Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a professional biologist that has authored possibly hundreds of biological technical reports of course, all riveting and informative. Put together, they equal 400 books.
No seriously, I started writing ecological fiction, or eco-fiction somewhat accidentally. I kept journals of my field experiences and this morphed into my first ‘accidental’ novel, Birdbrain. Sadly, all my journals, well everything, was destroyed in the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego County.
I have three novels, the newest is due out, as it happens, THIS MONTH! (September 2018). All my novels incorporate our natural ecology, that we live in every day, into my stories. I am also a conservationist and the hope is they inspiration awareness and action in my readers. They are also, all, hopefully, very funny, wacky, and a blast to write.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Treed, due out September 2018.
The reward you get for having an intimate knowledge of the land is to watch it get destroyed by your own species. The human primate is great at this! For a long time, I earned my living, and a damn good one at that, documenting the natural history on the land before it was destroyed by development, in many cases, the landowners not even walking their own land at all. This is the perverse way our capitalistic culture gives biologist jobs–here is a bunch of money so you can go tells us what is it out there and we can meet all the regulatory requirements then destroy it. Have fun.
Unless you are a hack or ‘biostitute’, you can’t DO this for a ‘living’ without it affecting you in some way even though I was tagged a pain in the ass by the industry because I would fight to protect places which is actually, great planning (“no you really shouldn’t put the parking lot on top of that wetland because it will CRACK over time and cost you a lot more money and time.”). But they don’t care about this, most of them. Just get me my damn permits and if you happen to leave off the landmark trees, not a problem. Of course, when I left the industry and decided to do just environmental education, I went broke because our capitalistic culture provides no reward for this, for PRESERVING land though I believe eco-tourism is the way to do this. Some cities have gotten a clue that businesses go away, empty storefronts…but parks and open space never goes out of business and constantly draws people to them and from there, they go to local restaurants, hotels…
To the point, my books are inspired by the miracle that is our planet and the despair around watching my stupid species destroy it. I also used to do stand up comedy, have a relentless sense of humor, so combining all this into one intellectual literary ecosystem has been catharsis for me and really fun.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I used to try to write hanging upside down in a dark closet like a bat…
I have no idea what you’re after here except writing is a great cure for insomnia…there have been a lot of times I have done my best writing at 2 a.m. (flopping into bed at 6 a.m.).
Everything else can be assumed re: beer, pizza, weird candy(?) on sale at nearest liquor store, etc.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stuffed into a new suburban box in Ohio with Carol King playing, I was profoundly influenced by Carlos Castenada novels about the American west, the desert, and resolved by the time I was 12 that I would get the hell out of that new suburban hell (ours was the first street of a giant mega-city…we moved into what was once a beautiful Ohio farm of thousands of acres; I grew up watching it all get bulldozed). Ed Abbey (got in trouble with my parents), Rachel Carson, Tom Robbins, John Irving, Pam Houston, Roderick Nash, Whitman, Vonnegut, of course Thoreau, Emerson, all those rebels…Too many to list except to say the books from the American environmental era profiled in the novel Birdbrain.
What are you working on now?
A book of short stories, all with ecological themes/tension.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Probably Goodreads. I am one of those Indie authors everyone writes about that writes their books then ‘forgets’ about the marketing. I really am not a good self-promoter. I write to write and if I hit the ‘big-time’ whatever the hell that means, yippee. I will say I entertain a small fantasy that one day the Coen Brothers will make Phat’s Chance into a film, something many people have said to me. “Hey, you need to get Phat’s in front of the Coen Brothers!” Yeah, sure. I hang out with them all the time! I’ll be sure to do that! I guess I should take it as a compliment that they would think I have ANY connection with the Coen Brothers…
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Assuming you’re not going to make any money off your book anyway because there are now three zillion books out there, you might as well take it slow. CRAFT your book. Don’t just write it, CRAFT, SCULPT it. Make it something extraordinary. This takes time. Edit it a couple thousand times (I read the final draft version of my newest novel 20 times to the point that I almost got nauseous, and this is BEFORE I had it proofed). To insure it is not rushed, decide you will take a year to write it, minimum. Set your deadline at a year then if it still isn’t perfect (yes, perfect), keep going until it is. I get asked to review books all the time and man, there is a lot of crap out there, people who think they can post and reap…If you want to be one of them, go ahead, but if you are a true driven writer, fire in the belly and all that, approach the process cautiously, respectfully, make it something you will be proud to release to the world, even if the world doesn’t care, you did your best.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above. (Includes advice from others especially after I wrote Birdbrain or more apt, it wrote me).
What are you reading now?
The Soul of America by Jon Meacham. Not exactly cheering me up.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Rein in my ideas and plans for books, writing projects. My head could blow off. Go slow. Do one thing at a time. Be deliberate. Write for the joy of it, without expectation I will find myself on the front of the NY Times Book Review section…oh, excuse me, the Coen brother are on the phone…
I can’t NOT write so I will just keep writing, appreciating it for the outlet it provides me, and the blessings it may bring to me personally, and maybe to the planet should my works inspire people to learn and act.
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?
I kind of hope it’s not a DESERT island. I mean, a desert? Not giving me much to go on here.
Assuming it’s a deserted island, preferably tropical, white sandy beach, loads of natural fruits…A book, as comprehensive as possible, about the natural history, flora, and fauna of the island I am on, and it must include maps. Hopefully one exists. If not, I will write it.
The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke
Gates to Buddhist Practice, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Author Websites and Profiles
Virginia Arthur Website
Virginia Arthur Amazon Profile
Virginia Arthur’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Inspire awareness, excuse the typo, 3rd paragraph. Asked them to fix. Not fixed.