Interview With Author Harlan Porter
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have three books available on Amazon. My novel is under Harlan Porter. My first two books are under David Porter.
I have been a journalist for more than 40 years and have won more than 60 first-place awards in regional, state, and national competitions. I have managed both daily and weekly newsrooms and served as Director of Communications for a trade association for 12 years. I’m back living in my hometown, where I married a lifelong classmate.
My hobbies include cigars, Lego building blocks, and writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Kill Seeker: Confessions of a Psychopath grew from personal trauma. My therapist suggested writing a novel as a means to release some unresolved anger. Who hasn’t wanted to kill someone? I thought about various ways in which a person might go about it, and a character developed.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write late at night while smoking cigars. I also write a weekly column — a personal journey most often under the humor column label. Like my column, when I write a novel, I let the story go where it takes me. I have a general idea of where I want to go, but I feel like I’m discovering the characters at the same time the reader is.
I have a small group of people that I share my first draft with and then consider their suggestions, which leads to a more thorough, immersive experience. I’m fond of saying, “I don’t work in a vacuum.” I like to collaborate.
One of my books, a how-to book on newspaper publishing, was written entirely on my smartphone.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was still in high school, I wrote to Stephen King for writing advice, and he wrote back. It took me decades to work up the courage to write a full-length novel. My earliest favorite novelist is Mark Twain.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a mystery drama based on growing up with my best friend, who suggested the plot for the book. Although I grew up in a large family, he and I are like brothers. As a kid, I even went on his family vacations. The story is about two boys coming of age as they search for an abandoned coal mine with ties to prohibition moonshining. While names and places have been fictionalized, they are based on actual events.
I have anothr novel 90 percent done called Telling Secrets. It is based in the fictional town of Telling, Illinois, in Southern Illinois, about a family that is so abused by their low-level hoodlum father that they conspire to kill him. They then navigate the fall-out from that along with other external forces that are hurdles disguised as opportunities.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Mostly, I put it out on Amazon and promote primarily through Facebook. There are better ways, but I write for me and invite anyone who wants to join the journey to do so. Marketing is the biggest challenge facing independent writers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do it. Don’t worry about the small stuff. There’s a song by Guy Clark called The Cape. In the song, a young boy ties a cape around his neck and jumps off a garage thinking he can fly. Throughout the song, he grows older, but even as an old man, he’s still jumping off garages with his cape. There’s a line in the song: He didn’t know he could not fly, so he did. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stephen King told me that dedication is key to writing novels. If you can’t think of a way to start your story, start in the middle. You can go back and write the beginning later. Just get your fingers on the keyboard and start putting words down. You can fix it later.
Advice from my sister after reading my first draft of my latest novel: I want to smell it. Remember to use all your senses when writing.
What are you reading now?
I just bought Dave Barry’s new autobiography. Perhaps surprisingly, I’m not a big reader. My wife will read a novel a week. But when I read a novel, I find myself writing in the style of that author. So, when I’m writing, I avoid reading other people’s work.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have one novel about to be wrapped up, another in progress, and a third in outline form. After that, who knows. I’ve thought about writing a sequel to Kill Seeker. Or maybe develop a cop character for a series since those are popular. Currently, there are no heroes in my books.
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 have to take The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I wouldn’t get tired of reading that. Treasure Island is another favorite. After that, I would select books on how to build things from raw materials and other survival advice. If I’m going to be stranded on a deserted island, I want to know how to survive it. I’m pragmatic like that. I might take along a book that’s a little saucy — it’s going to get lonely on that island.
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