Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve only written the one book. It’s a short one. A novella. I’ve got half-written novel on my desk; the first chapter is probably half the length of my one published book. Some works want to be small, others large. I find writing is most fun when I’m not forcing form or word count. It’s fun to write when I let the story dictate the form.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Descriptions of Heaven is the title of my debut fiction novel. It was inspired by a TV show, actually. On this television program, a group of cryptozoologists went to find a lake monster. But not in Loch Ness. They explained (with a neat little world map) that there are hundreds of lakes around the world that harber supposed lake monsters. That was the inspiration. The themes of morbidity and loss were inspired both in large part by simply looking at our planet, sick and slowly dying. If you look closely, you’ll see that the environment is the undercurrent of the novel, one of the main but most subtle themes weaved into the book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Lot of coffee. Lot of desk clutter. A big dictionary beside me. A shelf full of reference books. More coffee. Sometimes a dog that sleeps at my feet. No, I don’t find any of this unusual.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Don DeLillo, Virginia Woolf, László Krasznahorkai, and many others. I’m a voracious reader.
What are you working on now?
Currently I’m working on a backlog of short story ideas. Once I’ve gotten some of my creative pipes cleared of these shorter tales, I’ll start working on that half-written novel again.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Trick question? The answer is awesomegang, right? Truth is, the best method for me has been finding advance book reviewers. I simply don’t have enough experience to know the answer to this question.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t hold back your impulse to write. Don’t wait for the right time, mood, atmosphere, job, or whatever. Write right now. Books don’t write themselves. Being a writer isn’t like being an alcoholic. Alcoholics can quit drinking for years and still claim their alcoholism. If you’re not spending a good chunk of your time writing, well, hate to break it to you, you’re not a writer. So get out there and start making stories.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read more than you write. Read good books. Read mostly the kinds of things you want to write.
What are you reading now?
I just finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Right now I’m reading Great Expectation by Charles Dickens.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Over the next few months, I need to do my best to market Descriptions of Heaven. While I have a publisher, they’re a small group with limited ability to assist in getting news about my book out there. I’ve got a huge “after publication” list. But, in tandem with that, I also need to slowly increase the hours I’m putting in at the writing desk while decreasing my marketing hours as items on that marketing list get crossed off.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Joyce Carol Oates’s Wonderland
Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway
Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow
Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.
Author Websites and Profiles
Randal Eldon Greene Website
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