to his friends.  He was just a good man and a good friend to a lot of people, particularly his colleague at Thinking Outside the Boxe, Robbie.  They were this Mutt and Jeff duo.  Sebastian was this loud, garrulous person, large in stature, who was the center of attention.  Robbie was this reserved, quiet, but highly intelligent friend who tried to motivate Sebastian to get out and do more after he became disabled and was forced to retire.  Thinking Outside the Boxe was Robbie’s way of keeping Sebastian involved, keeping him “in the game” as Sebastian like to say.

Sebastian grew up in Charleston, South Carolina during segregation and desegregation.  He was of Spanish, Filipino, French, American Indian descent, so he didn’t feel he ever quite fit in with the whites or the blacks in Charleston.  Growing up, he had to try to find his place in a tough world.  And throughout his life he would just keep accumulating these very worthwhile life lessons that he tried to share with anyone who would listen, and he found an apt pupil in Robbie.  He encouraged Robbie.  He gave him advice.  He was a confidant.  He was like Robbie’s big brother.  And when you read the conversations and understand the lessons he was offering up, you really see Sebastian for the warm, caring, and insightful guy that he was.  There are very few people like him in the world.  If you’re lucky enough to find someone like him, don’t take them for granted.  They have a lot to say, and we can learn a lot from listening to what they have to say.

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Revisit: Interview by Mdluchies: Conversations on the Bench is inspired by actual events. How much of the book comes from real life experiences?

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DC: A good deal of the book is factually based.  Once I decided that I had to tell Sebastian’s story, I spent several years, off and on, having conversations with Robbie who recounted a lot of the conversations he had had with Sebastian over the years.  On occasion he had tremendous detail about the time, place, and events surrounding the conversations.  I understand that he kept detailed notes about things he felt were important.  Now there were a lot of gaps in his memory and his notes from time to time, so I had to fill in the blanks and create the scenes.  What I tried to do was get a whole chronology from the time he met Sebastian until the time we started writing the book.  I had him give me significant events, people in their lives, people who they had encountered at various places, and so on and so forth.  What I did was try to fit everything together so I didn’t have to make things up.  I did have to make a few people so that the story flowed and made sense, and I did have to alter a few situations so that other people could more easily relate.  But it’s important to keep in mind that all of Sebastian’s lessons as discussed in the book were the actual lessons that Sebastian shared with Robbie.  The presentation of those lessons may have been dramatized when needed or when there was insufficient information about the circumstances surrounding the conversations Robbie and Sebastian had, but the lessons themselves are Sebastian’s lessons and anecdotes.

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Revisit: Interview by Mdluchies: How did you get your start as a writer?

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Digger Cartwright: I think my first writing experience was writing a different ending to a book.  I didn’t like the ending.  I thought it should end a different way, so I sat down and wrote the last two chapters the way I figured they should be.  I guess I realized at that point that I enjoyed creative writing.  I started out by writing some short stories and screenplays.  I wrote an early version of The Versailles Conspiracy that was my first attempt at a full length novel.  It came out more like a movie, so I locked it away.  My writing progressed from there, and I wrote Murder at the Ocean Forest as my first full length novel.  I was in the back of a limo on a long trip and I wrote the outline for the novel and made a lot of notes

about the characters.  When I got home, I started working on it and never really stopped writing.  I went from that back to The Versailles Conspiracy then to The House of Dark Shadows then The Maynwarings and now Conversations on the Bench.

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Re-release: Interview by Mdluchies: Why do you choose to write?

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DC: I guess I’ve always had an interest in or passion for writing. I’ve written numerous articles about various subjects—business, politics, entertainment, society. I think writing novels is rather therapeutic for me. I have the chance to decompress from the stress of the real world and get lost in a world that I’m creating. And I’m a pretty analytical person, so I like writing mysteries that require a good deal of planning and analysis. In the business world, I have to solve problems from time to time, so I guess mystery novels are an extension of problem solving. I present a problem in the book, collect the evidence, then solve the problem or have some resolution to the problem. Writing is a somewhat natural extension of my business side, and I find it very relaxing to sit and create books for other people to read and enjoy. And on top of all that, it’s really a rewarding experience to write a novel, and I’m not talking in the fame or financial sense. When you finished that book and have the printed book in your hand, it gives you this overwhelming sense of accomplishment. It’s refreshing. It’s rewarding. It’s relaxing, and I think it’s a great escape from the realities of life. http://www.diggercartwright.com/Blog/Latest

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