Interview With Author Richard Clayman
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Five self-published fiction eBooks, the first draft of the sixth just completed. And, from my decades in Hollywood and filmmaking, a book on the art of the actor and successful auditions.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest published is “Rocky Mountain Friday (Town of Beaver Tales – Part 5 – 1945). As you’ve guessed, these five (and the unpublished sixth) are related, revolving around the fictional Town of Beaver in the Colorado Rockies. A perfectly lovely little place, with perfectly deep dramas. They grew out of my first, award-winning play, Rocky Mountain Sunday, and span from 1860 to 2007.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if not utilizing writing software is unusual, but if so, I’m guilty. Other than that, I try to get to no less than the next page number every day. Of course, some days it’s more than that, but very few less.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Fielding, “The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling”; George Eliot, “Middlemarch”; Charles Dickens, “Bleak House”; Jane Austen, “Northanger Abbey”; Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald… to start.
What are you working on now?
The rewrite of Town of Beaver Tales – Part Six, “Rocky Mountain Elvira – 1850.”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Looking for feedback on that. It’s a new form of promotion for me.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find your voice. When creating, take what you know and make it your own. Write from your heart, not what you think will sell. If every time you re-read your stuff you laugh and cry, you’re there. Be persistent. Don’t fear criticism, but be judicious in following it. Work steadily – Ray Bradbury advised, if nothing else, write at least one short story a week.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To thine own self be true.
What are you reading now?
Hemingway’s “Across the River and Into the Trees.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
Probably Town of Beaver Tales – Part Seven. I’ve grown to know and love the many generations of these folks, and look forward to learning more and more about them.
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?
Well, not to be flip, but see above.
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