Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Boulder, Colorado. When I’m not writing, I spend time hiking, biking, and coaxing my vegetable garden to grow. My previous works include “Punishingly Younger” (Skirt!, June 2009), “Yesterday” (Every Day Fiction, Sept 2015), and Picking Lemons: A C.J. Whitmore Mystery (Cozy Cat Press, 2013). My new literary novella, “Elizabeth: 100 stories. 100 words.” was released in April 2017.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Elizabeth: 100 stories. 100 words.” I think of this book as a literary photo album.
It is a very intimate novella — told as one hundred stories, each exactly one hundred words in length — which takes us on one woman’s journey: from infancy to end of life, and her struggle with mental illness in between. Powerful, captivating, and ultimately heartbreaking, “Elizabeth” offers a glimpse into the world of bipolar disorder and the nature versus nurture debate that surrounds it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing particularly unusual. I like to go to our cabin in the Rocky Mountains and write in complete silence.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always enjoyed the classics, Jane Austen in particular. I appreciate story telling that focuses on the small details in our lives.
What are you working on now?
I have just started another “100 stories. 100 words.” book. Instead of telling the story of one person, this one focuses on the interconnection between people.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang, of course!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write about what is important to you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write at least 10 minutes every day. Ten minutes is the amount of time you need to keep in touch with your story (and therefore not move backwards.) Any more than ten minutes will be progress ?
What are you reading now?
Liane Moriarty. She is an Australian author and has a compelling writing style. It is hard to stop at the end of a chapter.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working on another “100 stories. 100 words.” book. I really like this format at the moment. I like the flash fiction nature of it. And yet, when read together, it is a literary novel.
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?
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery
All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot
Author Websites and Profiles
J.T. Toman Amazon Profile