Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
By day, I’m a social worker in the San Francisco Bay Area. “The Cosmic Turkey” is my first novel. I also have a chapbook of linked short stories, “Lost in Translation,” that I’m hoping to turn into a novel-in-short-stories. So far, my proudest literary achievement has been scoring a runner-up and a dishonorable mention in the Bulwer-Lytton “It was a dark and stormy night” contest.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Cosmic Turkey” is a humorous YA space opera. The main character, Janet Delane, was partly inspired by one of my own quirks: technology seems to hate me personally. Let me near a computer, it’ll start smoking before it implodes, probably taking the fridge and TV with it. I gave that superpower to Janet, the teenage captain of a spaceship nicknamed the Turkey.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I get stuck on a scene, I make lists. 20 things that couldn’t possibly happen next, or 20 things the character might be afraid of, or 20 reasons the characters can’t just admit they’re in love. The first few ideas are obvious, but I keep digging, and the right answer is usually around number 17.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
For humor, Douglas Adams , Terry Pratchett, and Janet Evanovich. For wonderful storytelling, Marge Piercy, Octavia E. Butler, John Steinbeck. For books about writing craft, Natalie Goldberg and Ann Lamott.
What are you working on now?
I always have multiple projects going on. When I get stuck on one, I switch to another until I accidentally finish something.
As mentioned above, I’m trying to expand my collection of linked short stories into a novel, a love story between two men, tentatively titled “Found in Translation.” There’s a “Cosmic Turkey” sequel in the works. And I’m also working on a fantasy story about a cursed jewel that turned seven innocent maidens into lawyers.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My first book’s brand new, so I guess I’m about to find out! I regret that the book’s coming out during the COVID crisis, so bookstore appearances and such aren’t possible. This technophobe is learning social media.
As a reader, I can say that I’ve bought a lot of books after discovering the authors on Twitter, but it’s never the ones whose posts are nonstop book promos. It’s the writers who interact, who seem like interesting people, so I figure their book must be interesting too.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m older than most first-time authors. It took a lot of persistence, a lot of waiting and revising and getting rejected. I have two full-length novels that will probably never see the light of day, and several that were abandoned partway. Keep at it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’s okay if the first draft is terrible. It really is. You can’t edit a blank page.
What are you reading now?
I’m about to dive into “Starting from Seneca Falls,” a historical novel about the suffrage movement, by the wonderful Karen Schwabach.
What’s next for you as a writer?
As mentioned above, I have several projects going on. Also, I need to come up with some more terrible first sentences, because I still dream of winning the Bulwer-Lytton.
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?
Complete works of Dickens, because that would take up a lot of time. Complete works of Austen, because hr writing is multi-layered and subtle. And the complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, because it can still surprise me with a laugh on multiple rereadings.
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