Interview With Author Terry Evers
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a first-time author and my book Fifteen Seasons was published in October of 2022. For the past 34 years, I have been an elementary teacher with roles as a 4th/5th grade classroom teacher, instructional coach, technology specialist, and currently a STEM teacher for grades K-5. Prior to my teaching career, I was a commercial fisherman part and full time for salmon, tuna, crab, halibut, and squid. I also served four years in the US Coast Guard with duty assignments specializing in law enforcement, boat navigation, and oil spill response. I’ve been married for 36 years and have two daughters and two granddaughters. My interests include reading, writing, kayaking, hiking, and traveling.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my first book is Fifteen Seasons. It is inspired by the fifteen years that I commercially fished, mostly with my father on our 22-foot dory boat for salmon off the Central Oregon Coast. During that span, I kept detailed log entries and data about our fishing escapades that included exciting events, where we fished, weather and sea conditions, and anything else that was notable. My father, and later my wife, encouraged me to take all those writings along with the many memories I had, and put those into some type of book. In 2018, I started writing and dedicated the project to my father who passed away in 2016. Four years later, the memoir Fifteen Seasons became a book!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. My writing for Fifteen Seasons occurred in spurts rather than in long, planned writing sessions. I commute 40 minutes each way to work, so many thoughts and ideas were generated on those drives in the Mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I really don’t binge on any particular author, but for Fifteen Seasons I was inspired by a book I read as a teenager in the late 1970s titled Alaska Blues by Joe Upton. I spend my time on the water in a kayak these days and have read several books about kayaking adventures. A Pacific Northwest author/kayaker, Chris Duff, inspired me not only with his adventures, but the imagery he created in his books. He also was very generous with advice when I reached out to him very early in my writing.
What are you working on now?
Presently I have just embarked on a upper elementary/early middle school story. It’s an adventure with some elements of the fishing industry woven in. There are some ties to a very, very old text that will be integral as well. I wasn’t sure what audience to write for, but recently it made sense to write it for a young audience since I have taught that age group for so many years. I have a long way to go on the project, but I’m looking forward to the writing journey this coming year. I certainly open to advice for publishing options for children’s’ books.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Thus far for Fifteen Seasons, I have focused on Facebook, my page and groups as well as Instagram. I have also been fortunate to post to local and relevant discussion board sites that are geared toward fishing and boating. I’ve reached out to a few relevant podcasts, magazines, and newspapers (websites), too, that have been generous to provide interviews and promotion. Reach out to libraries, too! I contacted over a 100 and presently have my book in 22 along the West Coast. I appreciate Awesome Gang for the generous promotion as well!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
First of all, if you have an idea or something you wish to share, just carve out time and start writing. I reached out to a few local authors who were generous enough to respond and offer valuable feedback about writing and publishing options.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Oh probably something along the lines of, “People who never fail are people who never try.” There are many variations of that statement. If you want to make it happen, don’t give up!
What are you reading now?
I just received “My Effin’ Life,” the biography by Geddy Lee of the band Rush. It’s fascinating, not only for all detail he shares about his rock and roll career, but his family’s Jewish history. He goes into sobering detail about his family’s experiences during the Holocaust and how they eventually emigrated to Toronto, Canada.
I’m also reading a novel titled Blue Song by Nancy Rhodes, another local author from Oregon. I’m a few chapters in, and it’s got me hooked.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing to promote Fifteen Seasons and work on my children’s book. That will keep me more than busy in addition to my other responsibilities.
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?
Hmmm. I rarely rewatch movies and reread books, so I would opt for most material I haven’t read or completed. There are several novels I never read in high school that it seems many others have, so I’d choose a few of those such as Catcher in the Rye. I never completed Robinson Crusoe and Moby Dick, so those would keep me busy. I’d take a Bible as you never finish reading it.
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