[Interview:] Matthew Moses

Matthew Moses has a degree in Political Science from Indiana University with a minor in History.

He has worked for a South African periodical and has written three novels of which Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days (Booklocker, 2007) is the latest. Moses has also written a screenplay for an independent film.

In this interview, Matthew Moses talks about his concerns as a writer.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

That is a funny story. I never gave much thought to writing until I met this one psychic. She told me a few things that came true and then piqued my interest by telling me I had a future in writing.

I’d always been interested in writing before that. I wrote a screenplay when I was seven and various short stories for my own amusement throughout my childhood and teenage years. I also had a weekly column in my college newspaper that garnered a cult following. I guess you could say I’ve always loved writing. It took a psychic to point it out to me.

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

So far I’ve written three novels. Each has been in a different genre: horror, satire, and literary fiction. I don’t let the genre dictate the story but the story dictate the genre.

There are certain trademarks to my work. There is an undercurrent of humor to each of my tales as well as the average everyman that finds himself caught up in an event that takes him on a journey that surely changes his perceptions of reality.

Who is your target audience?

My target audience would best be described as 18-35 though the older crowd still derives entertainment from my novels.

I am shockingly a comedic guy. The novel, Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days, was really my way of dealing with a loss of faith. My issues with organized religion were not something I could simply come out and speak on without angering the “devout” so I thought the best way to relate my views was to “funny” it up. Sweeten the story with humor to make it palatable.

Who has influenced you most?

Trey Parker and Matt Stone really helped to influence my novel. Their work, especially South Park, shows that one can do satire outrageously and intelligently.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

All of my stories are based around events in my life.

In this novel I deal with my loss of faith as well as my philosophical views. As for the characters, most are based on people I’ve encountered in my life and I have met some real characters! As for the hero and villain, they usually are those two separate parts of me that always seem to be in conflict.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

The fact that I’ve self-published shows my lack of faith in the publishing industry.

Over the past two years I’ve been ignored by the powers-that-be in the industry because I don’t have the contacts, the prerequisites, or the work that the industry pushes. Publishers and agents work in a vacuum-sealed environment that leaves little room for anything radical or multi-genre. The industry wants cookie cutter, generic work. God forbid one offers up something unlike the norm. My story has been handled roughly by many because of a misunderstanding on how to market it.

My greatest fear is that my novel won’t be taken seriously because it is self-published. That is why I’ve created a website, www.anti-christ.biz, as well as have left myself open for interviews and commentary. I want to give a proper view of my work and not be pigeon-holed as someone that simply writes for shock value. The only person that believes in my work is me -- so, if anyone is going to get this out to the people, I am the best for the job.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

The biggest challenge I face is obscurity. I’m doing my best to overcome that monolithic challenge and get my novel out there to the audience.

I write websites, make calls, do my best to garner attention. One needs to be indefatigable if one is to energize a crowd and make a dream a reality.

Do you write everyday?

I try to write everyday, posting my musings and thoughts on my website, www.anti-christ.biz. I usually write one to two hours a day to keep the motor running smoothly.

Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days took me three months to write.

It’s not what I put in but what I take out that has proven the most difficult. Rewrites generally require substantial altering of the original narrative. It is hard to remove sections one has written in order to smooth out the story. I mean, when you write something it’s like your child. You don’t want to harm it or toss it away. It’s a part of you.

What did you enjoy most?

Watching where the story would go. I never know where my narrative will take me.

What sets the book apart from other things you have written?

This tale is generally lighter in tone than my regular work.

In what way is it similar?

All of my work follows the tale of an average guy caught up in extraordinary events. I am a lover of epic stories. I can’t help myself.

What will your next book be about?

My next novel, already finished, a supernatural horror story. It follows one Herbert Kraft who has lost his faith in humanity. A FBI profiler, he has found his former idealism smothered beneath the endless savagery of man. Haunted by his final case involving a vicious serial killer, Herbert seeks to confront that monster that stole his final shred of faith in man. What he discovers is a world on the brink of destruction with the dead trying to drag us all into the void with them.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Finishing my first novel.

How did you get there?

Dreams, commitment, belief in my talents, and the faith that there is an audience out there willing to read my work.

This article has also been featured on Associated Content.

[Interview] Howard Waldman

Howard Waldman was born in Manhattan in the United States. When he was 22 years old, he moved to France where he taught European History and later American Literature to French students.

His work includes the novels, Back There (Bewrite Books, 2005); Time Travail (Bewrite Books, 2006); The Seventh Candidate (Bewrite Books, 2007) and Good American Go To Paris When They Die (Bewrite Books, 2008).

In this interview, Waldman talks about his concerns as a writer.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I decided on a writing career as soon as I learned to write my name. That breakthrough happened early in the last century in PS 89 (Manhattan) at the age of four. Consecration came at ten when a school magazine published a piece of mine, strongly influenced by Edgar Wallace, a popular writer of thrillers. A precocious start, apparently. Unfortunately, more serious writing had to wait nearly a lifetime. It was only on retiring that I started work on the first of my four novels.

Why such a long wait?

Besides natural laziness, perhaps one cause was the fact that as a teacher of literature at a French university I was in constant contact with celebrated books. It proved inhibiting. My critical sense was stronger than my creative urge, so subconsciously I probably compared my pathetic first-draft efforts to the finished products of admired authors. If I could have seen their own defective first drafts, the paralysis might have lifted. Alcohol, which deadens the carping critical sense, might have done the job too, as it did for that long roster of famous American writers addicted to the bottle (names on request). But I was too prudent a man to use whisky as a dissolvent of writer’s block.

How would you describe your writing?

My novels don’t seem to fit into the established genres, subgenres and cross genres beloved of so many publishers. So I guess by default they can be called “literary; although it’s a term with overtones of snobbery that makes me wince.

Granted, too many generic books are mass-produced products promoted with the same ballyhoo techniques as any other commodity. Still, that divide between generic and literary fiction is somewhat artificial. A so-called literary novel can be pretentious and boring. A generic novel can be excellent. For example, Huck Finn, commonly regarded as the greatest American novel, was long categorized as an adventure book for children. Raymond Chandler transcended the supposed limitations of the detective novel. So did H.G. Wells, [Kurt] Vonnegut and P.K. Dick (to mention just a few) for science fiction. What counts, ultimately, is quality, whatever the label.

Who is your target audience?

The notion of writing a jackpot bestseller never once entered my mind. More modestly, I hope for an audience that won’t forget what I’ve written minutes after they’ve closed the book.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

I can’t say any writer has influenced me, or if he has it’s unconsciously. I try my best to project a unique voice. Anyhow, among the writers I admire: [Louis-Ferdinand] Céline, [Anton] Chekhov, [Jorge Luis] Borges, Philip K. Dick (at his best as in Ubik), and [William] Faulkner. I could go on and on.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

I was born in Manhattan but married a Frenchwoman and have spent most of my life in France.

Two of my novels (Back There and Good Americans Go To Paris When They Die) deal with the theme of Americans, alive or dead, in Paris; another novel (The Seventh Candidate) is set in an imaginary country but the inspiration for that country was largely France.

When an American background is evoked (as in Time Travail) it’s the lost America of the mid-century, the America of my youth. I remember it perfectly.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

That every word should do its job in the sentence, every sentence in the paragraph, every paragraph in the book.

Trying to achieve these aims meant that each of the four novels took me about three years to write, a painful process of revising, revamping, deleting, polishing, etc. Theoretically it could have gone on forever but I haven’t got forever, so at one point I said, “enough” and sent the thing to my publisher.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

I’ll ignore the usual metaphysical challenges facing someone getting on in life and concentrate on writing problems.

First, the biggest challenge is that I work in absolute linguistic isolation. Outside of my wife, none of my family or friends has a solid enough knowledge of English to read what I write. This isolation poses marketing problems as well. No book-signing sessions, no public library contacts, no radio or TV interviews, etc.

A creative challenge was to describe resurrection, as I necessarily have to do in Good Americans Go To Paris When They Die. I’ve no idea what it’s like, assuming it happens at all, which I devoutly hope is not the case.

How do you deal with these challenges?

I can’t really deal with the problem of linguistic isolation although I’m active on a writer’s site (Bibliophilia). Concerning the exploration of after-life, as I’ve said, the trumpets of resurrection haven’t sounded for me yet. Promoting my novel seems as difficult a trick as resurrecting.

Do you write everyday?

When I was in the full swing of writing my novels I wrote every day, hours at a time, regular as clockwork. When I wasn’t working on the novels I was thinking about them. Monomania. Obsession. How did my wife stand it?

What is your latest novel about?

Good Americans Go To Paris When They Die is about three men and two women who materialize, stark naked and young again, in a dilapidated bureaucratic room overlooking the quays of Paris and who make the posthumous discovery that “Good Americans go to Paris when they die” is more than a humorous adage.

Their joy is dampened when they learn that a possible processing mistake has been made by the other-side Préfecture de Police bureaucracy, inefficiently managed by Prefect d’Aubier de Hautecloque and poorly supervised by the doddering Supreme Echelon. For if, indisputably, the Newly Arrived are Americans and have died it’s not sure they had all been good in their former existence.

While waiting for an administrative ruling on their fate -- transfer to the Paris of their twenty-fifth year or back to no-being -- the Five are placed in Administrative Suspension and wait. Years drag on. They decide to escape.

Let me stop here. I mustn’t give it all away.

How long did it take you to write the book?

Like all my other novels, Good Americans Go To Paris When They Die took me about three years to write. It is published by BeWrite Books.

A word about my publishing problems. I submitted my first novel to ten big U.S. publishers at enormous cost in postage and with predictable results. I gave up when a fellow-writer told me that all of these publishers had long done away with a human Submissions Editor in favor of the Kirubawaki XL289 Manuscript Slush Pile Processing Machine. This ingenious apparatus recycles all submitted manuscripts to paper on which it prints the form rejection slip. I redirected my saved postage money to Irish whiskey for consolation.

Fortunately Jacobyte Books, an Australian [print-on-demand] POD publisher, accepted my first book and then a second one. Later Jacobyte merged with my present publisher BeWrite Books based in the U.K. They are very serious and supportive people but of course as small publishers they haven’t got the promotion budget of the Kirubawaki folks. So I have to do my own share of promotion.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

Four of the resurrected Americans had lived in Paris at different dates: 1900, 1937 and 1951. For biographical reasons I had no trouble handling the 1951 scenes, but doing justice to the earlier periods required considerable research, historical and iconographic.

Another difficulty was imagining the timeless other-side Prefecture de Police where the Americans land, with its infinite stretches of dusty corridors and zombie-like functionaries.

That historical research and the creation of a posthumous world was, despite the difficulties encountered, what I most enjoyed.

What sets the book apart from others you have written?

Good Americans Go To Paris When They Die is my first attempt at fantasy.

In what way is it similar?

The protagonists of Good Americans Go To Paris When They Die have the possibility of returning to their youth and repair damaged love. This theme of the quest for time past occurs in two other of my novels -- most obviously Time Travail with its machine-assisted evocations of America in the thirties and forties of the last century. In Back There, the aging hero evokes memories of a vanished Paris and a vanished love and through creation tries to salvage it all.

What will your next book be about?

Will there be a next book? For the past year I’ve been concentrating on short stories and flash fiction. In some ways they are more exacting forms than the novel.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

To have wanted to write seriously all my life and to have started doing it so late in the day.

How did you get there?

By doing it.

[Interview] Lyn Petit’

Lyn Petit’ lives in Amarillo, Texas.

Her first book, The Philosophy of a Thought (Publish America, 2007) has been described as a "light hearted yet profound way of looking at life and the people in it".

In this interview, Lyn Petit' talks about some of the factors which compelled her to start writing.

When did you start writing?

I have always loved writing since I was a kid and the teachers would have us make up stories using our spelling words for the week. Since none of the words went along with each other it made you have to use your imagination and was a great exercise for your brain and thoughts.

Even back then I would always write about weird things and somehow my stories were always the strangest no matter how big the size of the class.

Because we had free reign on what we could write, it has made a big difference in the way I write and think today. Now I allow my imagination to do the thinking and sit back to see what it comes up with instead of waiting for someone to say, “I think that you should write about this or that.”

If someone says, “I think that you should write about this", my mind will instinctively go blank because that is not how it is used to writing.

How and when did decide you wanted to be a published author?

I was going through a really hard time and went to see a counselor about all the things that had happened and were happening at the time. She advised me to write as a form of therapy.

The wonderful thing about her advice is it worked and helped me to overcome many of the obstacles that were bothering me! I then decided that what I had experienced and how I came through it might be of help to others going through similar trials, so I wrote my book.

I had an old beat-up computer that I used to write the book on. If I had written by hand, I would be at it until 2010!! But seriously, I had lost nearly everything and asked a friend if I could stay with them until I got the book written. I set up a work space in a corner of the bedroom and lost myself in the writing. After I finished, I sent my manuscript off to Publish America. I heard from them shortly thereafter that they wanted to publish my work.

Who is your target audience?

Anyone who is tired of going through the same old stuff over and over again, with no end in sight.

Sometimes we have to take off the rose-coloured glasses and see the people in our lives for what and who they really are and not how we would like them to be. When we do this, we can begin to make new choices and say no to the ones who would only continue to use and abuse us.

Who has influenced you most?

Definitely my mum for sure, but also God. Both of them grabbed me by the collar and turned me around! Also my counselor, who encouraged me to write my thoughts.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

The whole book is about my personal experiences!

I wanted others to realize that you can overcome life’s adversities, that sometimes it’s as simple as putting both feet down and saying no, standing up for yourself, and not allowing people to use you anymore!

Is Lyn Petit your real name or is it a pseudonym?

Lyn Petit’ is a pseudonym.

Lyn is my mum’s first name and Petit’ is my last name. I wanted to include her in the pen name because she took the time to include me in her life and make me a part of her (now my) family. The advantages are that I have been able to honour my mum for loving me as I was, and I see no disadvantages in using this pseudonym since my mum and I are sharing it!

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main concern while I was writing was that my thoughts were coming faster that I could type! I bought a digital recorder to help keep them from disappearing into the ether.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

I am dyslexic, slightly autistic, and partially deaf in one ear. This can result in some interesting twists like I had always
heard that the “ghost was clear”, you can imagine my surprise when I found out that it was “the coast is clear”! I had also thought it was “worth my wild” to do things, had that one wrong too and was somewhat red faced to find out it was “worth my while”!

First, since dyslexic people “think” that their spelling is correct, I was surprised to find out I had extensive proofing to do on my book! I found someone to help me do this, and we really had a lot of laughs at my expense. She’d ask me if a word was British spelling and I’d say yes several times, then one time she said I know this one is not a British spelling and I told her no, but it’s the way a dyslexic spells!

Do you write everyday?

When I am writing, yes. I try to focus on what I am trying to say and then begin. I can always go back and edit later, but try to get my thoughts down. I have no magic formula, I just write! I just let my thoughts flow or wander off without adult supervision! First of all, you can’t look at writing like a job, otherwise you will dread it. I write until I feel like I’ve
completed my thoughts for the day. I have no set schedule, I just write, sometimes a few pages, sometimes lots!

How many books have you written so far?

So far I have written two. Only one is in print, The Philosophy of a Thought. It is published by Publish America, August 2007. The book answers many questions that plague mankind, such as the meaning of life.

If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it make a sound? Why bad things happen to good people, societal issues such as abuse, treatment of our elders, good people, bad people, parental concerns, etc. If you have a question, the answer is probably in there somewhere, as well as a liberal dose of humour breaks. It is a book that you will keep going back to and pondering.

My other book is a children’s book and I will submit it to Publish America early next year. I am still working on the illustrations for it.

How did you chose a publisher for the book?

The Philosophy of a Thought is about all aspects of life. We all have choices about how we want to live our life. Some people are still not aware they have a choice. I am in hopes that after reading The Philosophy of a Thought, that many people will find the strength to end years of abuse and victimization and begin to live overcoming, purpose filled lives.

It took me about seven months to write the book. I never realized I had so many thoughts crammed inside my head until they started coming out in my writing! The book was published in August 2007 in Fredericksburg, MD.

I researched publishers on the internet and chose Publish America because there are no up front fees and they work with you to help further your efforts. I would highly recommend Publish America to any new author. The advantage is that you don’t have to pay for the printing and distribution of your book and Publish America distributes books to a worldwide market.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

The proofreading. I thought it was fine, but when Publish America asked me to do some extensive editing on The Philosophy of a Thought, I knew it was time to find someone to help me. For some reason dyslexics have a very hard time proofing their own work!

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

The humour breaks that I included at the end of some of the chapters. When your mind thinks hard, it needs a break too!

What sets the book apart from other things you've written?

Most of the things I have written have been letters and essays that will never be published for one. Second, what started out as therapy, became a declaration of sorts, a sounding board if you will of things in society that need to be addressed and said.

In what way is it similar?

It proves that when you start out thinking outside the box, and you keep going at it, you will eventually have a lucid thought!

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Getting published!

How did you get there?

Never give up! Don’t listen to the naysayers, even if they are in your own head! Sometimes, you have to go against the current, even when you don’t realize there is one! The harder people try to stop you, the more you should realize you are onto something good, if not great!

This article has also been featured on Associated Content.

[Interview] Alice Wootson

Romance novelist Alice Wootson grew up in Rankin, a small town outside Pittsburgh, PA. She attended college outside Philadelphia, PA and taught in the School District of Philadelphia for 31 years before retiring.

Her first novel, Snowbound with Love (Kimani Press) was released in 2000. Her tenth novel, Ready to Take a Chance (Kimani Press) was released in 2006.

Other books by Wootson -- all published by Kimani Press -- include Dream Wedding (2001); Home for Christmas (2001); Trust in Me (2002); To Love Again (2002); Escape to Love (2003); Kindred Spirits (2004) and Perfect Wedding (2005).

In this interview, she talks about her writing.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I don’t remember, exactly. I do remember that I wrote a poem when I was in 4th grade and the teacher had me read it to the class twice.

I think one thing that influenced me is the fact I have been a reader for as long as I can remember. I, as did the rest of my family, spent a lot of time reading. We still do. At some point after reading romance novels for years, I said to myself, “I can do this.” Fortunately I have been able to do it successfully.

How would you describe your writing?

I write romance novels. Several of my novels are romantic suspense and I am leaning more and more in that direction.

Who is your target audience?

Readers who like a good story.

What motivated you to start writing in this genre?

I like happy endings.

Who influenced you most?

I would have to go way back to my family members who encouraged me and my six brothers and sisters to read. I also have to credit my high school, Rankin High, and the teachers who introduced me to an appreciation of literature.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I have visited every place I have written about. The characters, however, are not based on any real people. Sometimes my views come out in a character, but it’s mostly fiction.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

I want to tell a good story well enough so the reader doesn’t feel she/he has wasted the time and money.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Trying not to be pigeon-holed. Also, too many people are prejudiced against romance novels.

How do you deal with these challenges?

I just continue to write about things that interest me and try to write the best I can.

Do you write everyday?

I write first thing in the morning six to seven days a week. I write for two to three hours at a time.

How long did it take you to write your latest book?

Ready to Take a Chance was my last release. It took about eight months to write and was published by Kimani Press in Dec. 2006

I had to do a lot of research and that is not my favorite since I insist in getting it right. Maps and diagrams are important in my research. This book presented a new problem: my hero was a basketball player. Football is the sport I watch so I had to rely on my sons for the sports aspect. Another challenge is coming up with out of the ordinary plot twists so the reader won’t say ‘I saw that coming’.

What did you enjoy most in writing the book?

All of it is work. The enjoyment comes with the satisfaction of completing a book.

What sets it apart from the others you have written?

The characters are not like any others.

Ready to Take a Chance is similar to the others in that it is a romance as the others were. It’s also about having the characters work through problems.

What will your next book be about?

I am writing about Border Patrol Agents stationed on the Texas Mexican border and the problems they encounter.

I have finished one novel using that theme: Border Danger, Border Love is in the hands of my agent. I am about two or three chapters from finishing the second one: Love Will Make it Better.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Starting a second career at my age and being successful at it.

How did you get there?

Perseverance. I stuck with it.

While I was writing I attended writing workshops and conferences and learned as much as I could. I teach writing workshops now, but I still sit in on workshops in order to improve my writing.

*This conversation with Alice Wootson which took place in March 2007.

[Interview] Bernadette Steele

Mystery author Bernadette Steele has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master of Science degree in Technical Communication and Information Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Technical Communication at IIT.

The Poetry of Murder (Oak Tree Press, 2008) is her first novel.

In this interview, Bernadette Steele talks about how she made the transition from wanting to write to becoming a published author.

When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was in college. I took a creative writing course and I wrote some short stories for the class. I also had another class in college where I wrote a play.

After college, I did not do any writing. Instead, I spent fifteen years, reading books about writing and publishing, but I did not write. I collected story ideas, articles and pieces of information that inspired various story ideas.

In 2004, I thought that I wanted to go to law school. But, law school did not work out. So, in December 2004, I decided that I should pursue something that I really, really like doing and enjoyed. I always had story ideas and I enjoy writing. Thus, in January 2005, I started writing my first novel, The Poetry of Murder.

How did you make the transition from wanting to write to becoming a published author?

I enjoy reading fiction, and I enjoy the writing process. I decided in January 2005 that I wanted to be a published author, and I started writing my novel. Even though I had spent the past fifteen years reading about how to write, I read very little about the actual process of writing. So I read a book that described how to approach a writing project. I read, The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall.

Based upon Marshall’s method, I created my own method for starting a novel. My method basically includes creating a very detailed outline of the book from beginning to end. This outline is scene-by-scene and includes items such as dialogue or how a scene would begin.

I also read a book about how to submit your novel to agents and publishers. This book was entitled, Your Novel Proposal from Creation to Contract by Blythe Cameson and Marshall I. Cook. It describes the process of creating a query letter, synopsis and the format for the manuscript. This book provided good examples of what the submission documents look like.

Finally, I used the 2006 edition of Jeff Herman’s book entitled, Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents to develop my submission list. This book was invaluable because it details what types of books the publishers and agents are interested in and their submission guidelines.

Who has influenced you most?

I have been influenced the most by Agatha Christie and Walter Mosley.

Christie’s books provide an example of what a good mystery featuring an amateur sleuth should be like. Mosley’s clear and concise prose inspires me to reach his level.

I have also been extremely inspired by John Steinbeck’s, Journal of a Novel. Steinbeck kept a journal when he wrote East of Eden. In his journal, he describes his own anxiety and self-doubt about his writing and career. It makes me feel good to know that someone like Steinbeck felt the same way that I feel.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I have always been very unsatisfied with the jobs that I have had in the past and that I currently have. Thus, I find refuge in my writing.

Writing provides me with enjoyment and relief from the stress of my job. It provides the creative outlet that I need to deal with the stress and dissatisfaction that I have with the world of employment.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

I have two main concerns.

First, I want to write good fiction. I address this concern by working to hone my skills, seeking feedback from readers and editors, and by being open to criticism and the advice of others.

My second concern is to have people actually read my writing. I address this by working to gain exposure for my writing. I write because I want people to read and enjoy my writing. I do not write for myself.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Like most writers who also have a regular job, my first big challenge is finding the time to write. I schedule a two-hour appointment with myself to write. I also use my vacation time to write.

My second biggest challenge is figuring out cost-effective ways to market my novel. I handle this challenge by simply researching different alternatives as much as possible.

Do you write everyday?

I write every day.

My writing session starts at lunchtime when I write in my journal about what I will write about later on in the evening, any story ideas or anything going on in my life that impacts my writing.

When I get home from work, I write for two hours. The session starts with me looking at my outline and then briefly reviewing the previous evening's work.

How would you describe your debut novel?

The Poetry of Murder is a murder mystery about an aspiring African American poet named Geneva Anderson who inherits a fortune from her aunt and who is later accused of her aunt’s murder. As a result, Geneva starts to investigate the murder of her aunt and must navigate her way through a web of revenge, deceit, and blackmail.

It took me a year and half to write the novel. It was published in February 2008 by Oak Tree Press.

Who is your target audience?

My audience consists of mystery readers, females between the ages of 25 and up and African Americans.

I was motivated to start writing for this audience because the audience demographic matches my personal demographic. I am a 38 year old, African American woman. The market is not over saturated with African American amateur sleuths.

How did you find a publisher for the book?

After sending out over eighty query letters, Oak Tree Press was the first publisher to accept my novel. Oak Tree Press is a small independent publisher.

The major disadvantage of being with a small press is that there is no advance and a lot of the marketing activities are my responsibility.

What did you find most difficult when you were working on The Poetry of Murder?

I think the most difficult aspect was the editing process. For example, I had to fix a lot of the numbers used in the text. This was a painful process. I think this situation was caused by lack of experience.

I enjoyed the plotting of the story. I enjoyed figuring out which characters did what and when and who the killer turned out to be.

What will your next book be about?

My next novel will be a historical romance about the first African emperor of Rome, Septimius Severus.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

My most significant achievement as a writer as that I finished my novel and got it published.

Many people dream of writing a novel, some start writing but most don’t finish and even fewer actually get published. Therefore, it is a great achievement for me and anyone else to finish and publish a novel.

How did you get there?

I never gave up. I kept writing. I kept submitting to agents and publishers. I knew that it was numbers game and that eventually someone would have enough confidence in my novel to publish it.

[Interview] Ed Lynskey

Ed Lynskey writes crime fiction stories and novels.

His books feature Private Investigator Frank Johnson and include the collection of short stories, Out of Town a Few Days (BooksForABuck, 2004) and the novels, The Dirt-Brown Derby (Mundania, 2006) and The Blue Cheer (Point Blank/Wildside Press, 2007).

Two more P.I. Frank Johnson titles, Pelham Fell Here (Mundania) and Troglodytes (Mundania) will be published in mid-2008 and 2009 respectively.

Lynskey is also the author of A Clear Path to Cross (Ramble House, 2008), a collection of P.I. Sharon Knowles short stories about the female private detective’s adventures; and The Quetzal Motel (Mundania, 2008), a science fiction novel featuring a family-run motel that has a pair of peculiar guests staying over, and how they rock a small town.

In this interview, Ed Lynskey talks about his concerns as a writer.

When did you start writing?

My writing long fiction seriously kicked off shortly after the Y2K scare in 2001. I’m not sure if there’s any correlation with the timing. Before the novels, I’d written short stuff like poems and stories for about twenty years and established a good “in-print” track record.

I made a bet with myself that I could evolve from writing poems and tackle something meatier like novels. To discover what venue of fiction I had any aptitude for, I wrote stories in several genres, including science fiction, literary, fantasy, horror, and mystery. Based on my sales and personal preferences, I then narrowed my scope to concentrate efforts on mystery with occasional forays into literary and science fiction. I’ve been satisfied with this approach.

Ninety-five percent of my creative fiction now is focused on mystery or crime fiction. John Lescroart has described my P.I. books as “Appalachian Noir”, though my recent settings have been rooted to Washington, D.C. and its environs.

Who is your target audience?

I try to incorporate the elements in my fiction that appeal to both male and female readers.

My motivation is pretty straightforward: to reach a broad-based readership since what I write is mainly commercial fiction.

Who has influenced you most?

I draw on different writers for different aspects I seek to fuse in my fiction.

For the noirish undertones, I admire such meisters as Ken Bruen, Allan Guthrie, and Megan Abbott. The literary voice I strive for is best exemplified by Ed Gorman, Ed Dee, and Steve Hamilton. Exemplary uses of modern rural people and atmosphere are offered by J.D. Rhoades, William Kent Krueger, and Bill Crider. The perfect-pitch ears for writing dialogue include Charlie Stella, Barbara D’Amato, Anne Frasier, and Jerry Healy. For exciting courtroom drama, I read John Lescroart and Linda Fairstein. Finally, for their sheer clarity of expression I cite Bill Pronzini and John Lutz.

That’s a bunch of names, but it defines the writing models I use to create my own long narratives.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I grew up in a small town in the rural foothills of Virginia, the singlemost factor influencing my early novels in terms of setting. Almost a decade ago, we relocated to live in a Virginia suburb outside Washington, D.C. and an urban/suburban setting has seeped into my latest projects. Why? I suppose we use whatever is at hand to create the fabric of fiction.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

One thing that obsesses me is “getting it right”, and I probably over-research different aspects, especially in my four detective books. The challenge is to weave the details and “local color” into a seamless narrative -- never an easy task. I strive to avoid information dumps.

Remember Ed Deming and his quality excellence issues so big at one time? He always stressed to improve your manufacturing processes. Writing fiction is like that to me. I’m not big on reading books on how to write, but I do like to see what other authors, past and present, are doing in their crime fiction and what areas I can improve in.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

For me, this is a two-bladed question.

On the one side, there’s the challenge to write a good book. Then the other side is selling, marketing, and promoting that book. Of the two, I’d say the promotional side is by far the most challenging.

Dealing with promotions, I use a day-to-day approach and don’t set unrealistic expectations.

Do you write everyday?

I’m sure everybody has their own rituals. Mine are pretty mundane and low-keyed.

I like to get an early jump in the morning before the sun even hits the streets. I use a spare bedroom and a bare-bones computer. First drafts are the most fun -- I get on the paddlewheel of days and finish the narrative.

My revision cycles take the longest to complete. The bloodletting goes on then -- when material gets added or cut.

I can tell I’m near the end when I begin to print out the drafts in hard copy to revise. By then, I’m pretty sick of the characters and the plot. I have to let them go.

How long did it take you to write Pelham Fell Here?

My currently published title is Pelham Fell Here (out from Mundania Press in June ’08).

Researching Pelham’s history, I see it took me six years to bring out. I also recall it’s the second book I ever wrote. The publisher, Mundania Press, published the first title, The Dirt-Brown Derby in the series which has found a niche market of readers.

The biggest difficulty I encountered was having to revise Pelham to bring it up to my current level of writing. My writing has evolved, especially over the past three years, and I wasn’t happy with the original manuscript. The revision took a ton of work, but I was happier with the final product.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Pelham was a gas to write.

Creating a fictitious town called Pelham populated by characters made up from whole cloth was a liberating experience. It was like writing a biography of the town and lying through your teeth.

What sets the book apart from the others you've written?

Pelham is another title in the P.I. Frank Johnson series. What sets it apart from other P.I. books I’ve read is that the protagonist isn’t yet a professional detective. Frank gets involved in a murder and, out of necessity, is forced into the role of a detective to save his bacon.

By the end of Pelham, Frank Johnson comes to realize he’s a competent enough detective to make it into a professional career. I’d say Frank actually enjoys (if he ever cared to admit it) doing detective work and this exuberance is carried forward into the subsequent books covering his other cases.

What will your next book be about?

My work-in-progress, Skin the Game, is an urban noir set in Washington, D.C. that features a modern loan shark out to collect his money from a dodgy rocket engineer. The narrative is told from three points of view of different characters involved in the hustle.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Two things continue to amaze me, both from a personal standpoint. First, that I was ever able to sit down and write a novel. Second, that anybody wants or enjoys reading the books I’ve written. It’s been a thrilling and humbling experience.

[Interview] Dana Littlejohn

Romance novelist Dana Littlejohn was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and has been living in Indianapolis, In. for the past 10 years.

She has been writing since childhood.

The work she has published so far includes the novel, The Yin/Yang Effect; the three novellas which make up The Dioni Chronicles series, Mikhail's Hunt, Jonathan's Bite of the Apple and Sebastian's Surrender; as well as the short stories, "Hot Chocolate on a Cold Day", "The Lover and the Firefly" and "Lover's Brew".

In this interview, Dana Littlejohn talks about her concerns as a writer.*

How would you describe your writing?

I write romances that happen now, in modern day. I have touched on several sub-genres like urban lit, fantasy and shifter, but basically its sensual/erotic contemporary.

I hope to target woman between 18 and over. Some of the love scenes in a few of my books might be a little inappropriate for anyone under 18.

What motivated you to start writing?

I was waking up in the middle of the night driving my husband crazy with the craziness I was dreaming. He suggested that I write it down because if I was going crazy he did not want to go with me. (Laughs.) True story! Since writing was still in my heart I took his advice.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

I love the writing of Bertrice Small and Jackie Collins. I’d like to be a combination of them.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I have done stories on topics that I feel strongly about, not necessarily that has happened to me, but I still feel strongly.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I have always wanted to be a writer, as far back as I can remember, but I let people and life get in the way of my dreams.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

That I don’t repeat myself. I want each one of my books to be unique.

The biggest challenge is to keep going, keep writing quality, unique work.

How do you deal with these concerns?

I try to stay fresh, do something that no one has done before or take a new look at something that has been done.

Do you write everyday?

Yes, I try to write everyday. The amount of time just depends on what’s going on that day. I work full time so during the week I can only do three maybe four hours and on the weekend a little more.

How long does it take you to start and finish a book?

[One of] my latest books, The House, was released in 2007 by Ocean’s Mist Press. It took me about four months to get it from head to paper.

One of the things I found most difficult about the book was I had to ask a few people a lot of questions so that the house would be realistic.

Which did you enjoy most?

The part I liked the most was checking out Atlanta.

What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?

I don’t know. I just wanted to show that true friends are friends through thick and thin even when they get caught up in stuff they have no business doing.

In what way is it similar?

It’s still a romance and everyone’s happy in the end.

What will your next book be about?

I’m working on an urban lit I call The Lover and the Angel. It’s about a member of the Latin Lovers gang who falls in love with a college student and starts to want more from his life. It is still in the works.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I feel really good when someone contacts me and asks me to do something for them. That feels good and I know they like my work.

How did you get there?

(Laughs.) I have no clue, I’m just happy its happening.

*This article is based on an email interview with Dana Littlejohn which took place in March 2007.

[Interview_2] Judy Gregerson

Judy Gregerson has published two books -- a memoir, Save Me! A Young Woman’s Journey Through Schizophrenia to Health (Doubleday, 1980) and a novel, Bad Girls Club (Blooming Tree Press, 2007).

She says her books draw heavily on things she has experienced in her own life.

In this interview, she speaks about her writing and how she got published.

Do you write everyday?

No, I don’t write every day. I work in chunks of months, very intensely. I get up, start writing, take breaks to think, go back to it, get up and vacuum, go back to it, get up and clean the bathroom, go back to it. Then I think some more.

I can write for about 12 hours at a time when I get going but four months on a book is as long as I can take and then I need time off to reflect, think, and get away from it. I may abandon a book for another four or six months while I digest what I’ve done or maybe even longer, before I get back to it. It ends when it has that “complete” feeling to it and the character has resolved her problem and learned something.

How many books have you written so far?

I’ve had two published. The first was put out by Doubleday in 1980, Save Me! A Young Woman’s Journey Through Schizophrenia to Health, which is self-explanatory. And Bad Girls Club was my next, published by Blooming Tree Press, July 2007, a small independent press in Austin, Texas. This is the story of a girl who has taken on the role of the parent in her house and who cares for her sister, her mother, and her father, while her mother spirals into madness and her father refuses to do anything about it.

I have about five or six other unpublished novels. I’m trying to find an agent now for Cracking Normal, a coming of age (young adult) story about a girl whose family moves into a trailer park and the problems that this creates in her life.

How did long did it take you to come up with your latest novel?

Bad Girls Club took me about seven years to write and finish and went through about 21 revisions.

Blooming Tree Press published it last summer. I didn’t choose them, they chose me. I sent the book in, expecting a rejection, and was shocked when they wanted to buy it. BTP is a small press, so there have been challenges in promotion and marketing, but I decided to take a year off to market the book which has helped tremendously and B&N and Borders have both just picked up the book. The nice thing is that my book is the lead title for this publisher, so it’s gotten a lot of attention, but it still requires (as do all publishing houses) that I get out there, make myself known, and sell books.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

The most difficult part of the work was finding the voice. This story is about a dark subject, so I had to ride just on the border of madness to write it. That was a real dance sometimes.

If you go too far, you lose the reader, so how do you stay just this side of the fence and make a book readable for a wide audience? This troubled me the most while writing. If it was too dark, I felt it wouldn’t capture its audience.

It took all of those seven years to get that right.

What did you enjoy most?

I really enjoyed getting into the head of my character and becoming her as I wrote. I enjoyed my conversations with her and the things she told me about herself, especially as she revealed who she was and how she felt. Transferring that into words on paper was a lot of fun and I discovered that getting into the soul of a character is the best part of writing for me.

Bad Girls Club has a certain sadness to it and a longing that pulls the reader along and none of my other books have that.

I think that narrative drive is important but I discovered in this book a way to really take the reader into the character’s head and ride along with her as the story developed. I’m not sure I could do it again, but it was very important to this character that the reader fully understand everything she thought.

What will your next book be about?

My next book is about a girl whose mother drops her off at the grocery store when she’s ten and never returns for her. She’s left with her very eccentric extended family and struggles with why her mother left, why she hasn’t come back and how she can go on without her.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I think my most significant achievement as a writer has been receiving emails from people who read Bad Girls Club and told me that they so fully experienced the main character’s life that they felt they were a part of her family.

I’ve also had people tell me that although they’ve never been abused, they felt so familiar in the territory of my story that they couldn’t put the book down. One reader even took it in the bathtub with her because she didn’t want to leave the character alone. I’ve received phone calls from crying women, thanking me for writing the book.

All I wanted to do with this book was touch people. I believe I’ve done that.

How did you get there?

You tell the truth. You tell it as fully and completely as you can and you tell it in a way that people will say, “I’ve been there! I know how that feels.”

Maybe a part of it is finding the universal human emotions that speak to anyone when they read your book.

When I started this book, it was my belief that everyone has suffered some kind of loss and it didn’t matter what kind they’d suffered, because we recognize ourselves in the emotions of other people and their experience. I wanted my book to have a “universal” appeal and it seemed the only way to do that was to capture the human experience and make it available for all to feel in my story. I think I did that. At least my readers tell me I did.

Related article:

Judy Gregerson [Interview_1], Conversations with Writers, March 20, 2008

[Interview_1] Judy Gregerson

Judy Gregerson has worked as a copy editor at a newspaper, in the marketing department of a publisher, as an account executive at an advertising agency, and then in various positions in promotion and marketing.

She has written and published a memoir, Save Me! A Young Woman’s Journey Through Schizophrenia to Health (Doubleday, 1980) and a novel, Bad Girls Club (Blooming Tree Press, 2007).

Currently she works as a freelance book editor and a marketing consultant while she finishes her degree in Human Development.

In this interview, she speaks about the factors which pulled her into writing.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I first tried my hand at writing when I was in about the seventh grade, but I didn’t fully understand what made a story work. It frustrated me no end, so I gave it up.

I started writing again when I was in my mid-twenties. I had an idea for a memoir that I thought was very compelling, so I began making tapes of the story and eventually typing them all out on an old Selectric typewriter. After a few months of that, I had an outline and a first draft.

How did you make the transition from wanting to write to becoming a published author?

I decided when I was eight that I wanted to be a published writer. It came as my third grade teacher was reading Charlotte’s Web to the class. I thought that there could be no finer profession than writing and decided I’d do the same.

A few years later, I met a married couple who were writers and I was just mesmerized by them. They seemed so important and so special. It only strengthened my determination to be a writer. But at the time, it seemed like a pipe dream, something that a kid wishes for but doesn’t know if it will ever happen. I had no encouragement at home, everyone just smiled at me and patted me on the head and because they didn’t take it seriously, I didn’t either. But after college, I lived in [New York City] NYC. I was working in advertising and had become a copywriter, which I really enjoyed. That was when I discovered that I had that spark and I also learned that writing was a lot of fun!

I was around writers and theater people and I had a very good friend who was very encouraging to me about writing. And it struck me that if I didn’t start, I’d never get a book published, so I took the leap and started writing. Up to this point, I had read no books on writing. I just jumped in and started, going on pure instinct. And back then, there was no internet, no computers, and no writing community to turn to for help. It was just me and the white blank piece of paper.

How would you describe your writing?

I call it coming of age literary fiction. But literary fiction seems to have a bad name these days, so I’ll call it mainstream fiction.

I call my writing literary because I use a lot of symbolism and images and I use setting as a character. I also like to write “deep” which seems to be associated with literary fiction. I write about characters who have suffered some kind of loss and who are struggling to understand who they are and where they’re going. My characters are usually fairly wounded and they make a lot of big mistakes. They all have deep longing for something and they usually satisfy that longing, but not in the way they expected.

Who is your target audience?

My audience is mixed. I have many adult reader fans who have emailed or called me to talk about my book. But my book is marketed as young adult, so I also have teen readers.

My target audience, as I see them, are people who have suffered loss in a very deep way (to them at least, even if it doesn’t look huge to anyone else) and they’re people who feel very deeply. They’re also thinkers and they’re people who care about other people. I write for this audience because they’re like me!

In the writing you are doing, who has influenced you most?

I have been greatly influenced by Sylvia Plath and Ernest Hemingway. I read The Bell Jar every summer, for my birthday, and I studied it extensively when I was writing Bad Girls Club.

Sylvia could go into four levels of back story and then back out in one transition. It totally amazes me how she can keep the narrative going without breaking it when she does that. She also has that voice that sounds so clear to me when I read her story. It’s as if I am sitting there and she is personally telling me the story. It has an intimacy that few books have.

Hemingway speaks to me in another way.

He has an economy of words that puzzles me. I studied The Old Man and the Sea when I was writing Bad Girls Club and I learned the circular path of a story from him. I truly didn’t get that until I studied that book and it helped me so much with my own writing.

I also like Kathryn Harrison. She is an honest writer. You know you’re getting the truth.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

My books are all based on things that I’ve experienced in life, so I’d have to say that they have really directed my writing. In fact, I tend to write about the same themes, over and over, in new and different ways.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My biggest concern has been that I am not terribly prolific.

I write about things that really touch me and things I personally care deeply about. I can’t crank out a book a year or even every two years. For a long time, that really bothered me. I felt that would make me a failure as a writer, because what agent wants a writer who cranks out a book every three or four years? Then I realized that this is my life, my career. I can do it any way I want. I don’t have to be like everyone else. I can write what and when I want and write as many or few books as I’d like.

I have writer friends who want to sell a book a year. I’m amazed by that. I just could not crank out words like that.

Related article:

Judy Gregerson [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, March 21, 2008

[Interview] Greg Bauder

Greg Bauder has written and published two novels, The Temptress Ariel (Publish America, 2004) and Selene's Guiding Light (Publish America, 2005), both of which explore life from the point of view of a schizophrenic man.

Currently, Bauder is working on a third novel.

In a recent interview, he spoke about some of the factors that compelled him to start writing.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing in college but I didn't publish until I was in my early 40's. I'm 51 now.

There was a hiatus when I became schizophrenic for about 20 years between leaving college and finishing my BA in English. It took 20 years to recover from my illness.

I wanted to become a writer to help erase the stigma of schizophrenia so I took Creative Writing courses at the University of British Columbia. I had some wonderful professors there and the students were supportive and we learned a lot from each other's feedback. I found the UBC staff and students friendly and they encouraged me to publish.

I began writing diligently and it wasn't long before I published in literary magazines as well as pagan ones.

How would you describe your writing?

Most of my writings deal with schizophrenia and I have a very direct style although some of my metaphors are mystical. I write about spirituality and try to understand where mysticism and schizophrenia meet.

My audience is anyone interested in learning that schizophrenic people are not a threat but people longing for love, hope and acceptance.

I also write about eclectic ideas which have helped me out of delusions and despair. I think dogmatic religious views are unhealthy for people.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

Writers like Milton, William Blake and Margaret Atwood have influenced me a lot but my style is probably closer to Kafka's. Albeit on a much smaller scale.

Schizophrenia has influenced the direction of my writing because I have been ill for 30 years. But, I have musical heroes like The Who, Pete Townshend in particular, who said:" Sickness will surely take the mind where minds can't usually go." He, too, believes in trying to comprehend mystical ideas, make the world more just and he has written a lot about mental illness.

Medications for my illness have also allowed me to cope as well as doctors and nurses who helped me with therapy. And, of course, the love from my family.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main concerns about being a writer is to be honest and show the pain as well as the triumphs in life.

Everyone hurts and the person with schizophrenia suffers a great deal due to stigma so I try to portray the illness in a way people can relate to. I deal with my illness by being an advocate for understanding of mental illnesses.

The biggest challenges I face are socializing instead of isolating and simply leading a healthy lifestyle. It is difficult to confront the challenges of schizophrenia so I focus on writing and maintaining relationships.

Do you write everyday?

I write most days usually when I have spare time. I also like going to different websites but I usually don't write after midnight.

My latest book, Selene's Guiding Light, took about four months to write and it is about a fantasy world loosely based on my own schizophrenic symptoms as well as mysticism. It was published by Publish America who were so supportive of my first novel I was glad to publish with them again.

What were some of the challenges you faced when you were working on the book?

The most difficult part of my second book was creating a poetic prose style and keeping the metaphors from becoming too obscure. There are also many mythological references which may be a little too much for some readers.

I enjoyed using a lot of freedom in my second book since it was a fantasy work. The main character was a man like myself, searching for identity, love and discernment. I had a lot of fun writing about mystical ideas as well as some political satire.

This book is about the delusional, mystical dilemma of schizophrenia. It is similar to The Temptress Ariel because they both deal with schizophrenia.

What will your next book be about?

My next book will combine similar ideas from the first two but will have a lot more humor. Again, it will touch on schizophrenia. It will also contain experimental styles.

What would you say has been your greatest achievement?

My main success as a writer to me was getting my first novel published.

How did you get there?

I published these books through hard work. Lots of reading and writing and perseverance.

[Interview_2] Carol Thistlethwaite

Carol Thistlethwaite is a poet, a book reviewer and the author of three books for adults who are learning to read.

Her poems and reviews have been published in magazines that include Envoi, Orbis, Fire, Poetry Cornwall and The Journal.

Her latest collection of poems, from the field book, is going to be launched on March 20 and 21, to coincide with Earth Day, World Poetry Day, the First Day of Spring and World Forestry Day.

In this, the last of a two-part interview, Carol Thistlethwaite talks about how she got published.

How many books have you written so far?

I've had three books published by Avanti Press (2006) for adults who are learning to read. I wrote Red Paint, Painting the Bedroom and The Birthday Present for some of the adult learners I work with because I found there was a shortage of appropriate books for adults who are just learning to read.

The books appear simple but the writing of them is complex. Basically it's about creating adult stories from high frequency and phonetic words. Also the text (often one line) has to be written so that it can be illustrated. The repetition of key words and spelling patterns has to be considered and the subject matter should be relevant -- and preferably be fun.

Hannah Barton was the illustrator and I think we made an effective team.

Did you already have a publisher in mind when you were writing the books?

I looked at a selection of adult literacy books and picked Avanti as the most appropriate. I telephoned them, pitched the texts and was invited to submit them.

And how did you link up with the illustrator?

That was difficult and the budget made it more so. I kept mentioning to people that I was looking for an illustrator and found Hannah Barton via a friend.

I asked her to make the characters likable and to inject some humour into the illustrations. I negotiated a few changes and think Hannah did an excellent job. I think it's important that illustrator and writer work co-operatively in these kinds of books because the pictures are very much used as reading cues.

Do you write everyday?

No. As far poetry is concerned I write best when words and rhythms flow unhindered in my head -- which is usually when I'm out walking. Often I have a pencil and notebook with me so I scribble down phrases, images or whole poems. I edit them later. I sometimes think I should take a dictaphone so I can speak the word-flow as I walk.

How long did it take you to put the poetry collection together?

from the field book is a collection of poems about British bird species. The poems have been written over the last four years (2003 - 2007). I'd been sending poems out to small presses during this time, preferring to be published in print.

After attending a talk by Chris Hamilton-Emery (Salt Publishing), who said that writers need to develop an online presence, I realised I'd have to overcome my aversion to online publishing. So I sent some poems to Sam Smith's Select Six site and to my delight he accepted them and asked how many more I had... and recommended the collection to BeWrite Books who, I am pleased to say, accepted it for publication.

Sam recognised me from the small press world and at this point I’d like to say a huge thank you to the editors of small magazines who provide opportunities for writers to get their work and names out in the public domain -- to readers, writers and potential publishers.

What other advantages or disadvantages have arisen because of your association with this publisher?

Sam has an interest in bird watching and understands what many of these poems are doing: articulating the inexpressible jizz of different bird species. Having an editor who understands the concepts that underpin the collection has been an advantage.

Having a publisher (Cait Myers) whom I trust is also important. I’ve worked with Sam and Cait and contributed to decisions so I feel this is very much my collection.

Who is your target audience?

Initially from the field book began as my MA dissertation so the audience was me and whoever was grading it. After that I let the collection evolve to what it is today.

I hope that poetry readers will enjoy its use of language and that bird watchers will recognise the perceptions and think, 'Yes, it is like that, isn't it...?'

What did you find most difficult when you were writing the poems that make up from the field book?

I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to repeat myself across any of my poems. I didn't want to repeat images, metaphors or perceptions. Finding different ways of describing similar landscapes and presenting each encounter as a different perception can sometimes be challenging -- but it's one that I relish. Sometimes I have to let my mind go out of focus so I can move laterally and away from the obvious.

The most difficult species to write about are those that are very familiar. It is because I am no longer at the ‘learning to recognise’ stage so I don't now know the mental connections I made to aid recognition. I find that the best approach to these species is oblique such as focusing on an aspect of their behaviour or comparing them with other species.

What did you enjoy most?

I love being out in open spaces, wearing my scuffed and faithful boots, listening and watching out for wildlife, with binoculars round my neck, noticing something new, there’s always something new...

Related article:

Carol Thistlethwaite [Interview_1], Conversations with Writers, March 10, 2008

[Interview_1] Carol Thistlethwaite

Carol Thistlethwaite is a poet, a book reviewer and the author of Red Paint (Avanti Books, 2006), Painting the Bedroom (Avanti Books, 2006) and The Birthday Present (Avanti Books, 2006) which she wrote for adults who are learning to read.

Her latest book, from the field book, is a collection of poems about British bird species. The collection was written over a four year period and is going to be launched on March 20 and 21, to coincide with Earth Day, World Poetry Day, the First Day of Spring and World Forestry Day.

In this, the first of a two-part interview, Carol Thistlethwaite speaks, among other things, about the challenges she faces as a writer and about how she deals with those challenges.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

It wasn't so much a decision as an epiphany. A college lecturer suggested that I should be doing Writing Studies. I instinctively knew I was hearing something important -- something I hadn’t previously considered. I'd just passed the second year of my BA and consequently changed course to include writing studies. I went on to gain an MA in Writing Studies. I began sending material out to magazines shortly after starting the Writing Studies modules encouraged by my tutor, Robert Sheppard, and other poets such as Alan Corkish.

I've been published in many small magazines such as Envoi and Orbis. I send different subject matters and styles to different editors depending on what I think their preferences are. Fire, Poetry Cornwall and The Journal have been supportive in publishing my bird poems.

How would you describe your writing?

It's in the style that best suits the purpose. from the field book, for example, is exploratory. I enjoy testing the boundaries of language to express the inexpressible -- and still be understood.

The mental leaps we make are accomplished without words but I try to represent them by ordering word-thoughts and by using lexical groupings and multi-layered vocabulary to represent concentric ideas. I position words on pages and use their sounds to represent sensory experiences such as physical and eye movements and the sounds the birds make.

Who has influenced you most?

Hopkins for the way he distorts words to bring out multiple meanings. Heaney for the way he creates layers of meaning by using lexical groupings. Hughes and Pound for selecting words for their associations. Cris Cheek and others for their positioning of words on the page. And Hughes (again) for remembering to place creatures in their habitats.

I admire Colin Simms for his precise images of wildlife movement, innovative use of language, his joy of sound and the sheer excitement and enthusiasm which pervades his work.

Also there's a host of contemporary women writers who are feeding into what I might do next.

How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

As a 3 year old, I used to fill pages of paper with lines of squiggles and ask what they said. Always the optimist, when told, 'Rubbish,' I excitedly asked, 'Which bit of it says "rubbish"?' I enjoyed learning to read and loved writing: stories, poems and later diaries and letters. It wasn't until I was a mature undergraduate that I began writing for a wider audience.

I have always lived in Lancashire (in fact I've always lived in the same village) and many of the poems are written from sightings in my local area. There's so much on our doorstep if we only look, listen and cherish it.

I have a deep appreciation for wildlife and wild places. I celebrate wildlife as something 'other' and at the same time part of the 'oneness' of the universe.

I don't consider myself a birding expert. I couldn't have written many of these poems if I was. Some of them articulate that rush of thoughts and mental leaps that occur in the instant between information-in and recognition. Others are about the bird watching experience: the thoughts I have and the imaginative leaps my mind makes.

As a learning support tutor, I'm interested in how people learn -- and that includes me. For example, the first time I saw a green woodpecker flying off I was struck by how colourful (bright yellow) it appears compared to when it's feeding on the ground. My memory scaffolded it to a cabinet unfolding (dark on the outside but still bright on the inside). Quite a lot of the poems share this personal journey as I anchor the unfamiliar to something familiar until it becomes a familiar.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Time management. Juggling work and family commitments with making time for walking, writing and keeping an eye on what's happening in the poetry world.

I've developed the habit of making little pockets of time for myself such as taking a couple of minutes to enjoy the flexing necks of the siskin on my bird feeders while I'm having my breakfast coffee or refusing to think about work as I enjoy listening to a song thrush on my way to college. I get up early at weekends to fit in local walks.

Being a reviewer helps because it makes me take time to read and re-read contemporary collections carefully.

What sort of material do you review?

I've been the resident reviewer for Carillon for three and a half years and review mainly poetry. The number of reviews varies depending on what Graham Rippon (the editor) receives and the space available. I reviewed eight books and booklets for the last issue.

The biggest challenge is setting aside the time required to read the books thoroughly -- which means several times. I set personal preferences aside and write a response that is both honest and fair. I do this by switching into analytical mode. That said, I still find humorous books difficult. (Maybe that's because I have a strange sense of humour!) I dislike reading reviews that promote the reviewer rather than the book, and consider it a betrayal of the trust that author and publisher invest in the reviewer. It's stealing someone else's space.

Related article:

Carol Thistlethwaite [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, March 11, 2008