Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an award-winning American writer who has worked as a copywriter, journalist, and strategic communicator for more than 30 years. Before retiring from teaching, I taught classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for 20 years.
Before writing fiction, I contributed to five nonfiction books, including “Beyond Generation X: A Practical Guide for Managers,” the American Ambulance Association’s “Public Relations Handbook,” and “Forget Us Not: Armenian Genocide Commemorative.” I’ve also scripted a documentary produced with PBS.
I’m also the president of Copywrite, Ink., a 30-year-old writing services and strategic communication firm. He is married and has two children. My son is currently pursuing a degree in college and my daughter is a student-athlete in high school.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“50 States: A collection of short short stories” grew out of an effort to transition from commercial writing exclusively to commercial writing and fiction. It started a project to write one story a week for 50 weeks, which gave me a self-imposed deadline to write and share my work every week.
The idea to place each story in a different state evolved naturally. When I had finished the first five stories or so, I noticed each was in a different state and each touched on a different state of mind. Since I wasn’t interested in confining myself to any specific genre, it made sense to stick with the inspiration.
I’m glad I did. Some of the stories would have never materialized without following what amounted to creative intuition. It was fun and challenging, especially reading how people reacted to each new story as I shared it online every week.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When it comes to fiction, I’m mostly a morning writer who likes to sit down at my computer in my home office with a cup of coffee and quiet. It’s the same place I’ve developed advertising campaigns and written articles for decades.
What was a little different about writing 50 States was that my self-imposed deadline would force me outside my comfort zone. Sometimes, to finish a story, I would thumb draft copy on my phone between my daughter’s softball games, type pages on a Bluetooth keyboard after propping up my tablet on another sports chair, or even write bits of prose on napkins and Moleskine notepads.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is always such a difficult question for me because so many authors and books have touched me. I just know I answer differently every time someone asks!
In terms of the work, I think Earnest Hemingway and John Updike have been especially influential to me in their quest to write straight, honest prose about people. As teachers, Joyce Carol Oates and Walter Mosley had a profound impact on my writing.
There are also dozens of other writers who were indirectly encouraging. Beyond writing some amazing books, I found their work made me want to write fiction. A few of them include Peter Heller, James Lee Burke, Nora Neale Hurston, Aric Davis, and S.A. Cosby.
What are you working on now?
I currently have several fiction projects in the works. Most notably, I’m writing more short stories that either intersect with or build on those found in 50 States. Initially, I intended to publish a second book called 50 Threads, which would carry on the idea of 50 States.
However, I also want to give myself room to let things evolve. I’m also writing longer fiction, with stories that exceed my 3,000 word limit on short-short stories, along with a novel. Since I tend to treat these projects like a gardening project, I’m not sure which project will come to fruition first.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Having worked in advertising and marketing all my life, I knew taking a grassroots approach to 50 States would be a special kind of challenge. As an indie publisher and author, you have to be willing to work at it every day because each small success has the potential to become a big success.
Every day, I look for opportunities to increase the exposure for 50 States: book reviews, book promoters, advertising ideas, bookstore outreach, etc. I’ve found Amazon and Goodreads to be especially supportive, and I’ve had a fair amount of success reaching out to select indie bookstores before traveling to a new area with my daughter’s softball team.
Every small success leads to something new. In fact, I was referred to Awesome Gang while pursuing a different opportunity. Wow. I was happily surprised what an excellent service this site is doing for authors.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and work after your book is published, maybe even harder than you did writing it. Book marketing is different from other campaigns because it’s more akin to a political grassroots campaign than a commercial campaign. It requires a hands-on, personal approach and a resolve not to take anything personally.
Reviewers will pass on your book. Bookstores will ask you to jump through hoops and then decline to stock it. Readers will praise you in person but never leave a review on Amazon. Some promotional opportunities will seem like a dream come true but amount to nothing.
You can’t focus on any of those challenges. Instead, stick to what you know — you wrote a book worth reading — and every small success that comes your way. If you can keep with it, then success will start to happen. I’ve had some fantastic reviews from respected editors, including Kirkus. Sometimes it takes several calls, but I’ve placed signed copies in at least one bookstore in every city I visit. Sales are steady as more people are introduced to it. I feel very blessed that these small victories are turning into something big.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
50 States would have never happened had I not taken my friend Geoff Livingston’s advice to work for myself first for a change.
So many writers out there want to finish something but never find the time to do it because they are too busy working on other people’s projects or have taken on other people’s obligations. Don’t get me wrong; I’m as active with my business and community as ever. But I finally learned after all these years that one of my dreams had to become the priority.
If you want to finish your book, put yourself first for a change. For me, that meant locking out every Monday morning for fiction first. My ability to become immersed in this work has become an inspiration to keep going and growing as an author.
What are you reading now?
I have four books going at any given time: one on my phone, one audiobook, one that I read with my daughter, and one nonfiction I read at lunch. These books generally toggle back and forth between classics, literary fiction, thrillers, mysteries, history, science fiction, romance, fantasy, young adult, and speculative fiction.
Keeping that in mind, my list looks like this at the moment: “The Guide” by Peter Heller, “Coyote Blue” by Christopher Moore, Willa of Dark Hollow by Robert Betty, and A Swim In A Pond In The Rain by George Saunders. About that last title. Wow. If you are a writer, you have to read it. Saunders is a fantastic teacher.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve scaled back how many commercial clients I will work with at any given time so I can continue to pursue writing fiction. So this is it. I’m working, writing fiction, and learning (sometimes the hard way) how to best market books. Aside from all that, I’m having a great time meeting some wonderful people who share a passion for reading and writing great work. What’s better than that?
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?
This question makes me chuckle because it’s going to reveal a different side of me. Being completely transparent, I would choose Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Stand by Steven King, and Dune by Frank Herbert.
I chose these books because they are among a dozen or so that transformed a kid who couldn’t read in the third grade into a life-long reader, writer, writing instructor, and author. Pierce Brown’s book is the exception. Red Rising is included because it would have been among those other titles had he written it when I was younger.
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