WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME A WRITER? When I was fifteen I had to read Albert Camus’ novel The Plague for a class I was taking, and I was so impressed by it that I decided, “I want to write stories like that.”
DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM A PARTICULAR SOURCE? Most of my inspiration comes from my own life experience, the things I’ve learned and the conclusions I’ve drawn from living life. I do get the occasional idea from something I’ve read in the news, or else a scene or situation in a novel that wasn’t explored to a satisfactory extent.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR FIRST POCKET NOVEL.I started writing “Grief” in 1995, primarily as a personal response to the death of a close friend. It took me several months to write it, and even though I’ve written four novels, I think this one story was probably the most difficult piece of literature I’ve ever produced. But it helped in my healing process, and I hope it can help others in theirs.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO PUBLISH WITH POCKET NOVELS? When I first learned of Pocket Novels and their mission to revive the dime novel, I thought that was an excellent idea. I checked out their website, learned more about their operation, and decided that I wanted to contribute to this new direction in publishing. I believe it will be a great thing for the world of literature.
WHAT'S THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS? Actually starting a new project; I might have a story outlined from start to finish, but for me the most difficult part is getting those first few sentences and paragraphs out onto the page.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS? When my characters begin to take on a life of their own and start writing the story for me, even if they take it in a direction I hadn’t intended; it’s then that I know I’m onto something good.
DO YOU THINK THAT WRITING SHORT STORIES (POCKET NOVELS) IS HARDER OR EASIER THAN WRITING NOVELS? Definitely much harder. Because of their brevity, pocket novels have to be more focused and compact, ideas have to be fully explored with a limited number of words, and so choosing the right words and still managing to tell the complete story is much more challenging than writing novels.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS/STORIES/GENRES? I could probably fill an entire page with just a list of my favorite writers. The top few would include Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Jack Kerouac, Albert Camus, Vladimir Nabokov, Allen Ginsberg, Sarah Schulman, Stephen King, and Gregory Maguire. My favorite books would include most of the books these fine writers have produced.
ANY PARTICULAR GENRES YOU LIKE WRITING MORE THAN OTHERS? I write almost exclusively in the mainstream/literary genre, though recently I’ve taken to experimenting with a fantasy novel.
DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING WRITING QUIRKS? I don’t think so. The only odd thing I can think of is that, with the occasional exception (like the story “Grief”), I tend to write my stories and novels solely from an idea, without any kind of outline, or even plan of how to get from beginning to end.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NON-WRITING PASSIONS? Not really. Writing is about the only passion I indulge, though I am addicted to the arcade game Space Invaders.
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