Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written The Quick Style Guide for Writing for the Web and English Usage, A Great Escape: Short Stores for Travelers, Mr. Thoreau Goes to Boston, Rivers of Words, African Safari Bootcamp for Women, and most recently, The Car of the Future and Other Stories.
I have taught English, creative writing, and cultural anthropology at universities in Asia. I began my writing career through penning proposals, product descriptions, and advertisements while a sales and marketing representative of computer products and services and for a major film industry magazine. I also wrote resumes and marketing literature while the branch manager of a writing company. I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
I enjoy reading, traveling, and teaching. In my free time, you might find me trekking through the jungles of Africa, lazing on the shore of a verdant river in Southeast Asia, or backpacking in the Himalayan Mountains.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Car of the Future and Other Stories. It’s a young adult collection of short stories about love, travel, and facing obstacles. One of the underlying themes concerns how we are ruining our physical, social, and employment environments.
I grew up in Southern California where the air was severely polluted and the cities run on gasoline and a car economy. You see trash and an over abundance of signs and electronic billboards where ever you go. You often encounter trees covered in plastic bags, that have been carried by the Santa Ana Winds.
Then I traveled to Switzerland, where the people honor and respect the environment. You don’t find a scrap of liter on the streets, in the boat harbors or on the beaches. It’s clean and pristine. I thought there’s got to be a better way. So I wrote The Car of the Future which is about a group of students at Cal Tech Institute who design and build a car the flies and is powered, not by gasoline, but burns clear clean air. They have to fight off the oil industry and the countries that are profiting from it, to design, build, and introduce their car to the world.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My best time to write is in the middle of the night. I go to bed early and wake up at 1 am, 2 am, 4:30. It’s quiet and my creative energy is flowing like a river in “spring flood.”
I love to write travel stories (see my book The Great Escape: Short Stories for Travelers.) And I love to visit the countries and the places I write about.
When I wrote African Safari Bootcamp for Women I spent three months in Kenya. I lived inexpensively and visited many of the towns and cities and the Masai Mara National Reserve. I got to know the people and the environment. I often went hiking in the bush alone to get a feel for what it would be like for the characters in my story to be stranded without food, water, weapons, or transportation. I was able to adapt some of my experiences to those of my characters.
I was never attacked by wild animals, but one time I walked passed a fenced retreat for a wealthy Nairobian, and the man and his son came out to warn me about how dangerous the area was. He showed me trees elephants had crushed and tracks of rhinoceroses. They walked with me into the nearest town.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been inspired by the best writers of all time and works on how to write such as the Elements of Style from Strunk and White, Steven King’s On Writing, and William Zinsser’s On Writing Well.
I love to read classic fiction, particularly old English authors such as Jane Austin, Charlotte Bronte, and Charles Dickens. I loved Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, and The Tale of Two Cities. I occasionally read an oldy such as The Canterbury Tales, Don Quixote, or an ancient Greek play. I found Uncle Tom’s Cabin from Harriet Beecher Stowe particularly inspiring. Her book told about the terrors of slavery. And she as a woman broke through all glass ceilings.
And of course I am taken to new heights from recent author’s such as Ken Follet, J.K. Rowling, and Diana Gabaldon.
Recently I loved The Moonlit Cage from Linda Holeman. Although the book was written primarily for women, I felt like I was travel right along side the character. Her character’s voice and descriptions make it real! I saw eight more of her books on Amazon. I going to read them.
What are you working on now?
I am taking a hiatus from writing books. I’ve written and published six in four years. I am now considering my next one.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love to use the book and reader promotional sites like Awesome Gang. Book Bub, PrettyHot.com, and Good Reads. They support authors and readers and provide forums and resources for both.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing! Don’t give up. Learn to market your books; you’ll have to do this whether you self-publish or work through an agent and publisher. And self-publishing is the key to longevity as an author; if one of your books doesn’t sell, a publisher can end your career by refusing to publish you again. If you do it yourself, you can just change direction and keep right on going.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up. Whatever you dreams are, keep right on going. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Go over, under and through your obstacles. You’ll grow and become stronger for doing it.
What are you reading now?
I finally got a copy of The Handmaid’s Tales from Margaret Atwood. Powerful! And after not reading any Shakespeare for a long time, I have delved into The Merchant of Venice. It reads like a modern novel.
I’m glad I read The Moonlit Cage from Linda Holeman on a weekend. If I had been reading it during the week, I would have foresaken all work to finish it. Although the book was written primarily for women, I felt like I was travel right along side the main character. The author’s “voice” and descriptions make it real! I saw eight more of her books on Amazon. I going to read them all!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Another novel. It’s going to be an action-adventure one that touches on contemporary issues. It’s too early to announce the story or title.
I’ve been blogging on https://kenswriterscorner.wordpress.com for two years on topic such grammar, overcoming writers block and travel. It’s time to begin another one.
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?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to remind me of the height of 20th and 21st Century contemporary literature and to inspire creativity. Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style to provide a grammar refresher and an example of exceptional style. Then I’ll need to figure how to make paper and a pen, so I can continue to write. I know, I’ll use big leafed seaweed, a seagulls feather, and the ink from an octopus.
Author Websites and Profiles
Ken Wasil Website
Ken Wasil Amazon Profile
Ken Wasil’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile