I always love to participate in blog hops and tagging games, so I thank author David Berner, whose new memoir recently won the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year award, for tagging me to play this week. David and I recently met (virtually) through our publisher Mike O’Mary at Dream of Things. I heartedly welcome David into our Dream of Things family.
David’s book due out this fall is Any Road will Take You There, the story of a father who sets out on a cross-country road trip, one he never had the guts to take as a young man. He hopes it will spark a new chapter in his life. But the once-delayed journey now takes on new meaning when he’s forced to confront his family’s unsettled past. Plus, this spring Dream of Things will publish David’s collection of essays: There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard.
So here I am tagged IT and answering the:
BLOG HOP AUTHOR QUESTIONS
What am I working on? My list is long. I’m just about ready to get back to revising my novel based on four sets of beta reader comments. The comments are daunting one of my reviewers said it will take at least two years to finish implementing all his suggestions hmmmm! I also keep my blog here and write regularly for a couple other websites: Naturally Savvy and Aging Bodies. I have two other pet projects: producing a CD of my deceased son’s music Paul Sharples at the Piano that will launch on September 25 and co-editing Volume 3 of the poetry anthology, The Great American Poetry Show due out in the next few months. Yes, I still find the time to write a poem or two a week. I’m especially excited about taking a workshop in writing erotic poetry next week. Don’t know if I’ll be able to share any of that work, though.
How does my work differ from others in this genre? One example is in my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. This work actually started as a memoir in poems, so when I decided to write it in prose I was adamant about including the poems as well. Luckily I had a publisher prior to Dream of Things who liked the idea so much she asked me to add more poems. She also suggested adding photos. As a result the poems added more to the emotions I tried to convey in the book, and the photos added realism to the story.
Why do I write what I do? I think the real answer to this is that I write what I do because I love to write. I write literary fiction, memoir, blog posts, and poetry. I’m also an avid journal writer. It’s the first writing I do every day. I love all of it including the revisions.
How does my writing process work? I worked for almost thirty years as a technical writer/editor and proposal manager in the aerospace industry. That work taught me about process and the importance of just showing up. I’ve transferred what I learned on the job to my daily writing. I get up early, go to the gym, have breakfast, shower and get dressed for the day, and then go down to my home office where I stay until I’ve finished what I’ve set out to do that day. I usually write my to dos and what I’ve accomplished in my daily journals. That keeps me accountable.
However, my schedule is not that rigid that I don’t go out for an occasional lunch with friends or to various appointments, but I always need to finish what I’ve put down on my to do list before I quit. By the way, I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Jackson Wyoming, and my only writing while away was journaling. I took a lot of photos, though, which I’ll share in the next few days.
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Now, I’m happy to tag my dear friend who I met at The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, the young adult horror fiction author, Ace Antonio Hall. Ace graduated from Long Island University with a BFA. He is a former NYC middle school English teacher who can’t get enough of zombies and Spider-Man comic books.
His novel The Confessions of Sylva Slasher called a fun filled, zombie thrashing book! was released April 14, 2013 by Montag Press. The second book in his series, Crystal Coffin, will be available next year.
Ace’s short story Dead Chick Walking made the Fall 2013 edition of the best-selling Calliope Magazine and his science fiction story, They, won the Honorable Mention distinction for the 2013 Writers of the Future Award.
For updates and news, follow Ace on Twitter, like his Facebook author fan page or visit his website where you can read his regularly updated blog. Also see his wonderful guest posts on my blog here and here.
Thanks, Ace, for agreeing to be IT and continuing our blog hop.
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