Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Chris F. Fotheringham is an independent journalist who has reported and edited for newspapers in Missouri, California, Idaho and Nevada. A 1976 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Journalism, the former high school English teacher lives in Mesquite, Nevada, where he established a manuscript editing website, www.chrysolinnpress.com, and wrote the mystery, “Murder by Modem.” His novel, “Let Us Be! A mining Saga: Is the Gold Worth the Water?” was published in 2013.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It has been a long, circuitous and bumpy road to publishing my seminal novel, “Let Us Be! A Mining Saga: Is the Gold Worth the Water?” My alleged obsession with recording the historical importance of modern-day gold mining in northern Nevada started in the mid-1980s. A woman named Dee McBride, who just died a few months ago, stood up against a mining company to prevent the virtual ghost town of Tuscarora, Nevada, from being wiped off the map by an open pit mining operation. From a journalist’s standpoint, this was a juicy David and Goliath story that I dug my teeth into. It took time, but Ms. McBride won her battle to save Tuscarora. This victory, however, did not stop international mining conglomerates from converging on northern Nevada’s vast ocean of no-see-um gold ore. Over the years, my appetite whetted, further research enabled me to see a bigger picture and realize the historical importance of what is happening to the social fabric of America’s rural West. After many years failing to sell this story as an investigative non-fiction book, I turned to fiction to better tell the truth. So, my first novel is a melding of fact and fiction to create what I like to call a work of “faction.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I am much quirkier than most writers. I’m told I can be somewhat unnerving to others in my company as I tend to stare off quite a bit. That’s because I do a lot of “writing” away from the keyboard. The main habit that I stick to is to write on a strict schedule, which includes spending the first early-morning moments re-reading/editing what I wrote the previous day. This is my way to regain focus and stay on track.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Robert Penn Warren/”All the King’s Men”
F. Scott Fitzgerald/”The Great Gatsby”
Marc Reisner/”Cadillac Desert”
Wallace Stegner/”Beyond the Hundredth Meridian”
Mark Twain/”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
Charles Dickens/”Great Expectations”
What are you working on now?
I am committed for a few more weeks to self-marketing my two self-published novels, “Murder by Modem” and “Let Us Be! A Mining Saga: Is the Gold Worth the Water?”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am a self-published writer but a self-marketing klutz. Like a lost sheep in a foggy meadow, I’m willing to pick up whatever scent I can follow. So, I post my free book promotions on any website I can find in hopes of gaining some traction somewhere. I’ve only been involved in marketing long enough to have the sense that even though I know my target, I’m not sure where I’m aiming.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Now that I proudly qualify as an old-timer, I advise new authors (no matter their age) to “sponge” off what other writers share about what they have learned along the sometimes tortuous struggle to achieve writing success. It’s rare that I pass up the chance to read a Q&A with a good interviewer probing the mind of an established writer. I always learn something I can use. CSPAN’s “Booknotes” is a must watch.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In a profoundly transformative one-on-one discussion I had with an accomplished “old-timer” twenty years ago, he told me, “You have to learn to trust the writing process.” He added, “Part of that process is to find someone who you trust to read your work, and be willing to listen to what they say.”
What are you reading now?
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” — again, which I always do before digging in deep for my next serious writing adventure. For me, reading this book always gets my juices going big time.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am quite literally excited as all get-out to write the opening scene of my new novel about baseball, hoping to capture the essence of why the game, and all of life that swirls around it, so stirs the soul. My goal is to tell a story that will change the thinking of somebody who says, “baseball is boring.”
What is your favorite book of all time?
Hands down, the book that best captured my attention and influenced not only my writing life but also my world view is Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men.”
I must add, however, each time I re-read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” I learn something new about how to improve my own writing.
Author Websites and Profiles
Chris F. Fotheringham Website
Chris F. Fotheringham Amazon Profile
Chris F. Fotheringham’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account