“I just completed my book that includes my experiences of working inside prisons and the consulting work that I have been doing since retirement in assisting with prison litigation cases around the country.”
— Lenard Vare
A member of the Writers’ League since 2023, Lenard lives in the Kyle, TX area.
Scribe: Welcome, writer! Tell us — what do you write?
Lenard Vare: I retired from a career running prisons and jails in various states as a warden and a jail commander. I just completed my book that includes my experiences of working inside prisons and the consulting work that I have been doing since retirement in assisting with prison litigation cases around the country.
Scribe: If you could choose one author to blurb your book, who would it be, and what would you want it to say?
LV: Salman Rushdie. Rushdie can write poetically about virtually any topic and the way he captivates the reader is incredibly amazing to me. He also suffered personally for his willingness to stay true to his book and stories. Mr. Rushdie can say virtually anything he wishes about my book. At least I will know that he read it.
Scribe: You have one book you’re allowed to push onto all of your friends, and they’re forced to read it to remain your friend — which one would you choose?
LV: A Thousand Splendid Suns. This book by Khaled Hosseini is a must-read. A world away from westernized traditions where women suffer from the time they are born till they die and finding the courage to survive and a spiritual meaning is a story that had a lasting impact on me and possibly anyone who decides to read this book.
Scribe: Tell us your WLT story.
LV: I just discovered WLT through a web search and very excited to know of this organization. I cannot wait to build some strong memories about my experiences over the next few years.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
LV: My book will be published in two months and I am hoping that I can promote it to a wide audience and be able to share my stories so people have a better understanding of the inner workings of prisons in the United States.
Scribe: Here at the WLT, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one book that has come out within the past year that you couldn’t put down? (Bonus points if the book is Texas related!)
LV: Not exactly from the past year, but a recent book that I really enjoyed was by John Grisham and called The Guardians, which was about death penalty cases in the United States. I do death penalty defense work and found it to be well-researched and an important piece of work.
