Interview With Author Gary Kidney
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The Eagle Scout Picture is my first book. I grew up in a small Iowa farm town where books contained the only available adventures. I wrote my first published short story in 7th grade and the second in 8th grade. I moved to Mesa, Arizona, for high school and college where I became enamored by the microcomputer revolution. I became a specialist in teaching with technology. During my career in higher education, I’ve taught and coached nearly 800 instructors in how to use technology to motivate and educate students, but it took me away from creative writing into the publish-or-perish world of academia. To try to reclaim some of that enjoyment, I enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Since then, I’m actively writing and enjoying everything about the process.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Eagle Scout Picture was inspired by an old man sitting at a picnic table. His friends had run off to the water, so I sat with him and talked. Based upon his his age, I asked about World War II. The story he shared became the novel.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love to travel and go to every location in my writing. Also, I think I’ve develolped a bit of Multiple Personality disorder. For example, the despicable antagonist in The Eagle Scout Picture is a Gestapo officer. I had to willingly let myself become a Nazi to write him well. My wife told me of times I would wake from a nightmare yelling in German, a language I’ve never studied or spoken.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ken Follett, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and Harlan Coben are the authors I buy whenever a new book is released.
What are you working on now?
A sequel to the Eagle Scout Picture where the spy protagonist returns to Germany in 1946 as the Iron Curtain falls.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still learning how to promote and market.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t wait to consider self-publishing as a last ditch effort after traditional publishing doesn’t pan out. I learned this lesson when I got a rejection letter from what I thought was a very promising agent. She wrote, “We really liked your high-stakes plot and skill in writing. If you would just re-write with a female protagonist, we would be happy to represent you.” I laughed at the absurdity because my protagonist is a radio and electronics expert in 1940 when women would never have had the chance to learn those skills. It wasn’t until the late 1950’s before June Cleaver learned to vacuum in pearls.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get a writing coach or developmental editor. The Eagle Scout Picture as published is substantially the same as it was when I finished it as my thesis project for a Master of Fine Art in Creative Writing, but it is so much a better read. Every speck of improvement is due to my writing coach who consistently challenged me.
What are you reading now?
Ted Bell’s Monarch by Steck. Red Star Falling by Berry and Blackwood, The Ratline by Sands
What’s next for you as a writer?
Building the Eagle Scout Picture into a series.
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?
I would stop at the last airport bookstore before getting stranded and pick 3 or 4 books that I’d never heard of before to take a long. By the way, I do this even when I am not getting stranded.
Author Websites and Profiles
Gary Kidney’s Social Media Links
Author Interview Series
To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!
If you are an author and want to be interviewed just fill out out Author Interview page. After submitting we will send it out in our newsletters and social media channels that are filled with readers looking to discover new books to read.
If you are looking for a new book to read check out our Featured Books Page.