Conversations with Writers

[Interview] Mathias B. Freese

2012-01-12T23:57:00.000Z

Mathias B. Freese lives in Henderson, Nevada in the United States. He has worked as a teacher and a psychotherapist and has been writing for over 42 years.

His books include a Holocaust novel, The i Tetralogy (Wheatmark, 2005); a collection of short stories, Down to a Sunless Sea (Wheatmark, 2008); the mixture of memoir and essay, This Mobius Strip of Ifs (Wheatmark, forthcoming) and a second collection of short stories, I Truly Lament (___, forthcoming).

In this interview, Freese talks about his writing:

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

In 1968 I wrote a short article, “Is Content Enough?” for an education journal of some note. It was my first publication, but not a literary one, although I devoted a few months to perfecting the article. I had no idea that I would become a writer, much like I had no idea that I would become a psychotherapist, or have children, or lose my wife in an accident. Often such happenings are made randomly or we just walk into them. Much of life is a wild run through a corn field like Cary Grant in North by Northwest.

By 1974 I was listed in The Best American Stories of 1974, with such writers as Joyce Carol Oates, Isaac Bashevis Singer, John Hawkes, etc.

Me?

Martha Foley, who had edited Hemingway, among others, was the editor and through a series of errors my name was mixed up with H. T. Kirby Smith, a poet. To make a long story very short, Mensa Bulletin, 2011, just published my award-winning essay, “To Miss Foley, With Gratitude,” which is the tale behind “Herbie,” the first story of note that I ever had published, and credit given to Kirby-Smith. That’ll show you.

As I look back, it was a terrific gift to a new writer. To know you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to hear it from others. The inner-directed writer needs no acclaim.

As an English teacher I wrote stories during lunch breaks, study halls, during the evenings late into the night and over the week-ends; my trusty second-hand Smith-Corona was repaired several times as the letter “e” got an intense battering. Rejections were rife, but as an autodidact I continued to self-learn. I had to feed my family and had no time for "conferences", and all that folderol.

I made a promise to myself during these difficult years as a husband, father and as a teacher who loathed the mediocrity in high schools, that whatever stories I could not get published I would publish someday. I waited about 30 years for that to happen. In 2008, I self-published Down to a Sunless Sea and won the Finalist Indie Excellence Award. I persevered. I am the turtle behind the turtle racing against the hare. Think on this for a moment and you can get a handle on me!

How would you describe your writing?

All my writing is visceral and passionate. I favor the passion of the mind as well as that of the soul.

As to my "target audience", that is part of the marketing world and I do not respond to that at all. I have always written for myself, believing that if I do it well the person reading it will connect to me. I have a conversation always with myself. Apparently some people like that.

All literature is an internet among people. To understand this about me is to understand why I take risks and dare in my writing. What I really do know is that fearlessness makes for authenticity in writing. I do not write to be remembered. I write in the now and for the interaction and discussion it might bring about. I have my close ones to remember me. In short, I write to give off my scent.

Which authors have influenced you the most?

Authors have not influenced me. I read to be moved.

Kazantzakis’s The Last Temptation of Christ and his Saint Francis are intensely, vividly splendored works; his Report to Greco is one of the great confessionals of the last century. His existential epitaph has served as a guiding light for me: “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.” He wrote a two volume sequel to The Odyssey in verse and by all accounts he equalled Homer.

Have your own personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

In all my writing I try to make the reader feel – as a psychotherapist with over two decades experience, in this culture we are conditioned not to feel.

Having lost a wife in a horrific automobile accident, my daughter being terribly wounded but surviving, her boyfriend dead, and the early death of an older daughter by her own hand have devastated my life and all of this has impacted upon my writing. What is that impact? To weigh carpe diem with tempus fugit on a moment to moment basis, to live in the moment, right now, to deprogram myself of this rather decadent society’s need to swallow us up through conditioning. I step aside and askance of the writer’s world, for often new writers sell their souls very early on. Older writers as well. I revel in being a stranger in a strange land; in America I am an ex-pat.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

I really don’t have main concerns as a writer. I don’t view myself as a "writer". I am Matt who happens to write. Being a writer is a role and with that comes all kinds of delusions and mischief. I am not my occupation! I do my best at what I am doing, no more, no less. I strive not to write a glorious sentence. If anything, I struggle to engage you, the reader, to shake you, turn you upside down, rub your face in my own grit. I teach you nothing. I observe.

In my graphic and violent Holocaust novel, The i Tetralogy, the work of a lifetime, I engage the inherent violence of this species-devastating event, the lens through which we all can observe man. As a psychotherapist, writer and human being I struggle for two things:

to see
to struggle to be psychologically free.

The triumvirate for me is – Krishnamurti, a remarkable spiritual teacher, Kazantzakis, and Freud.

Do you write everyday?

There are no rules for me as a writer. I think in fractals. I write when I am moved to do so. I spent years learning the craft and am still a novice. The serendipitous consequences of being self-taught is that one may venture into areas loaded with landmines and emerge safely, perhaps wisely so. To write 500 words a day or more does not a writer make. Ask Homer, ask Joyce, ask Dickens. Thank god they never went off to schools to learn how to write.

I believe with conviction that the very next book I will write is already being assembled in my unconscious. My unconscious has rarely failed me; indeed, I get really excited when it makes its appearance in my writing and I go on for pages. When I teach writing, I urge students to tap into that, to not censor it.

I wrote an early version of i in about one week; it entirely poured out of me. It was a remarkable event and changed everything in how I approach writing. In short, I channel it all.

How many books have you written so far?

As to the books I have written, The i Tetralogy (Wheatmark, 2005) explores the relationship between victim and perpetrator during the Holocaust in great depth as well as the relationship between the perpetrator and his own family in the States after the war, where he fled to. Very intense and graphic, it has been described as both “pornographic and holy.” High praise in my eyes since it was reviewed by a survivor.

Down to a Sunless Sea (Wheatmark, 2008) is a collection of stories dealing with the deviant and damaged. Duff Brenna, novelist and editor, considered it Proustian.

At this time I have two books readied for publication:

I Truly Lament is a collection of short stories about the Holocaust, ten of them published last year to my joy. I can never let go of the Holocaust, although I am not a survivor.

This Mobius Strip of Ifs will be published in early January 2012 and is a series of related essays over the past four decades of my life, a kind of Bilsdungroman of my psychological life as a writer, spiritual seeker, teacher and curmudgeon. It is a mixture of memoir and essay, with me breaking the rules again. It is my happiest effort in years. Not bad for this 71 year old.

To come full circle, the essay on Miss Foley leads off the collection for it is emblematic of my experience as a writer. I self-published the book and I find Wheatmark more than capable of producing a fine product. Working with the editor is for me a growing experience, not something to resist. After all, the whole art of writing, for me, comes down to revising. When you revise, you sharpen who you are.

The Mobius Strip of Ifs is a compelling compilation of observations, psychological insights, and reminiscences for those possessing the requisite courage to feel and think, to struggle against cultural conditioning, and to create artistically inspite of an environment that impedes the awakening of intelligence. I summed it up: “Although we are passing ephemera, human lint on this planet in transit, it is a powerful and nourishing feeling for me to have paused long enough to have observed the passage of time and my place in it.”

What will your next book be about?

At this time my next effort is at the starting gate.

I Truly Lament is a varied collection of stories, inmates in death camps, survivors of these camps, disenchanted Golems complaining about their tasks, Holocaust deniers and their ravings, and collectors of Hitler curiosa (only recently a few linens from Hitler’s bedroom suite went up for sale!) as well as an imagined interview with Eva Braun during her last days in the bunker.

The intent is to perceive the Holocaust from several points of view. An astute historian of the Holocaust has observed that it is much like a train wreck, survivors wandering about in a daze, sense and understanding, for the moment, absent. No comprehensive rational order in sight.

I am seeking to find a publisher for this.

In the meanwhile, I will be entering contests.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

The most significant achievement as a writer, you ask, makes me reply: It is in the totality of who I am. I work on myself to hope for nothing, to fear nothing, so that I can be free.

Related books:

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Related articles:

Mathias B. Freese [Interview], by Derek Alger, Pif Magazine, June 16, 2008
The i Tetralogy by Mathias Freese [Book Review], by Christopher Frost, Neon Literary Magazine
Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese [Book Review], by Carol Reid, the short review

[Interview_2] Mark Adam Kaplan

2011-11-27T23:14:00.001Z

Mark Adam Kaplan is a school teacher, a novelist and a screenwriter.

His first novel, A Thousand Beauties, was published by BeWrite Books in 2009. His second novel, Down, has just been picked up by Bewrite Books, and will be released soon.

In this interview, Mark Kaplan talks about his first picture book, Monsters Do Ugly Things.

How would you describe Monsters Do Ugly Things?

Monsters Do Ugly Things contains 36 illustrations about all things monstrous. It is a satire of social norms and common behaviors. Most of all, it's fun.

It is about inappropriate social behavior. Our monsters pick their noses, eat when they talk, make messes, etc. They also do 'pretty' things, like have friends, and share.

How did you come up with the idea for the book?

This book has been gestating in my mind for years. After the birth of my children, it just gelled. But the book is nothing without Glenn Scano's brilliant illustrations. I'd written the book and it sat in a drawer for a long time. Then I found one of Glenn's old pieces, an etched mirror, that I'd bought from a crafts show. The minute I thought of Glenn for this book, all the lights went on.

The book began even simpler than it ended up. Glenn's art inspired me to expand on the original idea. The book grew organically from our work together.

I wrote the book fairly quickly, then worked with Glenn's illustrations to hone the idea and craft the entire piece. Glenn worked every day, 12 hours a day for 10 months, stopping only for bodily functions and doctor's visits.

Where and when was the book published?

Monsters Do Ugly Things was published on November 15, 2011. Several issues (on the publisher's side) pulled the book from the shelves for a few days. Then it reappeared, all issues resolved.

We had been rejected form about a dozen agents and a handful of publishers. When we investigated self-publishing, we discovered how expensive it would be to print out high-gloss, hard cover books. Add that to my constantly seeing women baby sit their kids while shopping by stuffing an iPhone in their faces... it just made sense to go eBook. But we found there were no established outlets for new Children's eBooks. ePublishing houses also did little or no promotion for the books they published. It didn't make a lot of sense to give the lion's share of the profits to a company that wasn't really working for it.

One big disadvantage is that we have to market the book ourselves. Neither Glenn nor I are marketing experts. Because we are selling a picture book, many people want a hard cover to read at night with their children, and are thrown by the fact that we aren't offering one. But the future is electronic, and many people I know let their children play with their iPad. Why not have something specific, safe, and fun to give the kids to look through?

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

The most difficult part of this was preparing the book for ePublication. Glenn spent hundreds of hours tweaking the illustrations and the text, adjusting the coloring and the sizes, formatting the files and refining the edges

My favorite part was opening the files to see Glenn's artwork. Glenn's favorite part was creating the monsters. We spent more time laughing than doing just about anything else. We've known each other for 35 years, but this is the first project we've ever done together. We plan to do many more.

What sets Monsters Do Ugly Things apart from the other things you've written?

I normally write American tragedies, screenplays, avante garde plays. This is my first picture book, and is an entirely different world than I am used to building.

The book is similar to my others works only in as much as it is a different view of a somewhat accepted part of our society.

What will your next book be about?

We are working on Monsters Grow Up, a sequel to this one.

Related books:

,,,

Related articles:

A Thousand Beauties by Mark Adam Kaplan [Interview], Conversations with POD, April 22, 2009
Mark Kaplan [Interview], Conversations with Writers, July 30, 2009
Read Me an E-Book Story? Can kids' books on a tablet beat the real thing? By Michael Hsu, Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2011

[Interview_2] Tahlia Newland

2011-11-05T21:38:00.000Z

Tahlia Newland writes young adult and adult urban fantasy.

Her books include The Drorgon Slayer’s Choice (Catapult Press, 2011); A Matter of Perception (Catapult Press, 2011) and Realm Hunter (Catapult Press, forthcoming 2012).

Newland is giving away a limited number of ebook copies of her short paranormal romance, The Drorgon Slayer’s Choice while the e-book version of her anthology of urban fantasy & magical realism, A Matter of Perception is available at the special release price of 99c until November 14. On the November 15 the price for A Matter of Perception goes up to $1.99.

In this interview, Tahlia Newland talks about A Matter of Perception:

How would you describe your latest anthology?

A Matter of Perception is an unusual collection of urban fantasy and magical realism that will make you wonder what’s real and what’s not. The stories are thematically linked by various supernatural beings, a touch of romance, a bit of humour, and a smidgen of philosophy. There are gods, aliens, ghosts in the service of sirens, sorcerers who battle each other with magical light, a dream of a future past, a pair of rose-coloured glasses and Norris.

Norris?

Yeah, he’s a really sweet, shy, rather pedantic guy who would like to be a knight in shining armour.

How long did it take you to write the stories that appear in this anthology?

I’m a very creative person. Ideas fly around my mind all the time. I wrote these stories just to try some of them out, but it wasn’t until about a year afterwards that I thought about publishing them. I worked on these and other short stories for about three months initially ... writing, revising or editing every day. I sent some of them into competitions and to magazines, and one got to the semi finals in a big competition, but they’re really different.

It took another three weeks to get feedback, fine edit them and prepare them for publication.

The anthology was published by Catapult Press on November 2, 2011 and is available on Amazon, Smashwords & will soon be in other major outlets.

Catapult Press is the publishing arm of Centrepiece Productions, a company owned by myself and my husband. We set up the publishing side to publish my shorter books while my agent still chases a print deal from traditional publishers for my longer works. The advantage is that I have control over all facets of the production. The downside is that I have responsibility for all facets of production. I’m handling it by being very organised and allotting just a few tasks to do each day.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

I hadn’t written short stories before, so it was a new game for me.

The hardest thing is finding a really snappy story and giving it a bit of a twist at the end.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

I didn’t have much trouble with the stories in A Matter of Perception. They came easily. It was just the right time, I guess.

I like finding great endings and several people commented on the clever and often humorous, or tragic endings in the stories, so I’m happy about that. I also love great characters and there are some good ones in this collection. Norris is my favourite. He’s terribly lovable.

What sets A Matter of Perception apart from other things you've written?

All my writing has unusual ideas and a mix of humour, action and romance. All my themes encourage readers to look more closely at the nature of their world, their mind and their perception.

A Matter of Perception is the only collection of short stories I’ve ever written.

What will your next book be about?

Realm Hunter is coming out in December.

The book revolves around Nadima, a philosophy student, who becomes infatuated with Aarod, a handsome shadow slayer. Their relationship jeopardises the success of an important mission in the hidden realm where he lives. When Aarod’s master orders him to leave the mundane world for ever, Nadima is determined to penetrate the veil between the worlds and follow him. But will he be waiting?

How many books have you written so far?

The Drorgon Slayer’s Choice(Catapult Press, 2011). Are you willing to stake your future on a butterfly’s shampoo preferences?" Julia’s not sure. She knows that relationships made in heaven can end up in hell, but if she can avoid having her memory wiped, she just might end up with a god of her own.

A Matter of Perception (Catapult Press, 2011). Do you see what I see? Take a bunch of supernatural beings, a battle of magical light, a mysterious hole in the pavement, a dream of a future past and a pair of rose-coloured glasses, mix them with a little romance and a smidgen of philosophy and you might be left wondering if it isn’t all just a matter of perception. This thought-provoking collection of urban fantasy and magical realism stories includes "The Drorgon Slayer’s Choice" and "The Boneyard", a semi finalist in the Aussiecon 4 Make Ready fantasy/scfi competition of 2010.

Resources:

Author's website
Author's facebook page
Author's Goodreads.com page

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Tahlia Newland [Interview_1], Conversations with Writers, August 2, 2011
At NYCC, urban fantasy authors explained why supernatural cities are weird and wonderful, By Kelly Faircloth, io9.com, October 16, 2011
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s son on the art of storytelling, By Ruben V. Nepales, Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 15, 2011

[Interview] Fungisayi Sasa

2011-11-01T20:19:00.001Z

Zimbabwean poet and author Fungisayi Sasa lives in Milton Keynes.

She is the author of the children’s book, The Search for the Perfect Head (Eloquent Books, 2008).

One of her short stories was published in the anthology, Writing Free (Weaver Press, 2011) while her poems have appeared in places that include the Poetry International Web and Spilt Milk Magazine.

In this interview, Fungisayi Sasa talks about her concerns as a writer:

When did you start writing?

My dad unwittingly led me to writing during my early childhood years. He was very firm about studying and, as children, we weren't allowed to watch television during the week. And he would often take us to the local library.

At first, I didn't like these visits to the library because reading felt like work to me. But eventually I started enjoying it and through reading, my passion for writing grew and I started writing poems and short stories about my family and the annoying things they would have done to me. Instead of ranting and raving at them when they made me angry, I would write a story about them or write an angry poem. Writing was therapeutic.

When I was in Zimbabwe, writing was simply a hobby, I didn't think I could go anywhere with it. Even though I read many books, my mind didn't grasp the concept that I could be a writer.

When the political situation in Zimbabwe forced my family to flee to the United Kingdom, I found loads of career opportunities that included writing. I studied creative writing at the University of Bedfordshire and with guidance and support from my lecturers, I sharpened my skills. I gained the confidence to send my work out and I found that the thing with writing and becoming published is that you have to push and persevere.

I used to spend hours trawling websites and writing down their details, sending work by post or e-mail - hoping that somebody would be interested. I even used to write work specifically tailored for particular magazines and websites. I sent my work out to so many places and received so many rejections but I didn't let this deter me. I was motivated because I knew that my work was of a suitable standard. If I was asked to make changes, I would.

Have your experiences influenced your writing in any way?

My personal experiences are everything when it comes to my writing.

Some of my characters have my personal traits. They talk the way I do.

My writing flows more easily if it comes from my own personal perspective. For example, in the short story, “Eyes On”, which was published in Writing Free, the idea of stalking came from the fact that when I am on Facebook, I cannot randomly go on a person's profile and check out what they are doing because, to me, it feels like I am stalking them.

However, it would also appear that one of the wonders of modern technology and social networking sites is they appear to have normalised stalking to such an extent that we are not disturbed when we are followed around. It is probably because of this 'miracle' that the main character in “Eyes On”, isn't alarmed when he realises that he is being followed.

What are the most difficult aspects?

Starting writing anything is always difficult. The first sentence is always important to me. It has to make the right impact. If it doesn't, I can't continue.

I can write three pages but if the first sentence of the story or book isn't quite right, I will delete it all.

I don't start writing until the sentence sounds right in my mind. And while I wait for that, I plot the story in my mind and concentrate on characterization.

The moments I enjoy most come after I have finished the work because while I am writing, I can't quite see the piece as a whole. The great thing about finishing a piece is that I can dive back into it and start editing and tweaking it.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Is every word relevant and important? This is what I keep asking myself. This is because as I write I can see a word repeated over and over again. When I see this happening, I remember the time, in my primary school, when my Grade 4 teacher said, “So, then and got are barred from society.” And there was this picture of a man behind bars and that phrase was written underneath.

I usually overcome repetitions like these by reading my work out aloud. If the writing flows well and each word sounds right, I am happy. If not, I tweak it a little bit.

Also, sometimes, motivating myself to write is really difficult. Some days I look at the computer and I think, “No, not yet..” It's not writer's block because the ideas are there, always buzzing in my mind.

What will you write about next?

Baboons … I am working on a re-write of a children's book that I completed sometime ago. I am doing this because I realised the story would work better if it was about humans. I am not saying the baboons evolve into humans, but that when I first wrote the story, I could see humans in my mind but I forced the story into being one about animals.

This conversation was first published by The Zimbabwean

Related books:

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Related articles:

Petina Gappah [Interview], Conversations with Writers, April 10, 2009
Speech given by Chiedza Musengezi at the launch of Writing Free, Weaver Press, September 19, 2011
Writing Free [Book Review], By Sibusiso Tshuma, Panorama Magazine, October 14, 2011

[Book Launch] Mad, Hopeless & Possible

2011-10-28T13:43:00.000+01:00

On October 27, 2011, the Adult Education College in Leicester was the venue of the launch of Siobhan Logan's latest poetry chapbook, Mad, Hopeless & Possible: Shackleton's Endurance Expedition (original plus, 2011).

The title of the chapbook comes from Sir Ernest Shackleton himself who rated applicants for his legendary 1914 Antarctic Expedition as "Mad, Hopeless & Possible". The chapbook also weaves in the hidden shadow-story of the Ross Sea Party, his supply team, who were marooned in the white wilderness just as war consumed Europe.

Leicestershire author Mark Goodwin says, "Siobhan Logan's Mad, Hopeless & Possible lifts the reader out of their warm armchair to place them among the stubborn men of Shackleton's 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

"This history of polar exploration is at once effectively informative and dramatically powerful: smooth, economic prose offset against haunting poetic soliloquies. It's as if Logan has pulled desperate men's voices out of sub-zero winds."

Related articles:

Siobhan Logan [Interview_3], Conversations with Writers, February 20, 2010
Poetry, Football and the Spirits in the Sky [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, June 4, 2007
The Poetry of Mass Movement [Interview_1], Conversations with Writers, April 11, 2007

[Interview] Octavia McBride-Ahebee

2011-10-26T17:35:00.000+01:00

Octavia McBride-Ahebee lives in Philadelphia in the United States.

Her work has been featured in journals and magazines that include Damazine: A Literary Journal of the Muslim World; Fingernails Across The Chalkboard: Poetry And Prose on HIV/AIDS From the Black Diaspora; Under Our Skin: Literature of Breast Cancer; Sea Breeze: A Journal of Contemporary Liberian Writing; The Journal of the National Medical Association (Art in Medicine Section) and the Beloit Poetry Journal.

Her poetry collections include Assuming Voices (Lit Pot Press, 2003) and Where My Birthmark Dances (Finishing Line Press, 2011).

In this interview, Octavia McBride-Ahebee talks about her concerns as a writer:

How would you describe your latest book, Where My Birthmark Dances?

My newest collection of poetry, Where My Birthmark Dances was published this past summer - 2011 - by Finishing Line Press. In it I present various human relationships within the context of global inequality. Never are my subjects victims. They seek to be victorious despite great odds.

"Where My Birthmark Dances", the lead poem of this collection, exemplifies the tenor and intention of this project. Told through the voice of a Haitian child, whose mother has left him and Haiti to seek a some fortune in North America as a nanny, this poem invites the children the Haitian nanny is now caring for to consider her, to consider where she has come from, what she has left behind and what physical journey has brought her to them. "Where My Birthmark Dances" is the direct appeal of a small boy, a son, to the children now being cared for by his mother; it is an appeal to them to know who she is and to love her in his absence.

… my mother battled waves
as tall as a thousand ice-cream sundaes piled high
to be there with you
to push back the hair from your face
so your eyes - unobstructed - could dream big

wearing a pink dress, patterned with rainbows
smelling of moth balls, she left me
under the guard of a mosquito net
perfumed with insecticide and the salt of her own tears
in the month of May when the ocean felt young and full of itself

from the harbor named peace she boarded a boat
with the madness of the history of Haiti holding her hand
with its Boogie pushing her to you
with her fear eating the ocean’s confidence …

What is your next project?

I am working on a collection of love stories set in Cote d’Ivoire because I was so in love when I lived there and I was surrounded by so many stories of love.

Who influenced you the most as a writer?

A few days after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, the French-Algerian writer Albert Camus wrote a letter of gratitude to his former elementary school teacher-Louis Germain. Camus essentially stated that it was Germain’s recognition of his humanity and the nurturing of his intellect that had left an indelible impression on Camus and paved the way for his literary successes.

I taught for nine years as a fourth grade teacher at the International Community School of Abidjan, in Cote d’Ivoire. As a gesture of thanks and in recognition of my influence on her daughter, at the close of a school year, a parent gave me a copy of Camus’ letter to his beloved Germain. To say I was touched would be an understatement. But, I, too, as a writer, know so intimately the profound influence a teacher can have on his or her student.

I share all of this as an oral libation to Rose Martin and as recognition to those first educators in our lives who ignited those passions that would come to guide our existence. Martin, now deceased, was a teacher at the Overbrook Elementary School, in Philadelphia. Each year she organized the Black Poetry Panorama, in which just about every student, from kindergarten to sixth grade, had to learn and recite several poems for this huge and anticipated event.

Imagine a community of about 400 households filled with African-American children learning poems by Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Nikki Giovanni, Claude McKay, Robert Hayden, James Weldon Jonson, Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen to name a few.

This was more than 40 years ago and even my mother, who now has Alzheimer’s, can still recall and recite Langston Hughes’ poem "The Negro Mother" because of the time she helped me to memorize this very long poem.

I came of age in a school setting and a neighborhood community that saw magic in words knew the power of a poem to inspire and respected the writer as one who could be part of a vanguard.

At this time I was also very much influenced by my father and his passion for learning about the African continent. As a boy, he had spent many summers with his aunt, who lived in Oxford, Pennsylvania, the home of Lincoln University, where many African students attended, like Nigeria’s first president Nnamdi Azikiwe; Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah and Namibia’s SWAPO Chairman Mose Penaani Tjitendero. There was a clear affirmation in my early life that the world was big and I could be a part a vital player in it.

All of this marked my literary awakening as a young student, but not yet as a writer. It was when I entered junior high school and attended a small, very progressive all-girls Catholic school that my political awakening was sudden and intense. My teachers were nuns, who did not wear habits, had spent years in Central and South American countries working with displaced, landless farmers and using the philosophy of liberation theology as their guide. They were radical women who introduced me to the art of Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco and David Siqueiros as well as the writing of Ernesto Cardenal, Carlos Fuentes and Octavio Paz. These sisters with their wide view of the world fused my literary and political passions to make me want to write.

At age 18, in 1981, I visited China as part of the Williams College’s Winter Study Program and then that summer I went to Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, which had just gained its independence . Later I would visit Kenya.

At this point, in addition to my beloved African-American poets and other writers from the Americas, I came to adore Audre Lorde, June Jordan and I was now taken with writers from Africa and its Diaspora. I read Maryse Conde, Eric Williams, V. S. Naipaul, Bernard Dadie, Nadine Gordimer, Bessie Head, Breyten Breytenbach, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Mariam Ba, and Ama Ata Aidoo.

When did you start writing?

I always wrote as a teen, but I consciously assumed the identity of a writer after my trip to China, in 1981, right when the Middle Kingdom was just reopening itself to the world. I was 18, African-American, female, traveling with an almost all-white American group and yet I had never consciously explored my perception of myself as an American.

Being the product of all-girl schools from 7-12 grade, I really had, unlike many African-American girls, a strong sense of allegiance to my female self, which would later be heavily reinforced by my reading This Bridge Called My Back (Kitchen Table Press, 1983), Where and When I Enter (Bantam Books, 1985), and the writing of Bell Hooks and Angela Davis.

But one evening in Shanghai, when I had long grown tired of my traveling companions and I wandered the streets on my own, an old man called out to me saying, “Please stop, you, the American.”

I was transfixed and surprised by my own vulnerability that his identification of me as an American created.

I did stop and asked how did he know I was American.

For the most part, the people of color that one saw then in China were a few African students and Africans affiliated with the diplomatic corps. He - Mr. George Lee - said it was the way I moved, the way I carried by backpack, the way I held my head.

He invited me to his home, a very humble apartment that he shared with his wife, son and daughter-in-law. They served me a feast, probably using most of their rations for the month and they, especially the son, told me of their lost years, of what had happened to them during the Cultural Revolution. The son had been a promising violinist and had his musical education interrupted and was forced to abandon his studies, leave the city and work as farmhand.

There was a violin in the apartment and I asked him to play and he was so ashamed, because he thought his skill level was subpar.

Well, I had played the violin throughout my school years and I showed him what subpar was.

He laughed and he played and that was one of the most memorable evenings of my life and it inspired my first short story, "The American and Mr. Lee".

How would describe the writing you are doing now?

I am fascinated by different cultures and what happens when cultures converge as well as why and how people move throughout the world. My two books of poetry are very much influenced by these interests.

My poetry, for the most part, is narrative vignettes that are dense and emotionally difficult, but they are honest. Just a few lines from, "The Welcome", my narrative poem that conveys the fear, the loss and the desperation of a woman fleeing her homeland exemplifies this point.

The Haitian narrator states:

… I fled home with 42 bodies of hope
in a boat built with none
a boat unfamiliar with the magnitude of sustained desire
spooked by the weighty fears
of those riding in it
and the moon's promise of crazed retribution
if it failed to move to the cruel rhythm of the lunar beat.

We held on with our dread and our vomit
and the death grips they gave
when we thought of home
and heads of lovers
- faces full of lashes and hyssop-stained breath -
without bodies
that rolled
with no wind behind them
down hills that hollered even when the sun was hanging …

In "In Defense of Flowers", I juxtapose the beauty of nature with the brutal nature of human beings. A Liberian woman, a victim of a horrific civil war, flees her fellow countryman and finds protection and sustenance from a flowering bush:

... I run to hide in the voluminous fury of a jasmine shrub in
bloom
its pale butter blossoms shield me
from the bloodletting
bathing its roots
I snort, in silent gulps, which claim my dignity
the calming splendor of the jasmine’s bouquet
I am rescued
for an instance
from a hunter high
on the dizziness of his own deprivation
I am rescued
from my brother
by a perfumed bush.

I am emphatic about the narrative, especially concerning the African continent, not be a singular one; one of only doom and gloom. There are many narratives to be told.

My time spent in Cote d’Ivoire was rich and exhilarating and truly celebratory. My daughter - Sojourner - was 7 when we left Cote d’Ivoire. Fluent then in English, French and making great strides with her Baoule and a student at a school where more than 70 nationalities were represented, Sojourner came to know the world with many hearts. So when we left Cote d'Ivoire due to its civil strife and landed in Philadelphia, my hometown, Sojourner was decidedly unimpressed.

It was not my city that was as disappointing as it was the general value system held in esteem here, in the States. Kids laughed when they discovered she spoke other languages. They, as well as adults, cringed when she shared what foods of the world she loved. On dress down, when students could shed their uniforms for less formal wear, Sojourner insisted on wearing clothing made of material with intricate designs that told stories of its own. These were talking clothes that she had worn in her previous life to a wedding, a baptism, a funeral, a communion or to a relative’s dissertation defense. Her new compatriots, both young and old, were neither impressed by travel nor to listening to the way others move in the world.

Sojourner never doubted her place in world and never allowed others to shame her into smallness. She came home one day from school, not upset, but incredulous, that some classmates had laughed at the natural state of her hair and part of her response to me was, ”Mom, they don’t even have combs with names …”

Thus this poem was born - one of celebration - "Victory Threads":

Victory Threads
For Sojourner

I heard her friends laugh at her
that laugh which is square
that stops at points
never to wonder
only to breathe in
base expulsions of uncurious air

she had proclaimed
in a combined fit
of wistfulness and swaggering insolence
she had had combs in Abidjan
with names
- Akissi, Ahou, Abla, Ama , Adjoua -
who understood the temperament
of each day’s hair story
who could dress your head
while weaving choruses of victory threads in your brain
preparing you to meet the day
haughty and wholly armored.

What are you main concerns as a writer?

My writing is very much informed by the years I lived in various parts of Africa.

My poetry, for the most part, gives voice to women who historically have not been heard: African women, women in refugee camps, women who are victims of civil war, isolated, rural women who battle such health challenges as obstetric fistula and breast cancer as well as immigrant women trying to find their place in their newly adopted countries.

More increasingly, my poetry addresses the environmental devastation created by corporate entities in the name of development.

What advice would you give to other writers?

I will leave you with the generous and simple advice of poet Mary Oliver:

Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

Photo Credit: The Apiary Corp

Related books:

,,

Resources:

Octavia McBride-Ahebee's blog
Where My Birthmark Dances Book Trailer
[Audio Links] Octavia McBride-Ahebee reading "The Sweetness of Pineapples"; "Homesick Spirits" and "The Water God" live at the Kelly Writers House, University of Pennsylvania, January 31, 2005

[Interview] Barbara Magara-Nkosana

2011-10-24T19:09:00.001+01:00

Barbara Magara-Nkosana lives in Leeds in the United Kingdom.

She is the author of the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook (Lion Press, 2011).

In this interview, Barbara Magara-Nkosana talks about why she wrote the cookbook:

How would you describe the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook?

It is all about Zimbabwean cooking.

The book comprises of over 100 recipes of dishes that make Zimbabwe’s fascinating and diverse cuisine. The cookbook invites food lovers to taste the delicacies and flavours of Zimbabwean food.

How many books have you written so far?

This is the first cookbook that I have written, published by Lion Press.

My next book will talk all about contemporary Zimbabwean cooking, fusing the classic favourite Zimbabwean dishes with world cuisines.

I am hoping to invite food lovers to experiment with the fused tastes, hopefully bring Zimbabwean cuisine to the level that it deserves.

Why did you decide to write the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook?

I believe that knowledge is for sharing and that we cannot rely on oral tradition alone to preserve and maintain our culinary tradition.

I frequently got requests to share recipes for various dishes. In response to these requests, I made notes, e- mailed or gave cooking instructions over the telephone. With the advice of a friend, I started to compile recipes for the cookbook.

Was it difficult to write up the recipes?

Yes, definitely.

Generally, when cooking, I tend not to measure quantities of ingredients because I have cooked the dishes for so long, and know what quantities to use from the top of my head. However, to test and write up the recipes for this book, I had to measure and time everything. This process was very time-consuming and challenging.

What did you enjoy about the process?

I enjoyed every step of creating the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook. I met wonderful people who welcomed me into their kitchens and shared their culinary skills.

Lasting friendships and a lot of lessons have been learnt in the process.

Cooking has been part of my life and my passion since childhood. A lot of my culinary skills were passed to me by my parents and extended family. I am very proud of the many fabulous cooks in my family. They have encouraged me to bring pleasure and enjoyment into my cooking.

Why is home cooking so important?

It is a way of bringing families and communities together. Sharing food is at the heart of Zimbabwean social life, be it in festive celebrations or commemorations.

What are your favourite foods?

Freshly picked wholesome horticultural produce which, in Zimbabwe, is seasonal. I also enjoy cooking dishes with sun-dried preserved foods, they add a distinctive flavour to the dish.

Related articles:

Ellah Kandi [Interview], Conversations with Writers, October 15, 2011
St. Lawrence students share recipes, raise funds for Somalia, By Gabrielle Hovendon, Watertown Daily Times, October 21, 2011
Emeril Lagasse cooks up an empire from scratch, By Linda Childers, CNN Money, October 24, 2011

[Interview] P. J. Hawkinson

2011-10-23T15:00:00.000+01:00

P. J. Hawkinson lives in Kansas in the United States.

She is the author of Half Bitten (Trafford Publishing, 2010).

Working with Karen Wodke and writing as Wodke Hawkinson, P. J Hawkinson is also the co-author of books that include Catch Her in the Rye: Selected Short Stories Vol. I (CreateSpace, 2011) and Blue: Selected Short Stories Vol. II (Smashwords, 2011).

In this interview, P. J. Hawkinson talks about her concerns as a writer:

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

Karen describes our writing as "a fictional smorgasbord." I agree with her and would like to add that readers can sample our variety of genres in both Catch Her in the Rye and Blue.

Who is your target audience?

Betrayed will be for mature audiences while our short story books and Tangerine would make good reading for readers from young adult to senior readers.

The audience we write for is the one we ourselves fit into. However, in the near future, we plan to write some short stories for older children and possibly even put out a most unusual novel.

In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most?

I like to think that the influence comes from within; from personal experiences and observations. Then, of course, Karen and I take these and twist them beyond recognition. But, after reading too many authors to record here, I will admit that many ways of writing twine together to become my way.

No matter what a person reads, experiences, or sees, something stays behind to become a part of you. It may not be something you would ever believe, but everything we do and say was learned from someone or something.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

Actual events from my own life rarely enter my writing.

I did, however, take a house that Karen, I, and another friend of ours had the opportunity to explore as teenagers and slip it into Half-Bitten. It went through quite a metamorphosis but it began from my memory.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

We are working hard to build an audience, a following, but even if it never comes, I can’t imagine not writing.

Do you write everyday?

Rarely does a day go by that I don’t write something. When not actually writing, I am observing. I have a recorder that I make notes on so as not to forget ideas that might formulate themselves into a masterpiece.

My sessions can begin at any time and any place. I work on a laptop, usually at the dining room table, where I can gaze out the patio doors and watch the birds at my hand-painted bird houses, the rabbits frolicking in the yard or being chased by the big yellow cat from next door, and even an occasional hummingbird.

How the session proceeds really depends on what project needs attention. It never ends; things simply get put on hold until I can step back into the time and place I left earlier.

How many books have you written so far?

In Half Bitten (Trafford Publishing, 2010), teenager Trudy Purdy, a self-described 'plain Jane', is attacked by the boy she considers her boyfriend and three of his buddies. They leave her for dead on a deserted beach where she is found by a roving band of vampires. Trudy begins to feel a new power growing within and decides to use this power to exact revenge on Tray and his friends. She wields her newfound strength, gained by drinking the blood of others, to plot the 'accidental' deaths of the boys who had brutalized her. As she systematically destroys her attackers, she realizes she is changing and seeks answers to the unsettling questions surrounding her new powers and how it will transformation the rest of her life.

And, writing as Wodke Hawkinson, I co-authored Catch Her in the Rye, Selected Short Stories Vol. I (CreateSpace, 2011) and Blue: Selected Short Stories Vol. II (Smashwords, 2011).

When did you start writing?

I never really wrote anything, other than helping Karen with silly stories while in high-school, until I wrote Half Bitten in 2010.

After reading the True Blood and Twilight series, I had the idea to write a different type of vampire book and found writing easier than I would have imagined.

I contacted Trafford Publishing and they published Half Bitten for me.

What advantages or disadvantages did your choice of publishers present?

I received 40 soft covers and 40 hard covers along with a number of bookmarks, business cards, and postcards. I was provided no list as to who to send the postcards to and found the prices of their promotion packages to be beyond my means.

After beginning to write with Karen we tried to get traditional publishers but met rejection after rejection, usually due to the fact that we had no agent.

Karen discovered self-publishing options that met our needs and we went live with Catch Her in the Rye a few months ago.

Promotion remains a problem, but Karen is the perfect co-author and plugs our book in as many places as possible and as often as possible. Working full time, I can’t contribute as much time as I’d wish, but I try to do my share.

We decided to initially publish with CreateSpace and first released Catch Her in the Rye as both a soft cover and a Kindle version. Karen next discovered SmashWords which will format e-books for many e-readers and we released Blue on SmashWords and then also on CreateSpace for the soft cover version.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Amazon Signs Up Authors, Writing Publishers Out of Deal, By David Streitfeld, New York Times, October 16, 2011
How self-publishing came of age, By Alison Flood, The Guardian, June 24, 2011
Reading, Writing and Self-publishing, Conversations with Writers, April 13, 2007

[Short Story] Ophelia

2011-10-22T11:35:00.000+01:00

By Ambrose Musiyiwa*

I am my Beloved’s but my Beloved is not mine.

We were sitting on the edge of the road when she asked me: “What do you think about my Beloved?”

I didn’t want to think about her Beloved.

“Well?” she probed — big, bright, brown eyes looking up at me as if I were a genii about to grant a wish.

“Well, what?” I asked, looking away.

“Well, what do you think about my Beloved?” she insisted.

“You might not want to hear what I have to say,” I said.

“I want to hear it,” she insisted.

“I don’t think I am the right person to ask,” I said. “I can’t be objective.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I want to here what you have to say.”

“You want the truth?” I asked.

She nodded.

“I don’t like Simba,” I said. “I think he is childish and mean and I think he is using you.”

My Beloved’s face darkened the way earth darkens when rain clouds gather around over it and a glint appeared in her big, bright, brown eyes.

“How can you say that about him?” she asked.

“You asked for the truth and I gave it to you,” I said.

My Beloved loved Simba. I could see it when the two of them were together. She had a special look she reserved for him. She looked at him the way a child looks at a favourite, loved, trusted uncle. She looked at him the way she looked at me when she asked: “What do you think of my Beloved?”

She got up and went indoors and I got up and went home and read William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience.

The hollowness remained.

I put Blake back in his place on the bookshelf.

Ophelia had a hold on me and nothing Blake could say could loosen the grip. I hungered for her with a hunger that fed upon itself. Nothing I could do, nothing Ophelia could do could dispel the hunger. And when we argued and fought, the hunger grew until it became an ulcer eating away at my insides.

I read the Song of Songs and the hunger became a wound which bled.

And for the next seven days Ophelia would not speak to me.

What had I been trying to prove?

For all I knew, Simba might love Ophelia as much as she loved him, as much as I loved her. I really had no right to say anything about him. And what Ophelia did with her body was her own business, not mine.

And I missed her. Even though I saw her everyday, I missed her.

She would not speak to me.

I filled my days with things to do and waited for her to call. A week passed and she did not call.

I went to her.

We took the beer I had brought with me, as a peace-offering, into the living room and Ophelia took two mugs from the kitchen and we sat on the cold, polished floor of the living room and leaned against the wall of the unfurnished room and the hunger was like a presence crowding in on us. And Ophelia felt she had to speak to shake off the presence and she said: “I am pregnant.”

I had a feeling all this had happened before.

Last year Ophelia had gone to Goromonzi where Simba was teaching. She had stayed with him for a week. A month later she found she was pregnant and did not want to have the baby.

Rudo. We had agreed to call the baby Rudo.

I had tried to dissuade her from aborting.

“But Simba no longer wants to see me,” she had said.

“He will come back to you,” I had said. “He always comes back. And even if he doesn’t, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“The baby will need a father,” she had said.

“I am here,” I had said.

But her mind was made up. She wanted an abortion.

Simba and Ophelia raised the money and I found the doctor who was willing to perform the abortion.

It had been for the best.

I suppose.

If she had agreed to my madcap idea, what were we going to give the baby? What was she going to wear? What was she going to eat? When she got ill, where were we going to get the money to send her to a doctor? I wasn’t working. Ophelia wasn’t working. Our chances of getting jobs were slim. And my parents had all but disowned me. If her parents had found out that she was pregnant, they would have chased her away from home.

“How long have you known?” I asked.

“A week.”

“Whose is it?”

“It’s Simba’s. Who else’s can it be?”

She drank the last dregs of beer that were in her mug and refilled it.

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Does Simba know?”

“Yes. I told him yesterday,” she said.

“How did he take it?”

“He wanted me to have another abortion. I told him I am keeping this one.”

It was past midnight. The station Ophelia’s portable radio was tuned to had closed and we hadn’t noticed.

We finished the remaining beer in silence and I got up to leave and she took me as far as the gate and we stopped and she asked: “Does he love me?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know.”

Ophelia and Simba are now living together.

They have been living together for the past three years.

She hasn’t written.

Or maybe she has written and the letter is still in the post.

*Ambrose Musiyiwa has worked as a freelance journalist and a teacher. His short stories have been featured in anthologies that include Writing Now (Weaver Press, 2005) and Writing Free (Weaver Press, 2011). Currently he is working on another story.

Related books:

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Related articles:

Writing Now - More Stories From Zimbabwe, Edited by Irene Staunton [Book Review], By Gordon Hauptfleisch, Desicritics.org, February 12, 2007
"The Bracelet" [Short Story], By Ambrose Musiyiwa, Conversations with Writers, February 17, 2010
Speech given by Chiedza Musengezi at the launch of Writing Free, Weaver Press, September 19, 2011

[Interview] Barbara Mhangami-Ruwende

2011-10-21T21:36:00.001+01:00

Barbara Mhangami-Ruwende was born in Zimbabwe. She worked in Germany for a number of years before moving to Scotland where she was a student at the University of Glasgow. Currently, she lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

One of her short stories has been featured in Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe (amaBooks, 2011).

In this interview, Barbara Mhangami-Ruwende talks about her concerns as a writer:

Do you write every day?

No. I do not write every day. That is in part due to time constraints but also because I spend a lot of time reading or creating stories in my head so that when I do sit down to write, I write as opposed to thinking.

I am putting together a short story collection and working on a novel.

I create stories while I am chopping vegetables or folding laundry. Then when I have half an hour to sit at my computer, it is to put down something. The writing usually ends because I have something to attend to, like the pot of burning stew!

Often times I have a notebook close by to jot ideas down as I go about my daily activities, including grocery shopping.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

So far the biggest challenge I face is juggling family life and finding the time to write. My daughters are 10, 8 and 5 (twins) and they require a lot of energy and attention, which leaves very little time for much else.

I have learnt to be extremely efficient in my use of the little time that I do have.

When did you start writing?

I started writing and enjoying it when I was in Grade 7. I was about 12 years old.

Over the years I have written creatively and, also, as a scientist. Currently, I write literary fiction. Short stories mainly.

When I started writing seriously last year, I was doing it mainly for my friends who I went to school with and those who knew me growing up. Over the years many of them have suggested that I write and so I started a blog purely to share stories with friends and family. My friend, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, who I have known for 10 years, read some of my pieces and hooked me up with a couple of editors of literary journals and the journey began.

My most significant achievement as a writer has been to turn a personal passion into something to be shared as a way to entertain and perhaps to enrich others. This, above all else, gives me the greatest satisfaction.

My only hope is that whoever gets to read my stories enjoys them as much as I enjoy writing them. My hope is also that my stories appeal to those who are familiar with the environment and the experiences that inspire the stories as well as to those who enjoy a good, well-written story no matter what the story's context or background.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

My personal experiences have an impact on my writing in many ways. I recognize that my prose style borrows heavily on the oral, story-telling tradition that was very much a part of my childhood. My experiences living in the village provide a rich context for many of my stories.

My extensive travels and living in different countries has shaped many of my views and beliefs and this comes through in some of the characters I create, as does personal loss and challenges that I have had to face.

Being a wife and a mother also feed my writing tremendously.

Which authors influenced you most?

I draw inspiration from many writers from different backgrounds and eras. The ones that come to mind, because I read them over and over again, are: George Orwell, for his crisp uncluttered style; Milan Kundera, for his audacious and oftentimes crazy characters; Toni Morrison, for her uncanny ability to revisit the same subject matter and present it in unique ways through compelling characters and use of language; Chinua Achebe, for telling a story that would have an indelible impact on my young psyche as an African teenager in a predominantly white school; Tsitsi Dangarembga, for weaving an amazing tapestry in which I could locate myself as a Zimbabwean woman, in her book, Nervous Conditions.

There are so many more writers who have influenced my work and my desire to write and share my stories: Chris Mlalazi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Charles Mungoshi, John Eppel, Amos Tutuola, Wole Soyinka, Ama Ata Aidoo, Yvonne Vera and so on and so forth.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My one major concern is the fact that there seems to be an expectation that as a writer who is Zimbabwean and therefore African, I cannot create art for art’s or write for writing’s sake. There seems to be this expectation that as a writer I have the responsibility of being a good ambassador for country and for continent.

What concerns me is the definition of good ambassador. Who is articulating it and the parameters that are used to define the 'good ambassador'? I live in angst over the fact that I may be accused of pandering to the west by presenting an Africa that fuels their hunger for sad stories of war, boy soldiers, famine, poverty and corruption. It seems that this is quite an issue based on the criticisms that have been leveled against contemporary writers whose work I identify with.

I think, for me, the best way to deal with this issue is to simply write what I like and to tell stories that help me make sense of my own world. Anything less than this, writing ceases to be the joyful passion through which I can be fully myself.

I also accept that inherent in the decision to get published is the risk of uncomfortable scrutiny and criticism. Not everyone will like what I write ... that is totally fine.

Related books:

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Related articles:

Murenga Joseph Chikowero [Interview], Conversations with Writers, October 12, 2011
This September Sun [Book Review], By Barbara Mhangami-Ruwende, amaBooks blog, July 3, 2011
Mechanical transport and transmission of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts by wild filth flies, By T K Graczyk, R Fayer, R Knight, B Mhangami-Ruwende, J M Trout, A J Da Silva, and N J Pieniazek, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, September 2000, Vol. 63 No. 3, p. 178-183

[Interview] Debra Duneier

2011-10-19T16:36:00.000+01:00

Debra Duneier is an accredited LEED® Green Associate, a certified Eco-Designer and a Feng Shui master practitioner.

She is also creator of EcoChi® and author of EcoChi: Designing The Human Experience (New Voices Press, 2011).

In this interview, Debra Duneier talks about her concerns as a writer:

Do you write every day?

I write five or six days a week.

I have three blogs. I have two columns that I write weekly. I am a guest writer for a variety of websites and, of course, there is always ... the next book.

My favorite place to write is in my outdoor office on the North Fork of Long Island. Surrounded by organic farms, vineyards and the Long Island sound with my feet firmly planted in nature, my creative juices flow! This is where my first book, EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience was written.

What would you say led you to create the EcoChi design system?

It is exhilarating and not really surprising that all the hard work and the years of accumulating knowledge in a variety of disciplines led me to the creation of the new design system I call EcoChi®.

EcoChi is built on a solid foundation of three basic, tried and true ingredients: classical feng shui, green and sustainable living, and environmental psychology.

As I studied and undertook new projects, my findings exhilarated me. I could clearly see how environmental psychology could be integrated with feng shui and green and sustainable practices to enhance and deepen the human experience in our indoor spaces and in our world. This is how EcoChi was born.

What made you decide to write EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience?

I knew the EcoChi system of design would make positive changes in peoples’ lives, projects and businesses but I had no idea how powerful and transformative EcoChi would be - not until my clients called me and shared their stories. Once the mind-blowing potential of EcoChi revealed itself to me, I decided that I wanted to reach as many people as possible and the best way to do that was to write a book. Since this is my first book I hired an editor and I was on my way ...

The book was published by New Voices Press and has been available for purchase since September 17, 2011. The book creates awareness that life is lived the way it is designed and offers readers the tools to create indoor spaces that support their goals both personally and professionally and at the same time propagate environmental integrity.

How long did it take you to write the book?

It took me two years to complete EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience although I feel it is the culmination of my life experiences that has brought me to this place and time.

I have been asked many times, “What kind of book did you write and who is your audience?”

I should have my elevator speech down by now but I don’t. I will affectionately say that the book is a little 'schizophrenic.' It talks about my journey leading up to the creation of EcoChi, basics about the core disciplines that make up the system and, mostly, it is about the transforming experiences of my clients.

As people shared their stories with me I knew I had to write about their revelations.

The target audience for EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience is anyone interested in the design of indoor spaces and how it influences the inhabitants of those spaces. It is also inspirational, educational, and has easy to implement tips so I guess it can be considered a self-help book as well.

How did you choose a publisher for the book?

New Voices Press is a small publisher in New York. I selected a small publisher because I was told by other authors that a large publisher would add another two years to the process. This is the moment in time when people are ready for the concept covered in my book. I knew that the world would be receptive to EcoChi today. That created an urgency to find the fastest route to market.

The biggest challenge with a small publisher is that they offer little or no publicity - so it is up to me to get the word out about the book.

I hired a PR company for publicity and a marketing and business development professional to help me get the word out about the book.

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into the book?

Sitting down to write the first chapter of my book was the most difficult moment of the process. This was because I had a preconceived idea about what the book should be, but the words flowing onto the page did not resemble my outline. The only way out of this difficult time was to keep writing and to allow the book to take on a life of its own - and it did.

I see myself as a story teller - so, the moments that I enjoyed writing most were when I told the tales of the people who experienced EcoChi first hand. Describing their faces, challenges, goals and outcomes, for me, was like creating a sculpture and having the opportunity to share it.

What sets EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience apart from other things you've written?

Most of the articles and columns that I write are focused on subject matter, tips and products.

EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience is a book is about people. It is micro because it is about specific people and their lives and about particular projects and interior spaces. It is macro because we can see ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and our neighbors through the lives of others. It speaks to residences, offices and public spaces and the planet as well.

The ribbon that runs through all of my writing to date is helping others to have a better life and, as a result, a better world.

EcoChi: Designing the Human Experience is my most significant achievement as a writer to date. As people read the book, I am told, even the most unlikely candidates are moved to action. The fact that my book has already been a positive influence in people’s personal and work lives is something I am very proud of. I am humbled by the power of EcoChi.

What will your next book be about?

My next book will be EcoChi: Recipes for a Better Life. These recipes will include step by step EcoChi instructions for interior design, creativity, work life, celebrations, loss, wellness, life crisis and turning points.

When did you start writing?

At age nine, I wrote my first poem, which I called “A Room with Four Walls.” At that age writing was a personal outlet for me. I had a difficult childhood and there was no one to talk to. A blank page was the safest place for me to express my fears and pain - it couldn’t lash out at me. I was out of harm’s way when I was in school and also the public library. Books became my first love. The novels that I read acted like a magic carpet ride creating possibilities of a better life ahead, in my mind and in my soul.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

The biggest challenge that I face as a writer is insecurity.

This is my first book and as I said earlier, I hired an editor to guide me through the process. At first, I took whatever she said as truth - after all she was so much more experienced than me. Things like, "This belongs in your autobiography not this book", or, "Save this for your novel!"

I called my son Jamie in LA who is a writer for NBC’s Parenthood and explained to him my creative process. When I sat down to write, the words were flowing through me like a natural spring. There were stories to tell and they were at my fingertips. But I was concerned because the professional advice I was getting was that EcoChi was not the book where I should tell those stories.

Jamie listened patiently and then said, "Mom, remember to stay honest and true to your own voice."

Even today those words help to navigate me through the most challenging days of writing.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Choosing an interior designer, By Françoise Murat, Country Life, October 18, 2011
How EcoChi Found Me, By Debra Duneier, The Alternative Consumer, October 14, 2011
Michael Acton [Interview], Conversations with Writers, April 12, 2010

[Interview] Ellah Kandi

2011-10-15T18:14:00.001+01:00

Zimbabwean writer, Ellah Kandi is a chef, a wedding and events planner, and a basic worship sign language and performing arts teacher.

She is also secretary and choir coordinator of the Emmanu’-El Apostolic Gospel Academy aka De Montfort University Gospel Choir which is based in Leicester in the United Kingdom.

She is the author of El-Ellah Multi-Cultural Cuisines: Heavenly Recipes (Xlibris, 2011) and is currently working on a children’s book.

In this interview, Ellah Kandi talks about her concerns as a writer:

When did you start writing?

I started writing and producing short reports when l was still in high school in Zimbabwe. I remember using exercise books and arranging my work to make it look like a magazine and saying, “One day l will publish a church magazine or a book”.

When l moved to Leicester, there was a project called “As Is” that encouraged us to write. I remember a Mr Higgins asking me to translate Shona writings into English and to write what l did during the day.

Little did I know that Mr Higgins was re-structuring what I was writing and turning it into poems. It never crossed my mind that any of what I was writing would ever be published.

It was only after the project was finished that someone gave me copies of the small published book. I was amazed at seeing my work in the book and l remember saying to myself that if l had known the work was going to be published, l would have used a different approach.

How would you describe the writing you are now doing?

So far, I have compiled a cookbook and I am now working on a children’s biblical story book.

For the cookbook, my target audience doesn’t have any boundaries. The book is for all people, from all walks of life. It has recipes on meals from the four corners of the globe hence the title, Multi-Cultural Cuisine.

When I compiled the cookbook, I wanted to provide a book that gave my audience the opportunity to experience cooking from around the world and I wanted them to also enjoy food that is prepared in a circumspect manner.

The target audience for children's story book are children, schools, Sunday schools and various Christian communities. I was motivated to write this book because I believe there is a lack of books for children that contain messages that can have a life-long, real and positive impact on their lives. This story book is based on biblical events. It also explores some events in the Bible that have never been written with a young audience in mind.

In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most?

The Bible is my greatest influence. My experience of reading and enjoying the Bible fuels my desire for the children to have the same, if not more, enjoyment as I do. I thought the best way to achieve this would be to include illustrations in the story book. The illustrations will benefit English-speaking children as well as children of different nationalities and languages.

How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

I remember, a number of years back, we were praying and eating particular dishes and many heavenly recipes which God had revealed to me. I wanted to share many of them. l would jot them down when l received them.

I mentioned to a number of people that l was going to publish a recipe book someday and one particular brother would always ask when l was going to get the recipes published because he wanted a copy. Although he never stopped asking, it was only at the age of 29 that l decided to get the recipe book published as my birthday gift to myself.

El-Ellah Multi-Cultural Cuisines: Heavenly Recipes is based on my own cooking experience. It also contains testimony on how I was influenced by the bishop of my church who is an expert chef.

I teach children in the Gospel Academy where I am co-ordinator. This experience led me to decide to write a book for children because I noticed that with children’s biblical story books, some of the stories are not always told as accurately as they occur in the Bible. My book intends to address this and bridge this gap.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main concerns are accuracy and that my readers will enjoy and be impacted by what I write.

One of my biggest challenges is time and being able, on a daily basis, to coordinate the many projects I am involved with and meeting various deadlines. I deal with these challenges by delegating some of my workload to my colleagues and peers who possess the relevant skills.

Do you write everyday?

Although I do not write everyday, I write most of the days of the week. Having a busy life means it is complex but when you get going you forget you are tired.

I start by writing new pieces and then l proof read and l always end with illustrations.

So far, I have written two books, El-Ellah Multi-Cultural Cuisines: Heavenly Recipes (Xlibris Publishing, 2011) and the children’s Bible storybook, which is still in production and should be published this month (October) by Xlibris Publishers.

I believe that El-Ellah Multi-Cultural Cuisines covers important cooking topics and themes. It includes recipes for appetizers, soups, fish and seafood, meat, rice and pastas, vegetables and salads, pies, puddings, and so much more.

Pastor Samuel Gapara, who is the Pentecostal and International Chaplin for the De Montfort University, assisted me in looking for publishers and Xlibris was one of the publishers we found.

Finding a publisher was a bit tough. I settled for Xlibris because it was one of the two publishing companies whose consultancies I had a chance to speak to.

I have had a very difficult time with the publishers. As a first timer, l would have appreciated more assistance from Xlibris, which l really expected to get.

l did not receive the assistance I expected and I was not pleased. I thought about give up many times when the publisher was not helping but God was and is on my side so l got through it. When advertising their services, Xlibris sounded so different. They made me believe l would receive the help l need but that help was not forthcoming.

At the moment I am looking for a different publisher for any of my future works.

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into your books?

At times, I’ve found it difficult to add that perfecting touch to my illustrations using modern gadgets. Being new to the gadget world, it was a completely different experience compared to drawing with a traditional pencil.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Not using precise measurements in the recipes. A different method of cooking to what we are accustomed to.

What sets the books you have written apart from each other?

Having to draw the illustrations has been a new experience and this, I believe, sets the children's book apart from the cooking book.

The children's book is very different from my first book and I am enjoying the challenge. The writing is different. The cooking book was a more technical book and involved detailing ingredients and cooking techniques whilst the children’s book calls for innovation, creativity and simplicity.

There are similarities between the two books in that both books are written based on biblical principles and are driven by moral and ethical values.

What will your next book be about?

Recipe/Cookery Book no.2

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Being able to reach nations, touching lives. For example, someone in Ghana said that my being a woman has encouraged a number of school students who were ready to give up on a hospitality course because of lack of resources. The person said that hearing my pre-testimony in the cookbook encouraged the students to stay on the course.

One organisation in Ghana has said that when they open their catering department they would like me to honour them by naming it. This has definitely been a significant achievement, being a role model to people l have never met.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

25 Best-Selling Cookbooks of All Time, By Naa Ako Adjei, The Daily Meal, September 27, 2011
Cookbooks vs the internet?, By Jon Watson, Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 30, 2011
Don't Worry About the Future of the Cookbook, By Jonathan Kauffman, SF Weekly, October 14, 2011

[Interview_4] Alice Lenkiewicz

2011-10-13T01:47:00.002+01:00

Alice Lenkiewicz is an artist and a writer. She lives in Liverpool in the United Kingdom.

Her books include the novella, Maxine (bluechrome Publishing, 2005) and the collection of poems, Men Hate Blondes (original plus, 2009).

She also publishes and edits Neon Highway, a poetry magazine that supports emerging and established poets.

In this interview, Alice Lenkiewicz talks about her concerns as a writer:

Do you write everyday?

I go through phases of writing and then not writing.

At the moment I am trying to write a little each day. I like to research.

My session usually begins with brainstorming, so I jot ideas down quite quickly. I have an idea about what I would like to write and then I set about deciding which technique I will use. What kind of format will suit the work I am writing? This usually develops after working with free verse for a while and then once I get the feel of what I am going to do I decide how structured I am going to be. It could develop in many ways.

I have just started writing a book of poems about my father and my memories of him, combining personal memories of my own and that of others. so it is kind of a memoir and poems combined.

At present there are just fleeting thoughts. You are welcome to look at my blog.

As I start to write, after a while I will begin to research certain poetry techniques and look at ways of editing my work to make it more significant. I usually continue on until I feel the piece is finished. I usually don’t plan how I will end until I have a lot more work. It’s quite a long process and takes me a while before I am satisfied with the final result.

How many books have you written so far?

I’ve had poems published in magazines and two books published.

My first book, Maxine, is a postmodern novella about a woman who slips in and out of the present and the past. Her encounters with artists and poets helps her to assess her own life and her failing marriage. The book is illustrated by myself.

My first collection of poems, Men Hate Blondes was published recently by Sam Smith from Original Plus. The book is a collection of prose and poems that revolve around memories and influences from my past.

I’ve written and illustrated a book of short fairytales, Shadows and Furore which I am now in the process of editing. I will be seeking a publisher for these stories.

I have also written and illustrated a children’s story called The Moon Angel.

I am currently developing and writing a series of poems based on a short story, "Journey of the Bride", a story exhibition that I will be exhibiting in September here in Liverpool. I will also be organising a poetry reading for the event. You can find the ongoing poems on the blog above and the images on YouTube.

I have written two complete plays: St Catherine, a play about the life of St Catherine of Alexandria and, Wrappers, a play about a middleclass couple who end up losing all their money and then are living on a council estate.

How long did it take you to write Men Hate Blondes?

It took me about a year to write Men Hate Blondes and another two years to finally get round to publishing.

The book was published in 2009 by Sam Smith from Original Plus.

Why I chose Sam Smith was based around what I had explored in terms of publishers of poetry. I had a list of publishers that I had written to in the past and who said they would look at my work at some point and this was what happened with Sam. I finally sent him my work and he said he liked it and would publish it.

It’s not easy to choose a publisher for poetry. I would possibly have looked further afield but I think if you have someone who is bothered to take time to read and discuss your entire collection then that should never be undermined. It is not easy to turn this kind of offer down especially if you are not paying a penny.

The disadvantages are that many small presses are not doing well on the financial front and mass distribution is not on the cards, more likely books are printed when ordered to avoid publishers being lumbered with a large bill due to lack of large sales. For instance, my first novella, Maxine, is now out of print due to financial problems of the publisher. This can be very time consuming and also it is not what you need but you have to accept that these things happen.

Another disadvantage is that you sometimes don’t get a commission on each book you sell. The publisher sells directly from them and gets the buying price from the customer. So, basically to get any profit off it yourself you would need to buy your books at a discount price from the publisher and then sell them as signed copies to customers for the standard price in order to receive your commission. I just have no time to do this although you do have to remember that there is very little money involved with poetry publishing anyway.

The advantages are that you are working with familiar territory, one poet to another poet/publisher and also someone you may have heard read in the past and someone who has read your work and knows of you, someone who you trust. This helps with communication and makes the ride a lot less stressful.

Another advantage is that when you read the contract you may want to consider how easily you can pull out. If this is a simple process that also takes a big burden away.

Just remember, if you are not paying any money then you are not being ripped off. Don’t ever mistake small press publishing for vanity publishing. It is not the same thing in any way at all and you should never pay to have your work published. If they want you to pay to be published then they basically don’t appreciate your work.

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into Men Hate Blondes?

You have to take care and make sure you edit well although some poets see editing as destroying their work. It is all what you are trying to achieve. You have to remember that once it is in print, it is difficult to go back and correct those mistakes, so, a lot of thought and consideration should go into your final piece.

The main thing, I feel, is to find the incentive to let go of your work and seek a publisher. I personally can’t see the point in keeping your poetry hidden away but some do disagree.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Sound and imagery are very important for me in my work as well as overall composition, so, I spent much time working on my sound combinations in certain poems. If I was to perform these how would they sound?

I read my poems out loud to get an idea on how they come across and if this is not the way I want it then it has to change. Sometimes a poem will be more visual so it is important that it looks right on the page. It is such fun to combine a variety of sounds together.

Here is an example of a sound poem from Men Hate Blondes. This is a poem that is designed to be read out loud. It is called "Blacestonia" and is a chant where I play and experiment as well as create my own language..

Blacestonia

A Chant For the Abused Woman
(Text in bold to be read by two people at the same time)

Glances reserved sequined wings span centuries
Orion’s tilted belt
Soft grey light Infirm of purpose
Swift lute

Demalian interdem
Kalera demeto kachina ingletterra
Glamus Autocumulus

Mask of cloud and chaser
Droplets descending
Oration gathered to city levellers
Spiritualised desire acts

Demalian interdem
Kalera demeto kachina ingletterra
Glamus Autocumulus
An earth ressurrection

Does it come from the centre
State of shock

Shooting live subjects in pictures
They intersect in chaos
Lest our old robes turned wild
To those who appear the born

Demalian interdem
Kalera demeto kachina ingletterra
Glamus Autocumulus
Children of darkness

She weeps, she bleeds and each new day
A gash is added to her wounds
For this wild rage and furious cruelty

Demalian interdem
Kalera demeto kachina ingletterra
Glamus Autocumulus
You lack the season of all natures sleep

Plercution whatever the subject
Tidal sister
An indecisive flutter
When moon began to flow
I dream half a dream
Ragling nightling cloudling

Demalian interdem
Kalera demeto kachina ingletterra
Glamus Autocumulus
Saveel blacestonia

Absorbing shapes of rain and shine
Between here and the blue folder

Sometimes I like to write very simple poems based around incidents that have hidden meanings as in this poem about a vampire.

maybe it’s true

a child wanted to know
why it kept him away so
we tied some together
hung it over the door…
but nothing happened.

i saw nothing but she did
she said it was him so i clutched
her to me tightly and we both
stared out the window
at the invisible bat.

What sets Men Hate Blondes apart from other things you've written?

It is a visionary and diverse collection of works that I feel probably sums up my best writing to date, not discounting St Catherine, which I enjoyed writing.

Men Hate Blondes is a poetry collection while Maxine is a novella and a story with a plot. I am pleased with Maxine as it was my final MA Creative Writing thesis that I managed to get published as a book in its own right. I put two years of hard work into that book, much study and learning. If I could edit it again, I would probably make a few more changes but overall I am proud of that book.

The only similarities between the two books are that each book contains my illustrations and artwork.

This next book is quite straight forward and could possibly develop into a children’s book.

I am writing a short book of poems, ‘Journey of the Bride’ based on a woman who runs away on her wedding day, travels abroad and has an adventure. She bumps into a fairy prince who takes her to his kingdom of peace and beauty. She eventually returns home and reunites with her jilted bridegroom and they do get married only she wakes up to discover it was all just a dream. The story developed from a series of twenty drawings. The drawings have now been accepted to be exhibited in Liverpool in September so I am now thinking of writing poems to go with the drawings and organising a poetry reading about journeys for the private view.

After that I will work on the poems about my father that I feel I need to complete.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

At the end of the day I am happy about Neon Highway and offering poets a chance for publication.

I am happy that I have had my work published, that I curate events and that I have produced my first full poetry collection. This was always an ambition of mine and it has now been achieved. I just keep going.

The mystery of it all keeps me inspired.

This article is based on an email interview with Alice Lenkiewicz which took place in January 2010

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Alice Lenkiewicz [Interview_3], Conversations with Writers, August 25, 2011
Costa Café, Bold St (14th and 24th July 2008) [Poetry Readings], Reviewed by William Park, Catalyst Reviews, August 19, 2008
Maxine by Alice Lenkiewicz [Book Review], By Ian Jackson, artinliverpool.com, October 23, 2005

[Interview] Murenga Joseph Chikowero

2011-10-12T04:14:00.003+01:00

Zimbabwean writer, Murenga Joseph Chikowero is a doctoral student in African Literature and Film at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In 2010, he collaborated with Annie Holmes and Peter Orner on an oral history project which gave birth to the highly-regarded book, Hope Deferred (McSweeney’s Publishing, 2010).

His short stories have featured in the anthology, Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe (amaBooks, 2011) as well as on the PanAfrican writers’ blog, StoryTime.

In this interview, Murenga Chikowero talks about his concerns as a writer:

When did you start writing?

Back in primary school, probably in 6th grade.

That year, I moved to a different part of the country, near Guruve in the north, and there a friend told me a story, one of those fantastic tales. When I went back to my old school a year later, our teacher asked everyone to write a story, any fictional story. I wrote down this story about a mythical, one-eyed giant but ... when our books were returned ... mine wasn’t there! Our teacher had misplaced it. When she eventually found it, she asked everybody to stop whatever they were doing to listen to my story.

That, for me, was when writing stories down began although storytelling itself was nothing new in my family and, indeed, other families in the villages.

How would you describe your writing?

I write mainly short stories though I have a novel on the way.

I am fascinated by the 1980s, the time when so many people felt they could dream ... independence was finally here and, for that reason, young men walked with a pronounced swagger, shirts unbuttoned down to the navel and hats worn at fancy angles. Young women wore their over-ironed pleated costumes, stretched out their graceful necks and went about their business. My writing traces the radical and more subtle changes from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe and what ‘Zimbabwe’ meant to different generations and groups. The clamor of the post-2000 politics masks the amazing beauty – and. yes, largely untold trauma – of the 80s and I try to recapture that in my fiction.

Outside fictional writing, I recently collaborated with two writers, Annie Holmes and Peter Orner on an oral history project that gave birth to a book called Hope Deferred. That project basically attempts to bring voices of ordinary Zimbabweans – at home and abroad – to bear on the narrative of Zimbabwean crisis of the last decade. I traveled to Zimbabwe and interviewed some of these witnesses and victims of torture and political persecution.

Hope Deferred is a collection of some of the most remarkable personal stories of ordinary people’s experiences of state-sponsored terrorism, their struggles for a better society and, ultimately, the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

My short fiction generally targets a mature audience but my novel-in-progress courts younger Zimbabweans although all English speakers will find something to enjoy there too. A lot of our young people today have no clue what the 80s and 90s meant – or promised – to those who lived through them. The beauty and ugliness of that period is unlike anything we have seen since.

In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most?

Because my school didn’t have a library, I read whatever I found.

The adolescent detective genre was quite an obsession early on, especially the American variety: the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. Nothing was better than lying on my back before the yellow light of a paraffin lamp after supper and join Frank and Joe Hardy and their friends – and sometimes their father Fenton – as they put together the puzzle pieces of some big crime in their town.

Then, after reading No Longer at Ease, I considered myself a firm disciple of Chinua Achebe. No book made me happier even with its subtle, controlled prose. Achebe’s fiction, though written in English, read like my native Shona and I liked that instant recognition.

I bumped onto a battered copy of House of Hunger by Dambudzo Marechera in between reading the then ubiquitous Pacesetter series that we exchanged in middle school and I was instantly hooked. The problem, though, was that the copy was so battered it had no cover so there was no way of knowing its title or author.

But the Pacesetters series! My very first Pacesetter was called Evbu My Love by a Nigerian writer named Helen Obviagele. It was a somewhat sad story but there was something about love brewed in the African pot that nibbled gently at your heart and made you read the story once, then twice.

The Pacesetter Series was impressive for its vivid language and fast-paced action by African heroes and, occasionally, heroines. Secret service heroes like Benny Kamba in Equatorial Assignment. Some of the heroes had English names such as Jack Ebony in Mark of the Cobra but that didn’t bother us and we were right there with him as he delivered deadly karate kicks to venomous snakes hidden in his wardrobe by enemies of the state.

I also read some South African fiction, most of which I didn’t particularly like at the time, perhaps because the first ever South African novel I read was Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country. The Pacesetters had introduced me to African heroes who could punch their way out of trouble so I found Cry, the Beloved Country particularly depressing.

Luckily, Dambudzo Marechera saved me around this time. A friend let me borrow his House of Hunger though we didn’t find out what the title was until much later. Unlike anything I had read before, Marechera seized me by the scruff of my neck and thrust me into a violent yet fascinating world of the ghetto slum. I had not stayed in any urban ghetto so the world of House of Hunger shocked me. Another happy problem was the language; I didn’t understand a lot of the more flowery prose but it excited and shocked me in equal measure. A less happy problem was that Marechera, of course, didn’t see anything wrong with describing graphic sexual acts, sometimes even in our native language and so I got a bigger book, a schoolbook actually, planted House of Hunger right in the middle and read and re-read the numbing details of ghetto life while my teachers marveled at my keen academic interest!

Around the same time, we discovered James Hadley-Chase, Louis L’Amour and the British classics – usually the abridged versions.

My older brothers also read anything under the sun and kept personal libraries of sorts. I was allowed to read these books – as long as I was behaving myself. I liked history books the most because they were packed with biographies of larger than life characters, characters who rose from nobodies and turned the world upside down. I liked all of those legendary figures. Our government was then heavy on what is called Gutsaruzhinji or Socialism and there were all these history books detailing the Chinese Revolution of 1947. I would look at a certain picture of a youthful Mao Zedong – then called Mao Tse Tung – and envy his army cap.

My brothers also had collections of Shona language novels, some of which were course setbooks at school. I detested the moralistic variety churned by the sackful by our Literature Bureau but absolutely loved the detective thrillers like James Kawara’s Sajeni Chimedza and Edward Kaugare‘s Kukurukura Hunge Wapotswa. Though targeted at older readers, these novels were not too different from the Pacesetter Series. Above all, I loved the Shona language liberation war novels, the best of which was Kuda Muhondo by a writer whose name I forget. The more overtly partisan ones like Zvairwadza Vasara, I didn’t particularly like.

These books and experiences shaped my early writing and made me feel I could try my hand too.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Each time I sit down to write down a story, I am always struck by James Baldwin’s assertion that the job of the writer is to look for the question that the answer tries to hide. And yet we often think of the answer itself as a solution to a query.

The ease with which myth passes off as truth in Zimbabwe motivates me to write fiction. My major concern is the place of historical memory in contemporary Zimbabwe. A lot has happened and we have a state that considers it a moral obligation to control this narrative, especially since the year 2000, thanks to a severely – and perhaps deliberately – stunted media landscape. I use different generational voices to interrogate these changes that have happened.

For example, one of the biggest myths in our country is that all Zimbabweans lived happy, comfortable lives before the Mugabe-led farm takeovers which began in earnest around 2000. Few people are honest enough to remember that the ruling elites, led by Mugabe himself, actually colluded with the rich white farmers and industrialists to lord it over an impoverished population.

Who remembers now that the farm takeovers were actually planned and spearheaded by ordinary villagers? Who remembers that these villagers were actually arrested for their efforts before political expediency made it necessary for our politicians to turn round and celebrate these villagers as heroes of the Third Chimurenga? I try to write beautiful stories that bring a more nuanced understanding to these issues.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

The biggest challenge facing most Zimbabwean writers today is the shrinking publishing industry. This, of course is true throughout Africa with South Africa as a possible exception.

The few, mostly independent publishing houses left in Zimbabwe are forced to put their few resources behind book projects by trusted names so as to recoup their investments. Yes, ours is still a society that views fictional writing as something of an indulgence, a hobby for the educated class. Of course, there is that basic question: Who is going to buy a book when all the money they have can hardly buy a loaf of bread?

You will notice that, contrary to the 20 years leading up to 2000, there are fewer fresh writers whose works are published individually. The tendency has been to produce these anthologies from which some talented voices occasionally emerge, for example, both Brian Chikwava and Petinah Gappah published short stories as part of this short story anthology tradition before launching individual careers as celebrated writers. To date, I have also pursued a somewhat similar path although some of my stories have been published in the form of e-books in South Africa.

Do you write everyday?

Because I balance an academic career with writing fiction, I cannot write everyday. It is also not my style to write everyday. I generally let a story or a chapter ferment in my imagination for days, rather like chikokiyana, our traditional brew, before writing it down. But when I start writing, the story demands that I finish it in one sitting, much like a gourd of frothy chikokiyana. Then I pass it on to my partner to read. She is by far my harshest critic so I usually listen to her opinion before editing my stories.

Ever since I discovered Dambudzo Marechera, Toni Morrison, Njabulo Ndebele, V. S. Naipaul, Charles Mungoshi, Joseph Heller and Ernest Hemingway, I have never liked a story whose conclusion is overwritten, especially if it’s a short story.

My short stories in particular use plenty of silences which estimate real-life African dialogue as I have experienced it.

I have a special dislike for stories that end in formulaic ways ... for example, a relationship that ends with a wedding or a rogue who is caught and jailed. I like my rogues out there, maybe some of them reform or they are chased out of town but I like them better out there and not in jail. Instead of a wedding, I am usually satisfied with lovers looking into each other’s eyes or even doing seemingly small things for each other.

My most recently published short stories include “The Hero”, which was featured in an anthology called Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe by amaBooks, a Bulawayo-based publisher. I have also published two stories, “When the King of Sungura Died” and “Uncle Jeffrey” on the PanAfrican writers' blog, StoryTime, which is managed and edited by Zimbabwean-born writer, Ivor Hartmann.

How would you describe "The Hero"?

“The Hero” is about an accidental hero who starts off as a rather banal political party thug who falls into a large beer container at a party rally and dies. His party declares him a hero and on the day of burial, he even dislodges the president from the news headlines. "The Hero" is based on a true story that happened in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe, around 2003.

I wrote it in one sitting, as I usually do with my short stories, and it was published in Where to Now? by Bulawayo-based amaBooks in 2011. My story speaks to other stories in that anthology, all by fellow Zimbabweans. In my story, for example, the ill-fated character is essentially a victim of an economy gone haywire; he takes to partisan politics like one possessed. In NoViolet Bulawayo’s award-winning story in the same volume, “Hitting Budapest”, you find a similar theme of ghetto kids craving for very basic necessities of life which their parents cannot provide, thanks to a crashed economy.

The ghetto setting is something I am very familiar with. I think a story’s power also draws from its ability to evoke a setting that readers recognize.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Creating the ghetto scene and the atmosphere of a Zimbabwean political rally are the two things that I enjoyed most. Political rallies in Zimbabwe have a whole life of their own.

I also especially liked working with Jane Morris, the editor of Where to Now?.

What sets "The Hero" apart from other things you’ve written?

The satire ... Some of the so-called heroes and heroines buried at our publicly-funded heroes’ burial sites – heroes’ acres as we call them, including the National Heroes Acre, are no heroes at all ... But because of media censorship, there is little public debate about these kinds of issues outside the columns of the few privately-owned newspapers ... Thankfully, developments in Information Communication Technology have seen a steady rise in online newspapers, blogs and online social forums where a culture of robust debate is slowly taking root.

What “The Hero” shares with my other stories is the fascination with Zimbabwe’s public memory, particularly how it has been edited, suppressed and manipulated at various times to suit the goals of the political class.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Where to Now? Short stories from Zimbabwe [Book Review], by Cynthia R Matonhodze, NewsDay, October 11, 2011
Omen Muza [Interview], Conversations with Writers, September 29, 2011
Publishing in a Zimbabwe under strain, by Jane Morris and Brian Jones, amaBooks, July 20, 2009

[Interview] Myne Whitman

2011-10-11T03:14:00.001+01:00

Myne Whitman was born in Enugu, Nigeria.

She has a Master’s degree in Public Health Research and is the author of two romantic suspense novels, A Heart to Mend (Authorhouse, 2009) and A Love Rekindled (CreateSpace, 2011), which are both set in Nigeria.

In this interview, Myne Whitman talks about her concerns as a writer:

When did you start writing?

I've been writing for a very long time, well, since I was about 11 or so. Unfortunately, most of those scribbles were lost when we moved cities. I started writing seriously around my third year in university, took a break for work and further studies and, now, writing is my full time career.

The decision to send my work out into the world matured in 2009 after I had been writing again for about six months full time. I had joined a writing group, started a blog, and people seemed to like what I had to write about.

I researched available options of publishing, and gave traditional publishing a try for a few months. The rejections I received had a common thread. While most agents liked my writing, they didn't think it suited them, and there were a couple that suggested I change some fundamental parts of my story. I found that idea abhorrent, and further research yielded some resources on self-publishing.

When I had satisfied myself that I understood what self-publishing entailed and was ready to face the challenge, I decided to go with Authorhouse to design, print and distribute my books. On the editorial angle, I drafted my manuscript several times, working with feedback from my writing group, beta readers on my blog, and finally an editor, to make sure it was ready for a mass audience.

How would you describe your writing?

My writing is romantic fiction.

It has been described as a marriage of literary and pulp fiction.

I write about the romantic experiences of the hero and heroine in my story, and frame them in a background of realistic day-to-day life of their setting. My stories are set in Nigeria where I grew up and lived for most of my life. My language is simple and direct, accented by the tones of local people in the Nigerian setting but adapted for an international audience.

My target audience is international ... anyone who has ever loved or felt emotions as they interacted with other people. I decided on romantic fiction because romance is universal ... most people will experience relationships more than anything else in their lifetime.

When I started A Heart to Mend as an 18 years old, I had at the back of my mind, not only the loads of Mills & Boon romances, but also the Pacesetters and African Writers Series I had devoured as a teenager. I was motivated to write stories that featured people like me, and that people like me could identify with.

When I went back to the story, I was living in the US, and in rewriting it, I made it a story in which I could share my background and world view with those that were different from me. For everyone who reads it, if there is one thing to take away, I want it to be the universality of what makes us human ... the experiences, the emotions, and the aspirations of life and love.

In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most?

The authors that I take as my role models include Nora Roberts, Danielle Steele, Buchi Emecheta, Cyprian Ekwensi and Helen Ovbiagele, among others. I love these authors because of their writing (their works drew emotions out of me, they made me think, and they also educated and informed me) and because of what they've been able to achieve (they are prolific, and their stories are accessible to a wide audience, the stories are those that a large number of people can relate to).

Have your own personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

Mostly because my stories are set in locations that I've either lived in or visited.

Also, I write on themes that are universal, and I've personally felt some of the emotions I describe in my books. That said, nothing in my books are autobiographical.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

First and foremost, I want to tell a good story, one that will hook the reader into it and take them on a journey. I want my readers to enjoy my books, and I also hope that I will make them feel (laugh, cry, and think) while they read. Also, because I am self published, I'm concerned about how to ensure that my books are of very good quality.

I believe in my stories, and I believe in the message I want to pass through them so my biggest challenge is how to get my books to as large an audience as possible. I deal with that by investing a good amount of time in promotion. I also utilize the strategy of giving away free books in order to build a following.

My first book, A Heart to Mend, stayed at #1 on the AmazonUK Kindle store for romantic suspense (free) for over two weeks, with almost 20,000 copies downloaded. It was a very good feeling to know that even half of that number will read the story and it would fit into how they make sense of the world around them.

Do you write everyday?

I do not write everyday, not that I wouldn't like to though.

I write when I feel like it, and usually I would've been thinking about the story and so it comes easily to my fingers as I type (I used to write long hand, but I now write directly to MS Word on my laptop).

When I have start thinking about what to write, or whether it makes sense, then I stop.

How many books have you written so far?

I have written two books so far:

A Heart to Mend was published through Authorhouse in December 2009. It tells about the coming of age of a young woman, Gladys, who falls in love with Edward, a wealthy businessman. They become romantically linked but emotional issues from Edward's past make it hard for him to fully trust Gladys. Their relationship is further complicated when she becomes embroiled in a plot to take over his business.

A Love Rekindled was published through Createspace in March 2011. Efe is an independent woman who returns to Nigeria ready to face the future, after years in the United States. However, it is the past that she first has to confront when her former fiance, Kevwe, comes back into her life claiming he's never stopped loving her. He has to unravel the mystery of their broken engagement before she is willing to rekindle their love.

How would you describe A Love Rekindled?

A Love Rekindled is my latest book, and it took about a year to write and edit. It was first published in the United States.

I moved from Authorhouse to CreateSpace for my second book because I found that the latter's services were more affordable. The next advantage was that they worked directly with Amazon.com which my first book had shown me was my biggest market.

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into A Love Rekindled?

I enjoy telling stories and giving free reign to my imagination. I think this is because I'm recreating the world through my characters, and breathing life into them in such a way that readers will be emotionally invested in what happens to them.

For me, the most difficult part of writing is the editing process. The primary reason being that I do not have a formal background in Writing, English, Communication or Literature. Taking several free online courses and joining writing groups have been very helpful in increasing my strength in these areas. I have also tried to improve my knowledge of the publishing industry in terms of branding, publicity and marketing.

What sets A Love Rekindled apart from other things you've written?

A Love Rekindled differs from A Heart to Mend in that it spans a longer period of time. Readers will be transported to the years at the turn of the millenium and to the days of first love and loss.

The two books are similar in that they are set in Nigeria and are about people dealing with issues of love, family, and personal development.

The book I'm working on now is about a woman who has just clocked the big 30 and has to determine whether marriage is the next step in her life as everyone one around her expects. Being seduced by a local lothario during a vacation to Nigeria does not make this decision any easier.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I think it is too early to conclude, but I'll like to be counted among those that revived the writing of popular and commercial fiction in Africa.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Myne Whitman, author of A Heart To Mend [Interview], Jaguda, December 29, 2009
Have Nigerian Romance Novels Come of Age [Book Review], by Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, Critical Literature Review, January 24, 2010
Onaedo, The Blacksmith’s Daughter by Ngozi Achebe [Book Review], by Gibril Koroma, Digital Journal, October 6, 2011

[Interview] Omen Muza

2011-09-29T12:20:00.001+01:00

Omen Nyevero Muza holds an MBA and runs a financial advisory firm he co-founded in Harare.

He is also a financial columnist with a local daily newspaper.

One of his short stories appears in the anthology, Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe (amaBooks, 2011).

He writes and plays guitar in his spare time.

In this interview, Omen Muza talks about his concerns as a writer:

When did you start writing?

My first serious attempt at writing was while waiting for my O-Level results. I cobbled together a collection of poems which was, however, never published.

Before that, I recall that my Grade 7 teacher put my name to something I didn’t write and submitted it to some obscure publication. Perhaps as some form of poetic justice, the publication misspelt my name to something entirely unrecognizable so in the end it was never attributed to me anyway. I am sure my beloved teacher meant well and obviously had a soft spot for me but I wonder whether she was aware that she was making me an accessory to an act of plagiarism. I certainly wasn’t aware!

How would you describe your writing?

Intermittent and undisciplined.

Although I have attempted a novel before, I now tend to focus only on short stories because they are less demanding, time-wise. The rigour of full-time work and contributing a weekly newspaper column on banking and finance does not leave room for much else, apparently.

I have never consciously thought about who my audience is or should be. I just write, really. Sometimes your audience can come from the most unlikely quarters so it may not be wise to have pre-conceived notions about who constitutes it.

In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most?

My pool of influence is quite an eclectic mix. However, if I have to name one person I consciously sought to emulate during my formative years, it would have to be none other than Dambudzo Marechera. With the benefit of hindsight, I was trying to emulate his lifestyle, not his writing style.

And have your own personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

I would say extensively.

Most of my creative work is based on my personal experiences, sometimes to the point of being crudely autobiographical, I must say.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

To write in a manner that is believable... to be authentic... to write in a manner that people can relate to.

Perhaps this explains why I only write fiction when I have to. I no longer write for the sake of writing.

Like Nhamo, the character in "The Poetry Slammer", from the collection Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe, my biggest challenge is the balancing act between finding time to write while working full-time in the financial services sector. It’s never an easy road.

Do you write every day?

I don’t write every day but I read every day. And when I write it is never structured - there is no formula. I let the chips fall where they may. At any given time, I usually have several incomplete stories that I am working on.

I haven’t published a full book yet but I have published a number of stories in various online and print media.

My latest short story, "The Poetry Slammer" was published in early August as part of amaBooks' latest collection of short stories, Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe. I cannot remember how long it took me to write the story but because I wrote it for submission to a literary competition, the story can’t have taken much time to write.

An earlier short story of mine had been one of the top ten stories in the Intwasa Short Story Writing competition in 2007 organized by amaBooks in Bulawayo, so amaBooks was the natural destination for "The Poetry Slammer".

Though largely fictional, "The Poetry Slammer" draws significantly from real events and places. Under those circumstances, the challenge was to be faithful to the zeitgeist – the true spirit of those events and places because some people who went through the experiences on which the short story is based may read the story one day. I had to do quite a bit research in order to deal with that concern. For instance, when I was writing the short story, I actually visited the Book Café for the House of Hunger Poetry Slam in order to get into the right groove, and I remember chatting to Chirikure Chirikure one night in the Mannenberg Jazz Café.

I enjoyed writing every bit of "The Poetry Slammer", not only parts of it. I wanted it to be different from anything I had written before in terms of style, plot and characterization.

What will you be working on next?

Interestingly, or maybe strangely, it will not even be a work of fiction. It will be a collection of my NewsDay banking and finance articles written over a period of more than a year, tentatively titled Banking Insights from an Economy in Transition.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Not giving up on writing... staying true to my craft in spite of the odds heavily staked against writing.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Zimbabwean Literature: a Nervous Condition, By Brian Chikwava, Pambazuka News, November 1, 2007
Literature and Crisis in Zimbabwe, By Ranka Primorac, The Guardian, April 22, 2008
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma [Interview], Conversations with Writers, September 25, 2011

[Interview] Karen Wodke

2011-09-28T02:55:00.000+01:00

Karen Wodke lives in the Midwest, in the United States and is the author of James Willis Makes a Million (CreateSpace, 2011), a novel for young readers.

She also writes for websites and magazines that include Associated Content, Adventures for the Average Woman, Foliate Oak Literary Journal and Ehow.

In addition to that, working with P. J. Hawkinson, and writing under the name Wodke Hawkinson, she co-authored books that include the novels, Betrayed (CreateSpace, 2011) and Tangerine (___, forthcoming) as well as the short story collections, Catch Her in the Rye (CreateSpace, 2011); Blue (CreateSpace, 2011) and Alone (___, forthcoming).

In this interview, Karen Wodke talks about her writing:

When did you start writing?

I have always enjoyed writing, but only in the last few years have I gotten serious about it.

A couple of years ago, I decided to write a book for young readers, James Willis Makes a Million. I made the decision to self-publish that book. I felt it would be the first of, hopefully, many books I would write.

In publishing my solo work, I started out with Lulu.com and was pleased with them. I still knew next to nothing about marketing or promotion. In fact, I’m still learning.

On the novels I co-authored with P. J. Hawkinson, we tried the traditional route first. Many traditional publishers do not accept simultaneous submissions, which tied up our manuscripts for months at a time. We grew weary of the process and began to consider self-publishing our novels.

We ultimately decided to put together short story collections, self-publish them, and see how it went before making a decision about self-publishing our other books. I think at this point, however, we were pretty sure self-publishing was the way to go, even with our upcoming novels. We like the control we have over our material, the higher royalties, and the freedom to explore controversial topics that wouldn’t necessarily appeal to traditional publishers.

We are just now getting the first of the reviews on our short story collections.

How would you describe your writing?

I would describe it as a fictional smorgasbord.

We don’t stick with one genre, which may or may not turn out to be a mistake. For instance, our upcoming novels couldn’t be more different from each other. One is set in the future, almost a sci-fi novel, entitled Tangerine. It has aliens, space-travel, and other elements you would expect in that sort of story. The other, Betrayed, is the tale of a woman who is abducted and abused, who finally escapes from her captors only to end up lost in the wilderness at the onset of a harsh winter.

Our target audience is anyone who enjoys a good story, regardless of genre. Both of our short story collections offer a variety from contemporary fiction to sci-fi to noir, and even a little humor here and there.

I myself love to read and will read almost anything short of technical manuals. I figured there are people out there who feel the same way, people who just want to be drawn into a tale regardless of subject matter.

In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most?

I suppose I am most influenced by the authors whose writing really reached out and grabbed me. J. R. R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, Stephen King, Dean Koontz ... to name a few.

I took something different away from each author’s work. From King, it was the realization that dark themes are petri dishes for literary ideas. And I love the way he uses sentence fragments almost as tools to deliver his stories. Teachers of English may not like them, but sentence fragments are a powerful element in fiction writing, as long as the technique is not overdone. If it’s overdone, it just makes your writing look poor.

From Tolkien, I loved the elegance of his writing, his ability to describe a scene, and the complexity of his plots. Dean Koontz inspires me because he knows how to grab a reader’s attention and hold onto it. Asimov’s work, of course, is brilliant. Ahead of its time.

Have your own personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

Great story ideas come from many places. Sometimes it’s a person I’ve met, or a scene I have witnessed. Other times, just a phrase spoken to me will trigger a story idea. In that way, my own experiences have an impact on my writing. It is rare, however, for me to take an actual event from my life and write about it.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Like most writers, I wonder if I will gain an audience for my work, and how well it will be accepted. There is also a question in my mind of whether I can ever justify the time and effort I have put into it.

I deal with these concerns by writing what I want to write and doing it to the best of my ability. Both P. J. and I are painstaking editors of our own work, and even then things can slip past.

The biggest challenge for me is the promotion of the books. The writing is a labor of love, and the proofreading/editing/revision are just part of that process.

I sometimes have to really push myself to do the promotion. But to make it as an author, you have to be willing to promote your work.

Do you write everyday?

Yes, I would say I write something every single day. But all too often, it isn’t on our current project, but rather blog posts, networking, promotion, emails, or reviews of other authors’ books.

A good writing session starts for me in the morning with a cup of French vanilla cappuccino. My desk sits before a window that looks out over my front yard. I will sit at my computer, open the blind so I can see outside, sip my cappuccino, and write. I love it.

Generally, my writing starts with editing our current project, doing revisions, and emailing the manuscript back to P. J. for her to review. If I have time and feel inspired, I can start a new story.

It usually ends a few hours later out of necessity so I can tend to other things. However, if things are rolling along smoothly, I have been known to stay up late at night to finish a chapter or conclude a story. I admit I’ve lost some sleep at times.

How many books have you written so far?

I wrote James Willis Makes a Million, a story for young readers about a boy who starts his own business and ends up a millionaire by the time he is grown. I initially self-published this book with Lulu.com in January of this year, but it’s now available in other places as well.

With P. J. and, together, writing as Wodke Hawkinson:

Catch Her in the Rye, Selected Short Stories Vol. One, published on createspace.com in May, 2011. Short stories in a variety of genres.
Blue, Selected Short Stories Vol. Two, published on Smashwords in June, 2011 features more stories in various genres. Blue is a bit darker in tone than Catch Her in the Rye.
Our next book, Betrayed, the story of a Denver socialite who is abducted during a botched carjacking. She is held captive in a remote location and abused for days and, although she escapes, she ends up injured, nearly naked, and hopelessly lost in the forest at the beginning of a harsh winter. Almost at the end of her endurance, she happens upon a wild-looking, reclusive mountain man who takes her back to his secluded cabin where she fears she has traded one form of captivity for another.

How long did it take you to write the stories that appear in Blue?

The collection of short stories was written over a period of about nine months.

We published the e-version on Smashwords in June of this year and the paperback version on Amazon in July.

We chose Smashwords because they offer a wide variety of formats for their ebooks. Another advantage with Smashwords is how easy it is to format the book. They offer a free guide that is excellent.

For our paperback version, we chose CreateSpace, which puts the book on Amazon.

The disadvantage to any self-publishing venture is that the author is responsible for all marketing, distribution, and promotion. It’s a daunting task, but we are learning as we go and researching other authors who have experience in promotion.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

The most difficult aspect of the actual writing of Blue was deciding how to handle delicate and controversial subject material.

We approached the task with the attitude that we will tell the story even when it’s an unpleasant one, but strive not to unnecessarily bludgeon our readers, but instead to inform and entertain them. Unfortunately, they are some who might nevertheless still feel they’ve been bludgeoned by the end of the tale. (I say this with a smile.) But if they do, they can rest assured it was not intentional.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Putting the words together. Then tearing them apart and putting them together again in a better way. But it’s rough sometimes, getting things just right.

I love writing with P. J. It helps so much to have another brain and another set of eyes working with me to create our fictional realities.

What sets Blue apart from other things you've written?

While Blue has its wholesome elements, I feel it generates an overall darker tone since it contains stories about murder, incest, and suicide.

Blue is similar to Catch Her in the Rye because it too offers a variety of genres and storylines.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I would like to think the most significant achievement hasn’t happened yet. But it will. It’s just around the corner.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Author interview with Wodke Hawkinson, FlirtyandFeisty Romance Novels, ___
Interview with K Wodke, By Ella Johnson, Mymcbooks's Blog, August 27, 2011
Reading, Writing and Self-publishing, Conversations with Writers, April 13, 2007

[Interview] Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

2011-09-25T03:06:00.000+01:00

Novuyo Rosa Tshuma is a Zimbabwean writer currently studying at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

In 2009, she won the Intwasa Short Story Competition.

Her short stories have been featured in anthologies that include The Bed Book of Short Stories (Modjaji Books, 2010); A Life In Full and Other Stories: Caine Prize Anthology 2010 (New Internationalist, 2010), African Roar: an Eclectic Anthology of African Authors (StoryTime, 2010) and Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe (amaBooks, 2011).

In this interview, Novuyo Tshuma talks about her concerns as a writer:

Which authors influenced you most?

The novels of Orhan Pamuk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Arundhati Roy, Sembene Ousmane, Naguib Mahfouz, Tsitsi Dangarembga, James Baldwin.

A particular piece of short writing which comes to mind is Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor’s "Kin la Belle: In the clear light of Song and Silence" which was featured in the Pilgrimages Project and was about her pilgrimage to Kinsasha. I love descriptive writing, writing that engages one’s surroundings, and in this piece a stark, out-of-the-box creativity merges with the writer’s experiences to create an intensely sensual reading. Absolutely beautiful.

I read an online excerpt of Yvonne Vera’s Butterfly Burning where landscape merges with the emotional state of the protagonist in an intense poetic prose that is just awesome.

Brian Chikwava’s "Seventh Street Alchemy" is a read filled with memorable scenes painted with linguistic prowess.

The short fiction is endless.

Why did these particular writers have this influence? For me, they each offered something new in their readings, something beautifully executed, something I had not previously encountered in my readings.

Arundhati Roy’s gymnastic linguistics in The God of Small Things showed what was possible with language in literature, how words could be bended, stretched, rearranged and created to form a rich literary mosaic. Naguib Mahfouz’s Palace Walk offered intense characterization, as did Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions.

In Palace Walk I found myself in an intricate love-hate relationship with many of the characters, the father-figure who was the true depiction of chauvinism, his wife Amina who had an irritating blandness, and their son Yasin who embarked on the most mischievous escapades. I formed a complicated bond with these characters, irked often by their complexities, disappointed by their short comings, in love with their 'humanness'.

Nyasha in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions is a beautifully complex character with acute perceptions and an original flair.

Orhan Pamuk’s novels offer philosophical characters set in plots that give a great view of the complexities which have plagued Turkey at different points of its history; a lot of tugging between fundamentalism and secularism/westernization.

I became fascinated with Nigerian dishes after tasting them in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.

There is always something new, something refreshing offered in the memorable reads.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

Hmmm ... I have said before that I like to keep it 'purely fiction'. However, pieces of oneself, one’s experiences are invariably interweaved in one’s writings.

I like to explore characters who may be removed from my direct self, but perhaps whose bits of experiences here and there, are my own. Taking, for instance, my story "Crossroads" in the Where To Now anthology ... it is a fictionalized piece and yet the descriptions at the border are details of characters I have observed, conversations I have overheard and so forth.

It helps in a piece of work to be familiar with setting and to be able to capture the atmosphere of a place, its edge or its bluntness. So, for me, personal experiences function well for setting and atmosphere.

I like to experiment with characters who are not directly linked to me as a writer, characters who I may feel do not exhibit too much of myself. I do not like too much self-examination in a piece of fiction; one becomes self-conscious as a writer, and rather apprehensive of this idea of self-depiction.

People may, nevertheless, link a character to the writer. I have had people read a story and then come to me, agape, and say, "You really did that?!" The excitement lies in stepping into the shoes of a fictionalized character and capturing such a character as though it were you, which then becomes, on some level, a humanizing of the self.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

The biggest, I would say, is the apprehension about one’s writing, capturing a story as best you can. One is ever aware of how much one is yet to learn, how much one does not know. These apprehensions are most easily tackled by ever writing, ever reading, ever exploring.

The biggest challenge is finding a home for your work. One gets more rejections for one’s work than acceptances. Some publications don’t reply. So one needs a persevering spirit.

I remember when I first started sending out my work. I was very bold and persistent in my letters. Got many rejections. I always kept sending.

Another challenge is fighting inertia ... it is important to ever grow in your writing, especially as a young writer. It is crucial to step out of one’s comfort zone and experiment, in order to discover the things one may be able to do in and with one’s writing. Some experiments fail. But that is part of the learning process, isn’t it? To discover what works and what doesn’t. Writing is a constant state of patience.

Do you write everyday?

Not every single day. I would say four to five days a week for several weeks, and then reading takes over for the next week or two and so forth. Some days are busier than others.

The trick, I find, is to allocate writing its space in your life, and to ensure that others respect that space. I usually write early morning, as that is when I feel sharpest.

My sessions usually begin by reading the previous session’s work. This helps me get into the mode of my work. Some editing usually takes place during this time. After reading, one simply delves into the writing. Many times, particularly with first drafts, one feels that one is writing a lot of rubbish – it is as though one is feeling for a thread in the dark, searching for the vein of a story.

Many first drafts end in despair! I find I have many first drafts of different scenes, different stories, and usually the stories that I finish at a point in time are alterations from first drafts written a while ago, which when perused with a fresh eye, offer a gem or two worth pursuing. And so that is how it goes.

If it is during a morning where I have to attend lectures, then time constraints end my sessions. You find that when you have had a good writing session that must end before you want it to, the story stays in your mind, and you ponder sentences and scenes as you go through your day. When you feel you have a particularly good hunch, you are impatient to get back to your writing.

If it is on a day when I do not have lectures, my sessions can carry through the day, which then becomes an intermittent act of writing and revising, and a lot of editing. This is on a good day, when one has tapped into the vein of a story.

Usually such sessions end because one is tired, and feels satisfied with the work one has managed to do on that particular day. And success on any given day is not judged by quantity but by quality – writing is a constant state of patience (unless one is working with a deadline and needs to balance number of words and the quality of the wording.

Time constraints sometimes pull the writer out of a surreal state where all writing can take place forever! So one may write three thousand words, and only a thousand of that three may feature in the final story.

Some sessions end in despair, when one is struggling with a scene, a story, a character. Usually when this happens I just grab a book and read – it helps to calm the mind.

My sessions usually begin and end in solitary space. I deliberately live alone, as I find the space invaluable for the writing. Growing up, I always used to crave the idea of a space to write, as there was always a lot going on around, interruptions and the like. The act of writing is ultimately an act of solitude. So it is good to have a space where you can just wake up and begin writing, and not have to entertain disruptions.

When did you start writing?

I began writing stories for fun when I was nine, thereabouts.

Influences change. It was during the Echoes of Young Voices young people’s anthology project with British Council and amaBooks publishers in 2006 that I acquired an inclination towards what you would call 'African Writing' ... I was eighteen at the time.

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

Realist fiction.

Who is your target audience?

Everybody who loves to read ... but this statement itself carries preconceptions, whether even subconsciously, of what our generic readership is, based on the common culture many of us consume or are invariably exposed to, through technology and other mediums.

It is interesting how the idea of Western influence (through, say, its preconceptions) becomes the focal point around which a reaction is lodged, whether towards or against it. Is the idea of a target audience presupposed by the idea of a commercial concern?

It is interesting ... in certain reviews you hear reference to what we, the readers, think; how we may view this and this, and one wonders who this we is. In lumping a generic readership, the question is, who or what informs the tastes of this readership? From where do the influences stem? And what of the other readership, take the rural masses who may 'love to read' but who do not have the commercial viability? Who or what shapes whatever literature they have access to? The relationship between writer-reader can be a complex one.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Hmmm ... Achievement ... That word. I am skeptical of it.

There have been wonderful isolated moments, which I would not call achievements: My first story ever to be published. The very act itself of being published. Working with publishers on a piece of work at an intimate level, such as Jane and Brian of amaBooks. Mixing with writers on a whole other 'political' level at the Caine Prize Workshop, and building friendships there. Learning from writers I greatly admired at the Farafina Workshop. Growing, from these workshops and these interactions, into a more solid writer. Interacting with writers online and meeting some great people I hope will be lifelong friends.

I guess the idea of achievement goes back to a question: What is it that one sets out to achieve as a writer? Hmmm ... Interesting question, that.

The more obvious ideas of achievement are just that, too obvious, and therefore immediately boring.

I do know one thing though, which is that probably, this achievement in writing and I, shall always play a cat and mouse game.

Why?

Because it always feels I have not captured what it is I would like to capture in this thing called writing because the element to be captured is ever evolving. There is always a better way to capture a story, a new story to be told, a new story idea to try. The more one reads, the more one meets with freshness, and the more one’s critical horizons are expanded.

I am a young writer, I really cannot speak of achievement, whatever this suspicious thing called achievement is, and whatever it should mean to a writer. There is much work to be done, much writing to do, so little that has been done. The focus is on the future, spurred on by past and present writings.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Waiting [Short Story], By Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, Munyori Literary Journal, ____
African Roar: an Eclectic Anthology of African Authors [Book Review], By Ikhide R. Ikheloa, the new black magazine, May 15, 2010
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma [Interview], Geosi Reads, February 2, 2011

[Interview] Jess C. Scott

2011-09-19T21:33:00.001+01:00

Jess C Scott is a short story writer, a novelist and a poet. She lives in Maine in the United States.

Her work includes the blog novel, EyeLeash (jessINK, 2011); the collection of erotic short stories, 4:Play (jessINK, 2011) and the novel, The Other Side of Life (jessINK, 2011).

In this interview, Jess C Scott talks about her writing:

Do you write everyday?

I don’t write everyday, though I try my best.

I like writing by hand (at least initially), especially when I’m planning things out before a first draft ... there’s just something about seeing the words appear in ink on paper that beats typing (despite the efficiency and convenience of the latter).

If I’m working on a story, it ends when I feel it’s complete (everything has to be “tied together,” there must be some form of resolution, etc.). By that time, I’m usually mostly focused on the next writing project.

I like to challenge myself as an artist and keep improving that way. Stagnating is bad because I think I’d be regurgitating material, if I allowed myself to put in less effort.

How many books have you written so far?

I’ve written novels, anthologies, short stories, and poetry, so here’s a selection. They are all published under jessINK, my burgeoning publishing empire that's committed to producing "authentic, original work ... rather than the same old re-packaged mass-market pulp" (review by Bibrary Book Lust).

EyeLeash: A Blog Novel (2009). EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves—and what’s really in their hearts.
4:Play — A contemporary cocktail of erotic short stories (2009). With a scope and style that is fresh and compelling, 4:Play dives into the depths of navigating gender, sexuality, and the lines of desire.
The Other Side of Life (2011) . Book #1 (The Other Side of Life): A thieving duo’s world turns upside down when an Elven rogue uncovers the heinous dealings of a megacorporation.
And more @ jessink.com/books_genre.htm

What is your latest book about?

My latest book is a non-pornographic BDSM-themed anthology. It’s taken me slightly longer than I expected to finish it (was aiming for a May 2011 deadline; probably will be finished in August 2011). It’s part of my Primal Scream anthology, my second collection of erotic short stories.

On the mainstream, non-erotic side, my latest book is the first installment in an urban fantasy series featuring cyberpunk elves (January 2011). That one probably took at least a year to write (while I was completing my bachelor’s degree).

I’ve self-published my novels since mid-2009. I enjoy the speed and efficiency of indie publishing and see it as a tremendous opportunity for writers everywhere.

Disadvantages include the necessity for constant multi-tasking (I handle the book design, writing, editing, publishing, web design, marketing, publicity, accounting — basically everything, at the moment).

I deal with it all by understanding that this is something I chose to do, that I want to do, and that I’m capable of doing.

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into the books?

I’ll talk about Primal Scream since it’s a pretty big anthology that spans several genres/styles (erotic fiction, erotic literature, “factual fiction” and “contemporary fiction with erotic elements”).

I think the BDSM-themed collection was the most difficult (as I suspected), because of the subtle implicit route I decided to take.

I’ve always felt that BDSM can be a very intimate form of love and affection, a perspective which is heavily compromised when BDSM is presented in a purely pornographic form.

I’ve nothing against porn on the whole, but when people start thinking that pornography is real sex (when it technically isn’t — it’s a business that generates money from graphic depictions of sexual fantasies which stimulate arousal) and how sex should really be all the time ... that’s when I try to do something with my work, to present a more relevant, down-to-earth, insightful perspective on love/life/sex.

Sexuality is a core component of humanity. It should be respected (as it was in ancient times), not feared, exploited, or repressed.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Masochistic as this might sound, I enjoyed working through the difficult aspects of the project. As an old saying goes: “There’s no glory without sacrifice.”

What sets Primal Scream apart from other things you've written?

It’s a little more sophisticated than my earlier work (which was more raw and “in-your-face” at points). It covers less ground in terms of genre, but covers more ground in the internal lives of the characters involved (I think).

In what way is it similar to the others?

The focus is still on the characters and the storyline. That’s the basic thing I never stray too faraway from.

I’ll next be working on an anthology titled Naked Heat (an incubus/succubus-themed anthology). It’ll be an interesting and unique take on the “paranormal romance” genre (one third of it is complete).

After that, I aim to complete the other two parts of my Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy. I’ll consider it an achievement if that one’s completed over 2012.

So far, what would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Generating an income from my writing. Seeing the dream materialize so that it’s not just a fantasy I play out in my mind, but the life I have always worked towards securing.

When did you start writing?

I used to write lots of fantasy-themed short stories as a kid. I began to take the craft more seriously when I wrote my first poem (around nine years old; there was a creative writing type course at school). I journalled a lot throughout my teenage years, and someone requested an erotic story from me when I turned eighteen. I started writing my first proper full-length novel when I was around twenty years old.

How would you describe your writing?

Non-conformist and authentic. I don’t tend to follow trends or formulas. I usually aim to write something honest and relevant.

I don’t think I have a specific audience in mind (in terms of a commercial genre label, as is used for marketing/advertising purposes). I always try to include universal themes to appeal to a wide audience (across genders, age groups, lifestyles, etc.).

I think I’ve always been aware of “certain things in the world” which the mainstream media tends not to cover thoroughly or truthfully enough. I’ve never wanted to narrow down my target audience so “it’d be easier to target/market towards a specific niche audience.” That being said, I am aware of the business aspects of publishing, so I do both alternative and mainstream writing (to strengthen my brand on the whole).

Which authors influenced you most?

I think the authors that influence me the most are the ones that I love and hate the most (I’m very intense... no grey areas... when it comes to passion!). I’ve read and love many classic works (books by Vladimir Nabokov, Anais Nin, Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, etc.), and I’ve read material that I’ve found really superficial and/or shallow.

I try to emulate what I like, and be somewhat of a diametric opposite to what I loathe, and am confident that someone somewhere in the world will appreciate what I do.

How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

Hugely! I used to journal voraciously through my teenage years — I recorded every single detail of every thought and feeling down. I journal less nowadays, but I continue to spend a lot of time on the whole self-discovery and self-understanding concept. The things I think about, am frustrated about, wish to see addressed in the world, are all direct influences on my writing.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

One of my main concerns is balancing artistic vision with commercialism (the financial aspect, so that I don’t end up a perpetually starving artist existing in complete obscurity).

It’s a delicate balance, and can sometimes be fraught with wildly differing views of opinion and sentiment (in my personal experience). I usually deal with it by keeping things real — by taking a good, hard look at myself to do my best to align my personal goals with business goals. I like having both personal/artistic integrity and business ethics. I can’t ignore one at the expense of the other.

One of my biggest challenges is cultivating patience (haha). I have a tendency to expect results for my efforts, fast. I can get grouchy or discouraged if things don’t happen as quickly as I’d like. I try to deal with it by telling myself that I am wasting time and energy by fretting about things I cannot control.

I used to draw a lot and meditate during my late teen years, which did help calm my mind down ... I should probably schedule some time for those activities once again.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

The Other Side of Life by Jess C Scott [Book Review], Murphy's Library, July 26, 2011
Jess C Scott [Author Spotlight], By Katie Salidas, Written in Blood, July 10, 2010
M. J. Pearson [Interview], Conversations with Writers, June 6, 2007

[Interview] Ayodele Olofintuade

2011-09-16T21:00:00.002+01:00

Ayodele Olofintuade lives in Ibadan, Nigeria where she works as a creative writing teacher.

She made her debut as an author with the publication of the children’s book, Eno's Story (Cassava Republic, 2010). The book has been shortlisted for the 2011 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

In this interview, Ayodele Olofintuade talks about her writing:

How many books have you written so far?

I’ve written several but have only one, Eno’s Story which has been published by Cassava Republic.

The story is about an eight year old girl who was accused of being a witch because of the fact that she’s an unusual child. It is the story of how the love of a parent can make the difference in a child’s life. It is about how Eno was able to hold her own in the face of great adversities. Eno is a child who does not have the victim mentality people are fond of giving to children of African descent... you know the usual story, a victimized and downtrodden child holding out a begging bowl and feeling sorry for him/herself.

How long did it take you to write Eno’s Story?

It took me about three months to write but the editing, illustrations and proofreading took longer.

How did you choose a publisher for the book?

I sent my manuscripts out to several publishers and got a "We love your book but we are not publishing anything along that line" story until I sent one of my stories to Bibi Bakare-Yusuf who loved it and gave me a contract for a series of books about a pair of twins Tounye and Kela who got into a lot of trouble and had many fun adventures.

When the ‘child witches’ issue started in Calabar, I sent in a story and Cassava Republic decided to publish that one first, because it is a one-off story.

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into the book?

I have never been to Calabar before although I have been to several other cities in the South South so it was a bit difficult working on the locations. Luckily, one of my friends and co-workers, Esther is a Calabar woman she made a lot of contributions to the book in terms of research.

Every aspect of the work was enjoyable. Eno practically wrote about herself, the research was done with a friend and the subject matter was close to my heart, child rights.

What sets Eno's Story apart from other things you've written?

Each book is always unique. There can never be two that will be the same. Even with my series that is yet to be published, although each book in the series has the same main characters in common, each adventure is unique.

What will your next book be about?

In addition to my Terrible Twins series, I am also working on a sci-fi novel for teenagers.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

The fact that children read and enjoy my works.

I remember a story told to me by a friend about a boy who walked into a superstore with his mum and after their shopping he wanted my book but the mother was not interested in purchasing it for him, he started crying and my friend bought the book for him. The fact is, contrary to widespread rumours, Nigerians do read, especially the children.

Do you write everyday?

Not really.

It’s the Muses, they descend on me and I find myself bashing out a story.

In most cases I allow the story to write itself and afterwards I go back and look at it. Then the stories develop gradually.

And I got myself children who read and critique my stories because those are the people who understand me the most.

When did you start writing?

When I learnt that I can string words together to make stories, which I then wrote on pieces of paper sewn together with needle and thread.

I didn’t decide to become a writer. I discovered that the only thing I did really well was writing and reading and I kept writing and giving my manuscripts to the children of my friends to read and I kept sending my manuscripts out to publishers until Cassava Republic published me.

Who is your target audience?

I didn’t particularly set out to write for children, I just wrote and discovered that children understood and enjoyed my stories.

Which authors influenced you most?

I can say D. O. Fagunwa, Ajayi Crowder, Mabel Segun, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss and Enid Blyton.

I grew up on their books. My grandfather made me read all the D. O. Fagunwa books to him while I was young and they all stirred my imagination. It was as if I entered each of the books and participated in all their adventures.

I also love telling stories to children. I love the rapt expressions on their faces when these stories are being told and this greatly influenced me. It is a great experience that keeps me returning to the keyboard to bash out more books because the thrill of seeing a child read and enjoy good stories is one of the best feelings in the world.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My greatest concern is that I will grow old, broke and busted because one cannot make money as a writer in this country.

How do you deal with these concerns?

I got myself a day job so as to make ends meet and still be able to follow my passion.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

A chat with the author of Eno's Story, By Jude Dibia, Jude Dibia: New Writings, Reflections, Reviews, August 7, 2011
Eno's Story by Ayodele Olofintuade [Book Review], ImageNations, August 9, 2011
Eno’s Story by Ayodele Olofintuade [Book Review], Geosi Reads, August 31, 2011

[Interview] Suzi M

2011-09-15T21:39:00.006+01:00

Suzi M is the author of several novels, among them, Nemesis (Smiling Goth Productions, 2007), Lamia (Smiling Goth Productions, 2008) and The Tower (Smiling Goth Productions, 2008).

In addition to that, ten of her short stories appear in Cover Stories: A Euphictional Anthology (CreateSpace, 2010).

In this interview, Suzi M talks about her writing:

When did you start writing?

Many many years ago. Roughly 1990.

Writing came very naturally to me, as did storytelling. It seemed evident to me that eventually my work would be published. It was never a question of 'if' but was more a matter of 'when'.

I began writing my first novel, Nemesis in 1992. It took nine months to complete, and it was exhausting. When I held the full first draft of the manuscript in my hands, I had such an overwhelming sense of accomplishment that I stopped writing for two years.

I sent the manuscript to agents and publishers, and got some very nice rejection letters. One in particular suggested my novel was too violent for a romance. After checking the cover sheet to make sure I had indeed typed 'vampire horror', it became apparent that my particular brand of writing may not be for everyone. By everyone, I mean mainstream folks.

Thirteen years later, Nemesis finally did get picked up by a small publisher. Sadly, the publisher ran into difficulties and Nemesis missed being published by one month. At that point I realized it was now or never and published Nemesis under Smiling Goth Productions. Since then, it's all been a bit of a strange rollercoaster ride.

How would you describe your writing?

I do quite a bit of what I jokingly refer to as 'real writing', meaning not vampire horror. My main published works so far are mostly vampire horror, however.

Typically, my target audience is anyone looking for horror, or who isn't afraid to try out an author that isn't mainstream. Of course, if I become a mainstream author, then my priorities will inevitably shift to include whoever wants to read me.

Which authors influenced you most?

To be honest, much of my influences are gothic writers such as Ann Radcliffe, Horace Walpole, and more recent and of this century: Stephen King.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Anais Nin and Henry Miller in there, as well as Jim Butcher and Neil Gaiman.

I enjoy details as much as I enjoy a good story. In the case of gothic literature, it felt almost like I was there standing beside the characters. The other writers I mentioned are equally rich in imagery and story, and it's not spoon-fed to the reader.

I like stories that stick in my head and make me think about them. All of the mentioned writers have had that effect, and it's an effect I hope to inspire with my writing as well.

And since I tend to write while listening to music, I'd have to say Fields of the Nephilim and Combichrist are two of my favorite bands to listen to while writing.

Have your personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

There have been quite a few experiences in my life that have helped my writing expand into something more.

Sometimes people I meet get thrown into the character mix with others, sometimes situations and events get pushed into a story or become a story on their own. In the case of Nemesis, the story bloomed around the main character, who just walked into a dream one night and stuck around.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Insomnia. I tend to stop sleeping when I'm working on something creative, and if I'm not reminded to eat, I forget to do that, too. Other than eating and sleeping, writing is more an exercise in exorcism for me. There's a story inside me that needs to get out, and my only concern is how fast I can make that happen.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Writer's block.

How do you deal with it?

I don't force it. The worst thing I can do to myself and those around me is to try to force writing when the words won't come. Instead, I work on some other creative endeavor that requires me to use my hands, and when the story is ready to be written, I go back to it.

Do you write everyday?

Write, yes, but not always creative writing.

To get the creative juice flowing I start off drawing circles in my notebook until the words come.

Once the words flow, I write down as much as I can, then edit. When the basics or sometimes the entire story are in the notebook, I type it into my laptop.

Sometimes it can end mid-sentence. Other times it ends at the end. I let the story go where it needs to go.

How many books have you written so far?

I've written three novels and a book of short stories so far.

Nemesis is the first novel, published in 2007, followed by Lamia in 2008, and The Tower in 2008. All three are books in The Immortal War Series, and follow the story of Nemesis and Lamia, two vampires that love to hate each other in the most brutal ways. All are available on Amazon as both print and Kindle editions, and are also available anywhere books are sold.

Most recently, ten of my short stories have been included in the Cover Stories: A Euphictional Anthology, which is also available on Amazon.

In Cover Stories, I had a real chance to stretch my literary legs and show off my other writing.

How would you describe your latest book?

The Tower is the most recent novel I've published. It ties up loose ends, and explains the origins of the vampires. We also get to meet our main characters' parents.

How long did it take you to write the novel?

Thirteen years.

The novel was published internationally in 2008. I went independent with The Tower in order to keep my sanity and storyline intact. Since I'm the publisher for my novels, can I say it's because I'm awesome? *grin*

Optimistically speaking, the advantages to going independent publisher for my novels have been numerous, but so have the disadvantages. For example, I now get to work specifically with those I know will understand my writing, and who have a knowledge and liking for the story and characters. I know my editors well enough that they can say 'this needs to be changed because...' and it makes sense for the story.

The downside to being independent is that I'm not a marketing person. Most of my sales have been largely by word of mouth and via social networking. I'm okay with that, though. It means I get to interact with my readers on an individual basis, and really get to know them. By getting to know my readers, I can then write stories for them instead of just to them.

What sets your contribution to Cover Stories apart from other things you've written?

Cover Stories features ten of my short stories, some of which feature Nemesis and Lamia from my novels, and other stories that are completely unrelated to anything vampiric.

With Cover Stories, Christian Dumais contacted me to be part of the book, and I said sure. Cover Stories was an official nod to the musical influences that play in my writing soundtrack. It was also the first project I had worked on following someone else's lead.

What will your next book be about?

I'm currently working on a novelization of a horror movie called The Fallen Ones. It is about a family that goes on a killing spree for fun and revenge.

I'm also kicking around an expansion of one of my short stories.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Finishing what I started writing. *laughing* But seriously, each year I build on what I accomplished the year before, so I would like to think my most significant achievement is always yet to come.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Nemesis [Book Review], By Rhonny Reaper, Dollar Bin Horror, July 10, 2010
Erik Schmidt [Interview], Conversations with Writers, August 31, 2011
Reading fiction 'improves empathy', study finds: US researchers measure impact of reading JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, By Alison Flood, The Guardian, September 7, 2011

[Interview_2] John Eppel

2011-09-07T19:42:00.005+01:00

John Eppel is a teacher, an award-winning poet, short story writer and novelist.

His books include the poetry collections, Spoils of War (The Carrefour Press, 1989) and Songs My Country Taught Me (Weaver Press, 2005) as well as the novels, Hatchings (amaBooks, 2006) and Absent: The English Teacher (Weaver Press, 2009).

In this interview, John Eppel talks about Together (amaBooks, 2011), his latest book:

How would you describe Together?

My latest book, Together, is a joint affair, combining poems and short stories by Julius Chingono and me; so it’s our latest book – a poignant phrase since Julius did not live to see it in print.

I wrote my portion of the book in 2008. Since I was earning almost nothing as a teacher, I applied for a year’s leave, and wrote three books: a novel, Absent: the English Teacher, a collection of short stories, White Man Walking, and a collection of poems, Landlocked. I sent them to Weaver Press who accepted the novel but rejected the poems and short stories. It was from these rejected items that my contribution to Together was made.

I sent Landlocked to three other publishers, Snailpress (Cape Town), Bloodaxe (UK), Carcanet Press (UK), all of whom rejected it.

Then Julius and I met with Brian Jones and Jane Morris of amaBooks, and we decided to bring out a joint volume. The title was suggested by Brian, and the project was generously supported by the Zimbabwe Culture Fund Trust. Dr Drew Shaw of Midlands State University agreed to write an introduction, and it wasn’t long before the University of New Orleans Press and the University of Kwazulu-Natal Press agreed to co-publish.

What advantages and/or disadvantages has your choice of publishers presented?

amaBooks of Bulawayo would have been my first choice for all my books, but they seldom have the wherewithal to finance a publication; that is largely because they have the commitment (and courage) to promote new Zimbabwean writing, including poetry, which almost nobody buys. Indeed, more people write poetry than read it!

An obvious disadvantage with a small, underfunded publisher like amaBooks, is distribution; and the sort of promotion you get with big publishers, like book-signings at major retail outlets, appearances on radio and television etc.

A huge advantage for a writer like me, who has a tiny readership, is that small publishers, who are more committed to promoting literature than to profiteering, will accept my books. My most recent, still unpublished novel, The Boy Who Loved Camping, spent more than seven months with Penguin South Africa before it was rejected on the grounds that the publishers did not think they could make a commercial success of it.

One significant way amaBooks has dealt with these problems, in the case of Together, has been to persuade publishers from two other countries to co-publish. That can only benefit the distribution and the promotion of the book.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

I didn’t find anything difficult. The publishers, on the other hand, were particularly disturbed by one of my stories, “Of the Fist”, set during the run-up to the 2008 Presidential elections, which they asked me to omit. It’s a very violent story about political rape and murder, based on a real incident. Come to think of it, most of my stories and poems in this anthology are based on real incidents. We replaced “Of the Fist” with a harmless satirical sketch called “The CWM”.

For most of my writing life, I have thought of my predicament as someone who is neither African nor European to be a disadvantage; as if, somehow, I had slipped through a crack; but now that my years as a Zimbabwean have caught up with my years as a Rhodesian, the crack has metamorphosed into a threshold, a magical place where opposites merge, where contradictions become paradoxes. Now I don’t have the bitter thought that I am neither African nor European; I have the sweet sensation that I am African and European. And it is this aspect of my work that I have enjoyed most. I can imagine cutting-edge experts in postcolonial literature snorting at these sentiments, but I’m too old now to care.

What sets Together apart from other things you've written?

The potent symbolism of two elderly Zimbabweans from different cultures, races, regions… coming together and sealing a fissure. It’s a pity one of us isn’t a woman!

In what way is it similar to the others?

It is steeped in irony, which can so easily be misread.

It is frequently funny in the way that a cartoon is funny. When Ranka Primorac said, in an essay entitled “Poised for Literature’s Last Laugh”, that “There is remarkably little laughter resonating across the history of Zimbabwean literature”, she swept Julius Chingono and me under the carpet.

How many books have you written so far?

Spoils of War, 1989 (The Carrefour Press, Cape town), poetry.
DGG Berry’s The Great North Road, 1992 (The Carrefour Press, Cape Town and Hippogriff, Johannesburg), novel.
Hatchings, 1993 (The Carrefour Press, Cape Town), novel. [re-published by amaBooks in 2006]
The Giraffe Man, 1994 (Queillerie, Pretoria), novel
Sonata for Matabeleland, 1995 (Snailpress, Cape Town and Baobab, Harare), poetry.
Selected Poems 1965-1995, 2001 (Childline).
The Curse of the Ripe Tomato, 2001 (amaBooks, Bulawayo), novel.
The Holy Innocents, 2002 (amaBooks, Bulawayo), novel
The Caruso of Colleen Bawn, 2004 (amaBooks, Bulawayo), poems and short stories.
Songs My Country Taught Me, 2005 (Weaver Press, Harare), poetry.
White Man Crawling, 2007 (amaBooks, Bulawayo), poems and short stories.
The Boy Who Loved Camping, 2008 [awaiting a publisher], novel.
Absent: The English Teacher, 2009 (Weaver Press, Harare and Jacana, Johannesburg) novel.
Together, with Julius Chingono, 2011 (amaBooks, Bulawayo and UNO, New Orleans and UKZN, Durban), poems and short stories.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I think, the way I have learned to fuse, mainly through parody, prosody with socio-political commentary.

In my poems in Together, you will find examples of the Blues, the sestina, the haiku, the ballad, the sonnet, the Sapphic, vers libre, dramatic monologue, pure lyric... I even invented a new form, which I (no longer secretly) call duodecadina. It is called “Yet another Flower Poem” and it consists of two ten-line stanzas. Each line consists of fifteen syllables, and the end words of the first stanza are repeated exactly in the end words of the second stanza. If you don’t notice all these details when you read it (with enjoyment!) it succeeds. It is an attempt at the art which conceals art. Of course, a lot of this has to do with healthy self-mockery.

Do you write every day?

I write during school holidays and occasionally over the weekends.

With poetry I get an image or a rhythmic cluster of words, almost never an idea. The moment of inspiration is passive, like a flower awaiting pollination. With prose (most of the time), it’s the other way round, a bee looking for a flower to pollinate.

In a sense, my writing never ends - it stops.

Photo credit: Ben Williams, Books LIVE

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

John Eppel [Interview_1], Conversations with Writers, September 12, 2007
Poets' diaries: John Eppel, Poetry International Web, August 18, 2005
Together By Julius Chingono & John Eppel [Book Review], By Sibusiso Tshuma, Panorama Magazine

[Interview] Lorette C. Luzajic

2011-09-05T23:43:00.001+01:00

Lorette C. Luzajic lives in Toronto, Ontario where she works as an artist and an author.

Her books include The Astronaut’s Wife: Poems of Eros and Thanatos (Handymaiden Editions, 2006); Goodbye, Billie Jean: the Meaning of Michael Jackson (Handymaiden Editions, 2010) and Fascinating Writers: twenty-five unusual lives (Idea Fountain Editions, 2011).

In this interview, Lorette Luzajic talks about her writing:

When did you start writing?

The cliché but true answer is that there was never a time I didn’t write. I started making up stories and researching projects as soon as I could read, which was very early on. There was never a time for me outside of that identity.

I was very earnest in my childhood, dutifully preparing my double-spaced typewritten poems for submissions to literary journals, complete with the obligatory self-addressed stamped envelopes, in the days before email submissions.

It never dawned on me that submitting my youthful-hearted works to adult literary journals was a waste of time. I saved each rejection and kept track of what pieces were sent where. Many editors kindly took the time to encourage my talent and direct it to more appropriate venues – for years I treasured these handwritten rejection slips as meaningful.

It wasn’t all for naught, however - quite a few childhood poems made their way into the pages of small zines and journals, and I wrote a few religious articles for magazines that had no idea I was a teenager. I won a contest in a Christian magazine when I was twelve. Since adulthood, hundreds of poems, stories, and articles have been widely published in zines, journals, blogs, magazines, anthologies - from Modern Poetry to Dog Fancy.

My colleague, writer Crad Kilodney, who is brilliant, once wrote that getting accepted by a magazine or publisher at a young age is the worst thing that can happen to a writer. Ever after that, they are sure they have what it takes and don’t prepare for another life.

How would you describe your writing?

Right now I am wrapping up a collection of short fiction stories.

I also just released a collection called Fascinating Writers: twenty-five unusual lives.

The topics I write about range extensively, but I think what my favourite and most inspired works are people stories. The best response from my audience so far has been about my Fascinating People series - which are subjective, experiential essays about interesting personages throughout history, especially artists and writers. People who are curious about culture and history and people are the readers who most appreciate these pieces.

I confess that I go about everything backwards.

To be successful, you should probably decide on your audience and write for them. I tend to write what interests me most and hope for an audience. I don’t recommend this approach to writing or art, not unless you are independently wealthy or have a day job.

Which authors influenced you most?

Isabel Allende was a true inspiration in her way of experiencing the magic of life.

Ray Bradbury inspired me because he has written every single day for some eight decades, and striving for this kind of tenacity has helped teach me great discipline and focus, which are not in my nature.

I admire the way different authors use language, from e. e. cummings to Donna Tartt to Haruki Murakami - I am given permission to use the language I see fit and see if I can’t create something of my own, something original.

I read Oscar Wilde when I need to regain a caustic sensibility and a dose of courage. But by and large, I devour non-fiction on nearly every topic under the sun... Mark Kurlansky, Camille Paglia, Matt Ridley, Michael Shermer, Thomas Moore... I believe in unlimited thinking.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I have lived a life of great passion and intensity. I think those things come through in my work, both my writing and my visual artwork.

Since I am quite averse to wasting any part of my life doing something banal that I don’t wish to do, my concern is how I can find my own place in the business of art and publishing. I don’t play the game well. I want complete creative control. I studied journalism in university but I have no interest in strict reporting. I am impatient and want to write about what I want to write about, as opposed to following a reasonable plan. It would have been much easier if I had just gone to work for a single newspaper or if I followed the advice of a literary agent who sought me out. But I didn’t want to stop all the things I have going on in my head to try to adhere to the tried and true methods of working as a writer.

I don’t want to wait or switch gears. I’m not saying this is wise, but it has made me incredibly innovative. I rose to the challenge by creating a creativity portal, the Idea Fountain, which combines my work as an artist and as a writer, along with my pet cause, freedom of expression.

Since I feel so strongly about freedom of expression being the fundamental human right, the foundation of all freedoms, and so grateful for my own freedom to write and paint, I tied all of this up as “fiercely independent.” Now I run the whole show.

I started Idea Fountain Editions for my books and for other people’s books in the future. I sell my art online and promote my ideas independently. I welcome buyers and sponsors and patrons. And I pledge ten percent, a tithe of my product earnings, to promote freedom of expression.

My biggest challenge is that when you do it all yourself, and you don’t play the game, then you actually are on your own. It can be scary. I take credit for everything I do - and that includes the mistakes. I am responsible for every aspect of my work, which includes the stuff I’m not very good at, like promotion and administrative work. But I’m learning, and I’m so happy and so grateful. And I feel a sense of authentic connection with my small but loyal fan base. Those who enjoy my work don’t want me to be anybody but myself.

Do you write everyday?

Yes. Around seven a.m. I bound out of bed and leap to the coffee machine. I can’t wait to wake up and get to my desk, starting even as I wait for the coffee to brew. I work for several hours on a particular project, determined in one of my many lists of things to do. Important emails and interviews and research are all part of it.

Then I spend several more hours working on a bunch of different projects for a half hour here, ten minutes there, an hour here. There are always many things underway. I thrive when working on fifty things at the same time, but each one advances slowly.

Deadline items take front seat in the morning. I also work in my studio in the afternoons, often moving back and forth from my desk to my easel in half hour shifts. I only stop working when my carpal tunnel syndrome forces me away from my desk or I have a meeting or some other obligation or commitment.

I try to take walking or stretching breaks and get a bit of exercise since the work is sedentary.

In the evening I make plans with family and friends, get some exercise, cook, and sometimes I stay home to read and to keep working. I am totally obsessed with creating. I can’t seem to create enough. I am trying to make up for lost time when in the past, I was not focused or disciplined or didn’t know how to go about what I wanted to do. But I remind myself that the well will run dry if I don’t get out and live, too.

How many books have you written so far?

The Astronaut’s Wife: Poems of Eros and Thanatos, Handymaiden Editions, 2006. Poetry about love and grief.
Weird Monologues for a Rainy Life: irreverent ramblings from the end of the world, Handymaiden Editions, 2008. Assorted essays and blogs about grief, addiction, literature, people, popular culture, food, bipolar life, art, and more.
Dendrite Pandemonium: hits, misses, and random b-sides, Handymaiden Editions, 2009. The sequel to the above.
Goodbye, Billie Jean: the Meaning of Michael Jackson, curated by Lorette C. Luzajic, Handymaiden Editions, 2010. An anthology of diverse reflections about Michael Jackson, by 51 different writers, including a monk, a drag queen, a communist, a Jungian therapist, a Pulitzer prize winner, a reverend, a senator, and many more.
Michael Jackson for the Soul: a fanthology of inspiration and love, Handymaiden Editions, 2010. An anthology of heartfelt pieces about Michael Jackson by regular fans.
A Heartbreaking World of Staggering Glorious: the visual imagination of Lorette C. Luzajic, Idea Fountain Editions, 2011. This is an anthology of my paintings, collages, and photography.
Fascinating Writers: twenty-five unusual lives, Idea Fountain Editions, 2011. A collection of 25 essays on Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Dr. Seuss, Carson McCullers, Danielle Steel, Arthur Miller, and many more.

How long did it take you to write Fascinating Writers?

My latest book is about fascinating writers, exactly as titled. I get to know 25 writers and share my experiences in a gossipy, personable style that invites everyday readers into literature, rather than limiting enjoyment to a more scholarly crowd.

Technically it has taken about three years to compile the 25, since I am never working on one thing at a time.

How did you find a publisher for the book?

As I mentioned above, I started my own publishing company, Idea Fountain Editions, as an initiative of Idea Fountain Productions.

The advantages of small press publishing include creative control, expediency, and innovation.

The disadvantages are stigma and the lack of marketing support. The stigma that self-publishers or small presses have is the idea that someone couldn’t find a traditional publisher because the books are sub-par or unprofessional.

This stigma is often founded in reality - there is a veritable sea of bad books drowning the populace with atrocious poetry from hopefuls everywhere.

With small presses, there might be only one or a couple of people working on everything from overall design to proofreading, so there might be errors that companies with millions of dollars to work with won’t make. But it’s all relative, since the independent press is also highly innovative, offering more variety since its investments and expectations are not necessarily to hit the New York Times Bestseller list (though no one would scoff at making it!).

Creative control in my small press means I get to decide what goes in and what goes on the cover - frankly, I can’t believe the terrible cover art of the vast majority of large press publishing.

Also, bad books are not exclusive to the small press. The vast majority of books are forgettable, and the vast majority of books are poor sellers. But to me, that doesn’t matter. If someone puts themselves out there, I admire that. Only a few people will have a million fans. Only a few books will be brilliant enough to transcend history as classics. And who cares if someone wants to share their bad poetry with their friends and family? We sneer at the gall of someone who dares to put their stuff out there, when we don’t have to buy it. But we all pay taxes that go into grants that pay for so-called legitimate writers to write boring books that no one will read.

We just as often sneer at the big best-selling writers for their mass-manufactured approach to writing - but it is these few who allow the industry to exist, since nearly every writer, old and new, loses money for its publishers. Publishing is a losing game.

I try to accept all of it, and believe there is room for all of us. This doesn’t mean that I think all literature is equal - quite the opposite. I think literature serves many different purposes. No one is forced to be an audience to what they don’t like - but I can’t see any harm in people expanding their horizons in different directions, either. Academic readers might do good to relax with sentimental mush from time to time - and readers who are intimidated by the elitism of classicists shouldn’t be discouraged from trying to experience the joy of hallmark literature. Everyone can benefit from reading from the opposite end of their political spectrum and learning something about their own confirmation biases.

I work hard at my art and writing. I try to find an audience that appreciates my work. I live humbly thus far, but I live in a “room of my own” and spend each and every day doing what I love.

What will your next book be about?

My next book is a collection of short fiction stories. It will be out this year. My second poetry collection is also pending and will probably be out this year, too.

The companion to Fascinating Writers is underway - Fascinating Artists: twenty-five unusual lives. I’m hard at work on it, and hope to see its completion this year, but it takes a considerable amount of time to write each piece and I don’t want to rush them. I want them to be inspired.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

The Idea Fountain, which merged my visual art work, my writing work, and my passion for freedom for all people - freedom of expression - is my most significant achievement.

The Fountain will, I hope, continue to flow with new ideas and generate new ways to work, to market myself, and to support creativity and freedom for people who live under tyranny. Through the umbrella of the Fountain, I want to continue to learn about history and politics and promote the art of people who are not as fortunate as I am. It is a tremendous blessing to be born free, to 20th century Canada.

I used to feel guilty for “frittering” my time away on art and writing when I should have been doing useful tasks - “real” work. Now I know that it is a privilege wasted to not pursue my creative potential when historically I wasn’t allowed to do so. I would not have the same privilege if I were born into socialism or theocracy. In a way, I feel committed to making the most of my writing and art because it is a privilege few have.

I hope for the day that all men, women, and children will be free. And I’m optimistic, despite the atrocities and censorships and torments and war that people endure. The Idea Fountain is about my hope and optimism, and finding that place of gratitude is my most significant achievement thus far.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Lorette C. Luzajic [Artist Showcase], Epiphany Magazine, Issue 9
The Summer of Michael Jackson: An interview with Lorette C. Luzajic, Open Book Toronto, January 21, 2010
Reading, Writing and Self-publishing: What's Your Experience of It?Conversations with Writers, April 13, 2007

[Interview] Erik Schmidt

2011-08-31T00:58:00.001+01:00

Erik Schmidt lives in Georgia and is a sports editor and a freelance writer.

10 of his short stories appear in the anthology, Cover Stories: A Euphictional Anthology (CreateSpace, 2010).

In this interview, Erik Schmidt talks about his writing:

When did you start writing?

I had to write fictional stories throughout elementary school, but I started taking it seriously — or at least as seriously as any 11-year-old boy can take anything beyond backyard football and baseball cards — in sixth grade.

Our teacher, Mrs. Jacoby, consistently had us write 100-word essays and then read them aloud in class. I remember thinking some of the topics were boring or uninspiring, so I started creating my own themes for my own amusement. They weren’t anything special, but it was important for me to realize that innovation, creative thinking, and stepping outside the expected parameters are huge elements in the writing process.

There was no epiphany or mind-blowing realization in regards to becoming a published writer. When I was a junior in high school, I saw an ad for a sports writer for a twice-weekly newspaper called the Wall Herald in New Jersey. The owner, I think his name was Ed Brown, had his own airport. The Herald ran a regular contest where you had to find a small caricature of Mr. Brown flying a plane somewhere in the paper. If you found him, you won an ice cream sundae. Basically, this wasn’t the New York Times, so I figured, “What the hell?”

I realize this doesn’t paint the most romantic of literary pictures, but I loved sports, I was a decent writer, and this seemed like a better way to earn money than working as a dishwasher or telemarketer. Again, this isn’t a feel good, movie-of-the-week story. I applied for the job, they invited me in for an interview, and I drove down there. I showed them a few clips from my high school paper, the editor looked them over, and then she asked if I had a driver’s license and a car.

I had both.

They hired me.

I subsequently decided to turn this into a career. I majored in journalism at the University of Georgia and ultimately found work as a sports editor at The Oconee Enterprise in Watkinsville, Ga. I’ve had two stints there and along the way I’ve done some freelance work for daily papers, magazines and a website or two.

As for becoming a published writer in the fictional realm, again, there wasn’t any exact “I know what I must be” moment. It was just something I thought I could do and something that would allow a more creative outlet beyond structured sports writing.

I do know several people who absolutely have to write. I’m not one of them. If I write something and someone wants to buy it, that’s great. If not, so be it. I’ll live. Of course, I’ll live better if everyone buys it. I’m certainly not against that scenario.

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

Aside from the sports writing that pays my bills, my work can be classified as semi-realistic, humorous fiction. I’ll take a completely believable scenario and let it run a step beyond ordinary. It keeps things in the real world, yet entertains. At least that’s the idea.

I despise the phrase, “target audience.” It confines the human race to three commercially motivated categories: age, gender, and annual income. I don’t write for any of these. I write for people who refuse to take life too seriously. I write for people who aren’t easily offended. I write for people who aren’t afraid to acknowledge that “Corporate America” is nothing more than a two-word excuse that permits the wealthy to abuse the middle and lower classes. Okay, I really don’t write for that third group. But I admire their attitude.

In the writing you are doing, which authors have influenced you the most?

This is always an interesting question, and here I’d like to point out that while I respect the classic writers every kid wades through in high school as well as their modern day contemporaries, I’m not a fan of the traditional style of novel writing. It involves far too much verbiage.

I’ve read books where an author uses three paragraphs to describe a mountain. Honestly, I’m impressed by the vocabulary involved here, but personally, I detest that level of intricacy. It’s not necessary. I know what a mountain looks like. Tell me how high it is and whether or not it’s snow-covered. I can figure out the rest.

As such, I can’t get enough of books from Chuck Klosterman, Dave Barry, and Carl Hiaasen. As journalists, they have a straight-to-the-point style that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. Just as importantly, they share a biting wit and a tremendous sense of humor. In my opinion, these are the most entertaining writers around. Since I write to entertain and not to fill pages with 17 long-winded portraits of the color blue, theirs is a style I can relate to and embrace.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

First and foremost, as a journalist I talk to a lot of people. Ergo, I have a decent handle on realistic verbal communication which helps put believable dialog in my fictional works. Along these lines, my wife complains to me that I have too much profanity in my stories. My response is simple, “People curse a lot.”

Outside of dialog, I’m sure my personal experiences are similar to those of most other writers. You drink with friends, you spend time with family, you get into the occasional scrape with the law, etc. Some things you remember and draw upon for ideas. Others you don’t.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

In regards to the process of writing, sometimes I worry that my central conflict isn’t strong enough. Sometimes I don’t think I’ve fully developed my main characters. Sometimes I think I’m just rewriting someone else’s story. Sometimes I think my conflict, my characters, and the story I’m writing all suck.

I don’t have a set way to deal with any of this and there’s no way to describe how these issues are resolved. Sometimes I scrap the entire story and sometimes I just make a key tweak or two. That’s it.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

I think getting published is the biggest challenge facing any "new" writer. I’ve spoken to authors at signings and seminars and perused countless books on the topic.

Essentially, if you don’t know someone, the whole process appears to be a crap shoot. I know that may sound bitter or harsh, but let’s face it. Just like you can go to a dive bar and see a random band that sounds just as good as Seether or Nickelback or whoever, there are unpublished writers out there who have written a novel that’s just as good as something you might find on the shelf at Borders or Barnes & Noble. Maybe the published author wrote a better query letter or maybe the agent who read the unpublished author’s query was hung over that day. In my mind, it’s that random. I could be wrong, but that’s my feeling.

Thankfully, the self-publishing world has the capability to dent this norm. Sure, there are self-published works out there that are absolute garbage, but at least self-publishing gives writers the opportunity to find an audience who can label their work as garbage. And I mean that in an incredibly positive sense.

Agents and publishers aren’t the only people on the planet who can read and form an opinion. Just about anyone with a high school diploma has that capacity. Self-publishing allows for the opportunity, at the very least, to succeed or fail without a middle-man censor.

Do you write every day?

I’m not one of these people who designates two, three, or four hours of free time a day to write.

If I feel like writing (aside from my actual sports writing job where knocking out a 12-15-inch story is something I can do in my sleep), I write. If I don’t feel like it, I don’t write.

Obviously, if I was a paid novelist and my livelihood was dependent on the written word, I would change this habit ASAP. However, at this point it’s not necessary to do so.

That being said, I don’t have a process or schedule when I write. If I have an idea for a chapter or a screenplay scene, I write it. If I have another idea, I keep writing. If I’m out of ideas, I stop.

I’ve found that I can’t force quality creativity. Again, if it meant the difference between having the air conditioning on and the power turned off, I would certainly reconsider this thought process. Whether or not I’d succeed is another question.

How many books have you written so far?

I’ve written one novel called Hair Ball that I’m currently in the process of marketing. The log line is as follows: When two fallen rock stars from the days of Guns n Roses attempt to blackmail a Florida politician to finance their career resurrection, they inadvertently intertwine the lives of a Norwegian assassin with a foul-mouthed parrot, a smug attorney suffering from hair envy, and a pop metal tribute band single-handedly keeping the spandex and hair spray industries afloat.

I’ve also written five screenplays, although none of them have sold.

In addition to that, I contributed 10 short stories to a compilation entitled, Cover Stories that was released on June 21, 2010. The material encompasses a wide range of territory, from horror to romance to comedy to stuff I don’t wish to describe for fear of misinterpreting another author’s meaning.

Christian Dumais organized the entire process and centered it around something called euphiction. Chris and some of the other writers busted their tails coming up with a definition for this and there’s actually a Wikipedia entry for it.

Here’s a quick explanation: Euphiction is a writing genre where writers do literary “cover versions” of specific songs, a marriage of musical inspiration with the written word, or a story that works like a three-minute single.

Basically, we all picked an album and wrote stories inspired by the titles of 10 songs from that album. I chose Sugartooth’s self-titled debut, which is really an incredible body of music. However, because I was unable to obtain permission to use the titles, I had to change my story titles at the last minute to avoid any post-publication complications.

Of course, I don’t blame Sugartooth for any of this. They broke up over 10 years ago. My issue is with the corporate stranglehold on such issues and I’ll hold this grudge until the day they pry the Miller Lite bottle from my cold, dead hands.

How long did it take you to come up with the material that appears in Cover Stories?

From start to finish, I think it took about a year. I wasn’t really paying attention.

We went the self-publishing route, and I believe that was the thinking from Day 1. Simply put, it was more practical.

The down side, of course, is that we have to market the book ourselves. Thankfully, we have several authors on board who are incredibly accomplished at this. They love virtual cafes, blogs, etc. Their passion has proven to be a tremendous boon.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?

Choosing which album to base the stories on was by far the most difficult task — unless you count the current marketing process. I have a rich CD collection and depending on the day, any one of them could be in my top 10.

Honestly, I ended up choosing Sugartooth because a friend and I had just been discussing little-known bands that deserved to make it big. A day or two later, Derrek Carriveau, one of the other writers and a close friend of Chris’s, sent me an email asking if I’d be interested in participating in this project. It made my decision a lot easier.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

I liked the challenge of the word limit. Christian set a strict cap of 1,000 words per story. As I mentioned earlier in the interview, I’m not a fan of unnecessary verbiage. However, to create a protagonist, plot, crisis, and resolution all within 1,000 words still proved difficult at times. Fortunately, I think the most I ever had to cut was about 100 words.

Also, as a music lover, the idea of assisting in the pioneering of what will hopefully become an accepted genre in euphiction was very appealing.

What sets your contribution to Cover Stories apart from other things you've written?

Working as part of a collaborative effort was unique. Also, I only knew two of the writers, Derrek and Chris, going into this, so reading thoughts from “strangers” was a new experience.

However, with one or two exceptions, the content of my stories is similar to what I usually write about. I didn’t branch out too much. It’s not that I feel my style is unchangeable. I just happen to like it.

What will your next book be about?

I’m currently writing a yet-to-be-titled novel about a Jewish Little League team subjected to a roster overhaul. It’s kind of South Park meets The Bad News Bears.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Well, I’ve won several awards as a sports writer from the Georgia Press Association, but honestly, just completing Hair Ball was my biggest achievement. Even if I never make a dime off that book, I’m extremely proud of the finished product. I busted my ass on it, and seeing it through to an actual ending was very rewarding.

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Christian A. Dumais [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, August 20, 2011
Music Made New: A Review of Cover Stories: A Euphictional Anthology (2010, coverstoriesbook.com), By Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews, December 2, 2010
A Conversation on Euphiction with N. Pendleton, By Christian A. Dumais, coverstoriesbook.com, July 14, 2010

[Interview] Tony Attwood

2011-08-28T22:06:00.001+01:00

Tony Attwood has an honours degree in psychology from the University of Hull, an M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of Surrey, and a Ph.D. from University College London.

He runs a diagnostic and treatment clinic for children and adults with Asperger’s Syndrome, in Brisbane, Australia and is the author of books which include The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2008), Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997) and Asperger's and Girls (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997).

In this interview, Dr Tony Attwood talks about his work:

When and why did you first become interested in Asperger's syndrome?

I first became interested in Asperger's syndrome in the early 1990's when we finally had some diagnostic criteria for Asperger's syndrome which I was able to use in my clinical practice. I had been interested in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) since 1971. At that time our knowledge of ASD was primarily in the area of classic autism and the silent aloof child, however, it became very clear that some of the children were certainly not silent or aloof.

What do you like best about your work?

I think that the greatest enjoyment is seeing the progress of individuals that I have known for a number of years, in terms of self-understanding, abilities and circumstances.

I also enjoy the compliments and feedback from people with Asperger's syndrome, their parents and other professionals for the knowledge that I have and the strategies that I have acquired over the years to encourage particular abilities.

Who or what inspires you?

I have the greatest inspiration from those with Asperger's syndrome. I think they are heroes for the way they cope with the challenges they face in their daily life. I am also inspired by those who support the person with Asperger's syndrome from parents and partner to teachers and therapists.

What do you hope for the future for Asperger's syndrome?

I think, in the long term, I would hope that people with Asperger's syndrome have a greater understanding of their qualities and difficulties. I would also hope that there is a change in attitude from seeing Asperger's syndrome as a tragedy to a different way of thinking.

What is your favourite book and film?

I have really enjoyed the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling. Although they were originally written for children I think that they are an inspiration for people of all ages. I particularly enjoy the wisdom of various characters especially Dumbledore.

I have also enjoyed the film versions of the Harry Potter books for the special effects and ability to entrance the audience. I do realise that Harry Potter is not everyone's favourite taste but I have read each book twice, which I have not done since I was at school having to read the English literature text for the GCE 'O' Level. One day I would like to meet J. K. Rowling to express my appreciation for her imagination and writing such enthralling books.

(c) Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2011

This article was first published in the Jessica Kingsley Publishers Autism, AS and Related Conditions Newsletter in June 2008

Related books:

,,

Related articles:

Interview w/ Tony Attwood about autism in women and girls, By Sharon daVanport, Autism Women’s Network, November 2, 2010
Interview with Dr Tony Attwood, By Adam Feinstein, Looking Up, Volume 3 Number 6
Asperger's Syndrome: An Interview with Tony Attwood, By Allison Martin, Children's Disabilities Information