Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
So far I have only published one book, the collection of short stories I discuss in the answer to the next question.
I could tell you about my literary education, theatrical experiences, and political activity, but probably the most notable thing I can mention is that I have the same name and birthday as a former US president. In fact, Bill Clinton changed his last name within one year of my birth. I have received more attention for that coincidence than anything I have written or any performance I have given or any political action I have taken. I’ve appeared on David Letterman’s Top Ten list, on CNN Talkback Live, on an Atlanta radio station, and on a Philadelphia television broadcast dropping the puck on President’s Day due to something over which I had no control or influence. Perhaps that is why I find anti-heroes interesting.
Regarding that other, less spectacular information, I did receive a writing award at graduation from high school, studied literature and creative writing in college, became involved with a semi-professional repertory theater company in the Philadelphia area for a few years after college and achieved some modest success with a sketch comedy troupe I formed with three friends from that company before moving to the Atlanta area for a decade. I became more involved with party politics while in Dixie, continued that activity when I moved back to the Philadelphia area, and soon held local elected office in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania for two terms. This last resulted from someone passing out a piece of paper at the primary asking voters to write me in for a seat on borough council. When I arrived at the polls, he handed me the paper and said, “I hope you don’t mind, boss.” Again, perhaps why I like anti-heroes.
I also have a wonderful family, which is no fault of my own.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest, and so far only, book is “Two Pairs of Shorts,” a collection of four short stories which is organized by tone from light to dark. The stories are not related to each other in any other way. As one might expect, each of the stories was inspired by something different.
“Respectfully Submitted,” the first story of the quartet, uses the format of meeting minutes to expose an undercurrent of conflicting personalities and agendas in a routine church board meeting. I like playing with different writing formats. I have been an officer (from Secretary to President) on several boards, including church boards, political boards, and elected municipal boards, and enlivening the dry, stodgy format of meeting minutes to tell a story struck me as fun.
“Operation Eagle Eye” sprang from the second Persian Gulf War with Iraq. The oft-used metaphor of how one would react to international events as expressed in local terms (“if someone attacked your house, what would you do?”), coupled with my experience attending a meeting to discuss the formation of a neighborhood watch in the outer Atlanta suburbs culminated in the tale of vandalized mailboxes in the Eagle’s Nest subdivision.
“Wintergreen” is the oldest story in the collection. I started it one day when I was bored at work and found myself seated at one of the few word processors that my department shared. It started, really, with a typographical error that became the protagonist’s name, and developed into a melancholy reflection of a young man’s disappointments.
Finally, “Make Lemonade” resulted from my request for a prompt from a co-worker, and reflects the situation of a rural woman in the early days of the 20th century.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Are there usual writing habits?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many. I would name Kurt Vonnegut as one of the top, particularly with “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Cat’s Cradle.” I love Douglas Adams quirky and outrageous sense of humor and wordplay in his “Hitchhiker’s Guide” series. “Candide” by Voltaire and “Jacques the Fatalist” by Diderot are among my favorites from the Enlightenment period. Albert Camus’ “The Fall” and more especially, “The Plague” are high on my list, and “No Exit” by Sartre is one of my favorite existential plays. I know I am going to miss some important books and authors – a good number have stuck themselves into my consciousness.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on finding an agent, or failing that, a workable publishing avenue for a novel titled “Dead Certain.” Patrick Casey, a Philadelphia patrolman who is on bereavement leave due to the death of his wife, is informed by the captain that his closest coworker has been murdered. The first-person narrative tells Casey’s story through his accounts of working with his murdered friend, his working-class upbringing in a dysfunctional family, and his sometimes strained relationship with his late wife, intermingled with his attempts to keep tabs on the investigation’s progress despite the detectives’ attempts to keep the details to themselves.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
If I ever find success when promoting my books, I’ll let you know.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“No matter what anyone says – even if your own mother says she doesn’t like your writing – keep writing.”
Incidentally, my own mother has said she doesn’t like my stories (although she does admit that I write very well).
What are you reading now?
I am always reading several books at the same time. Currently I am reading “Vanity Fair” by William Makepiece Thackery, “You Must Remember This” by Joyce Carol Oates, and “This Side of Paradise” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have recently finished “Barn Again: A Memoir,” which is a rather picaresque satiric novel by Alan Good. I also dip into a complete collection of Sherlocks Holmes stories and novels by Arthur Conan Doyle, a complete collection of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories, novels, and poems, a collection of Mark Twain’s stories, novels, and essays, a complete collection of H.P. Lovecraft, and “The Iliad and the Odyssey” by Homer. I’ve got “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen on my soon to read list.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More on “Dead Certain,” I’m sure. More short stories. A short story of mine, “Distractions Might Cause Accidents,” will be appearing in October’s edition of the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
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?
War and Peace, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, and Remembrance of Things Past. I would need books with the most pages to keep the signal fire going for my rescue.
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