Q: Robert...what made you
become a writer?
A: Can any writer answer the question about what caused an overwhelming
compulsion to write? I don’t know why I feel so driven, but I can tell you how
I got to the place that I’m now acting to resolve my compulsion to write. In
the 8th grade, I won the school’s short story contest. “God Sent” was about a
semi truck driver so consumed with theological debate that he caused a terrible
accident. I began to dream of becoming a rich and famous author. As it often
does, life got in the way. I worked and went to school, never finishing any
more stories that I’d started, until recently when I incorporated some of those
unfinished stories into Rarity from the
Hollow. I recently retired as a children’s psychotherapist
for our local mental health center. It was an intensive day program. Most of the
kids in the program, like myself as a child, had been traumatized, some having
experienced extreme sexual abuse. One day at work in 2006 it all clicked
together and the Lacy Dawn Adventures project was born – an empowered female
protagonist beating the evil forces that victimize and exploit others to get
anything and everything that they want. Rarity
from the Hollow is the first full-length adventure in a prospective series. While my protagonist is a composite character
based on real-life kids that I’ve met over the years while working in
children’s services, one little girl was especially inspiring. Her name is Lacy
Dawn. Rather than focusing on her victimization, she spoke of dreams – finding
a loving family that respected her physically and spiritually. She inspired me
to make my own dream come true — to write fiction — and I haven’t stopped
writing since I first met her that day during a group therapy session. That
little girl, unknowingly, prompted me to write Rarity from the Hollow.
Q: What is your
typical writing day like?
A: After
fifty-two years of contributions into the U.S. Social Security fund, the last
forty in the field of child advocacy, I recently retired from my job as a
children’s psychotherapist for our local mental health center. For the last four month I’ve lived in front of
my computer. So, my typical day right now is to devote most of my time to some
writing related activity. Unfortunately, much of this time is spent on
self-promotion of Rarity from the Hollow instead
of my true love – writing. Even more unfortunately, I broke and will need to
get at least a part-time job soon. This means that my typical writing day is
about to change, assuming I can find someone who wants to hire somebody old
enough to retire.
Q: Do you
outline? If so, how extensive are your outlines?
A: Yes, I outline my stories. Rarity from the Hollow became the novel
that exists today exactly as planned, in detail. However, in this day and age
of fanfic and formula products, a little qualification of my answer would more
fully answer your question. Fiction cannot always be measured when a reader has
turned the last page of a novel. In my opinion, good fiction prompts a mental
integration process whereby the story soaks in and subsequently affects the
reader in immeasurable ways for many years, perhaps without that person’s
awareness or attribution of source. As an author, I know where I want to go when
writing. I detail steps toward what I want to achieve in each scene and build
toward a preplanned plot. While I consider other factors, such as target
audience, the one-book-after-another busy schedule of book reviewers who may
not have enough time to invest in contemplating convolutions of a story, and a
host of other factors, I do not write toward markets or book reviewers. Rarity
from the Hollow was not intended to be a quick and easy read with a
standard straight forward plot line, on purpose. I’ve written other stuff that was
intended as such, on purpose. I start a story with one very general outline
consisting of three parts: beginning (bunch of blank space), middle (more blank
space), and end. I scribble notes that I use for reference instead of for
control of my writing. I have pens and notepads handy in every room of my
house, and even take something to write with when I go out, such as to a
restaurant. My scribbles fill in the blanks of the outline, and are always
subject to modification.
Q: How many
revisions will you typically do on a novel?
A: I couldn’t count the number of revisions of Rarity from the Hollow. I over-revise
when I write, and sometimes the work suffers in the end. This is a practice
that I need to work on – seriously. I can’t seem to learn my lesson, so to
speak. I have a background in auto body repair, not professionally, but I’m
damn good and have made money at it on the side. I don’t do that type of work
anymore, and if you saw my truck you would agree. But, I had the same type of
problem when painting cars – when it’s good, it’s good. I need to control
myself – seriously.
Q: What is your best tip for editing a
manuscript?
A: My best advice for editing a manuscript is to not do it
yourself. One tends to read what one intended to write, at least I do. When
it’s good enough, like we just talked about, start with trustworthy folks that
you know and move up a step at a time until you have a professional editor, or
a person who would otherwise qualify to be one, cut the heck out of it. I
recommend that a manuscript be looked at by different types of people: one who
looks for style and grammar, and the other to look for content – do the scenes
make sense to the average reader? I totally got lucky with Rarity from the Hollow. A woman that I met on-line, the former
Acquisitions Editor for the University
of Michigan’s Ancient
History Reference Library took an early interest in the project. She was highly
skilled. It took six months of mailing the manuscript back and forth
Q: Which writing
habits and/or tricks of the trade have made you a better writer?
A: Personally, I like to use a lot of dialogue to achieve “show don’t tell.” I don’t think that I could
force myself to read another novel that uses adjectives and adverbs excessively,
or that needs two or three paragraphs to set up a brief exchange between
characters. That’s just me. Some readers eat it up, especially in the fantasy
and romance genres it seems.
Q: Do you ever
suffer through writer’s block? If so, how do you fight it?
A: I’ve only experienced writer’s block for brief periods, and
even then it is not really a block so much as it is balancing scenarios in a
scene.
Q: What drew you to
write your preferred genre(s)?
A: I selected the SF/F backdrop for Lacy
Dawn Adventures because it was the best fit by process of elimination.
While Rarity from the Hollow,
my debut novel, is a fun read, the story does include early scenes
or references to child maltreatment, poverty, domestic violence, and mental
illness in contemporary America
. As such, it was not a good fit to the historical or western genres, although
these social problems have existed throughout history, including in the Wild
West, and are not restrained by our world’s geography, cultures, or religions. The systems in place to help
victims of these types of problems are woefully inadequate. I felt that the
literary, biographical, and nonfiction genres wouldn’t work because the story
would have been so depressing that only the most determined would have finished
it.
I felt that the story had to be
hopeful and especially wanted it to inspire survivors of child maltreatment
toward competitiveness within our existing economic structures, instead of
people using past victimization as an excuse for inactivity. I didn’t think
that anybody would bite on the theme of a knight on a white stallion galloping
off a hillside to swoop victims into safety, like in the traditional romance
genre. That almost never actually happens in real life, so the romance genre
was too unrealistic as the primary. There was already enough horror in the
story, so that genre was out too. What could be more horrific than child abuse?
The protagonist and her traumatized
teammates needed fantastical elements to achieve empowerment. But, as in life,
one cannot overcome barriers to the pursuit of happiness by simply imagining
them away. That’s where the science fiction came into play. It provided a power
source. I tied the science fiction to Capitalism because in today’s reality it
will take significant financial investment by benefactors to improve the
welfare of children in the world, and to invest in economic development. As
symbolized in the story, I feel that our governments are unlikely to fund
effective solutions to social problems in the near future because of the
politics.
Q: Do you utilize
beta readers?
A: I’ve been lucky so far by
receiving profession quality editing without spending any money. Since author
proceeds from Rarity from the Hollow have
been donated to prevent child abuse, I’m hopeful but not necessarily optimistic
that the same will happen with my next novel, Ivy. Since I’m so broke, it is a tough situation. I wouldn’t want
my name associated with writing that had not been professionally edited, but….
Q: In your most
recently published novel, what’s one scene you really enjoyed writing—and why?
A: I really enjoyed writing a scene in Rarity from the Hollow titled, “Welfare Fraud.”
Ironically, if I had to cut a scene out of the novel, that would be it. I guess
there’s a big difference between a writer enjoying the creation of a scene, and
whether it is a good fit to the story from a reader's perspective. This
scene takes place in an Administrative Conference Room of the local Department
of Welfare. Jenny, the protagonist's mother, had been charged with the illegal
receipt of food stamps. In addition to Jenny, the characters were an
administrative hearing officer (judge) and three Suits — female lawyers there
to prosecute Jenny. Jenny played it masterfully in the scene. I don’t want
to spoil anything for readers, but it was a classic David vs. Goliath type of scene that was
very fun to write. It was filled with comedy and satire. As a stand-alone
scene, it was fun to read. But, frankly, this scene slowed down the action
of the novel a little.
Q: What makes the
main character(s) of your most recent novel so special?
A: Lacy Dawn, the protagonist of all Lacy Dawn Adventures, is
special because she exudes contradictions. In Rarity from the Hollow she is powerful as a skinny little girl,
highly intelligent yet colloquial, naive but all-knowing, and mostly she’s
special because Lacy Dawn inspired me to finally get my butt in gear and write
some fiction that quite of few people have said they have enjoyed reading.
Q: What is your best
advice for author self-promotion?
A: My best
advice for author self-promotion is to keep your email correspondence.
Well-meaning and very nice people sometimes get busy and may not follow through
with commitments that have been made. I’m talking about bloggers, not friends
or social acquaintances, such as on social media. I’m far from an expert on any
of this stuff. I’m a novice, and many people reading this interview are bound
to be much more knowledgeable than I am about self-promotion. I’m just sharing
my experience with trying to self-promote Rarity
from the Hollow over the last four months.
Q: How do you deal
with negative reviews?
A: In my opinion, there are types of negative reviews, and I
deal with them all, but I’ve gotten a couple of fake reviews that were the
hardest to figure out. If I’ve solicited a review and it is not what I’d hope
for, well, that’s my mistake for not restraining my zeal to self-promote. Rarity from the Hollow is not mainstream
fiction. It is literary science fiction that is character driven. If I’ve asked
a book reviewer who is heavily into hard science fiction, for example, to
review my novel, and if the review is not favorable, that’s “my bad.” Similarly,
Rarity from the Hollow was not
written as Young Adult, or for the prudish, fainthearted, or easily offended.
If I look at what a book reviewer has focused on and find a lot of religious
focused stories, even if the stories are in a science fiction genre, such could
be an indication of conservative personal values which would affect the person’s
review of my novel. If I make a mistake in soliciting reviews, and the review
is not what I’d hoped for, I will be able to deal with that just fine.
I’ve gotten a three, maybe four, what I consider “fake”
reviews. I have no idea what motivate a person to write a review, positive or
negative, about a novel that the person obviously has not read. I’ll tell you
about one. A person posted a one star, two sentence review of Rarity from the Hollow. Essentially, the
review’s author stated that she didn’t like “war stories.” The only thing
gunshot in my novel was an imitation Barbie used for target practice by
neighbor boys – a metaphor of the impact of poverty on the self-esteem of
children. There was no war in Rarity from
the Hollow.
I reacted to the negative review. It was perturbing.
However, I didn’t contact the reviewer directly. I wrote a polite inquiry to
the Goodreads admin., which
essentially said that it did not intervene in such situations. Two weeks later
the review disappeared. Good? Not! Now, the text of the review is gone, but the
one star rating stands, bringing down the overall average score of Rarity from the Hollow. In the long-run,
it would have been better to have kept my mouth shut and hoped that somebody
else would have commented on the dishonest review. I’m learning.
Q: What is your
favorite aspect of being an indie author?
A: After decades of suppressing my need to write fiction, [being an] Indie, and the technology which makes it possible, provides hope that I can
write something that will be read by others. I have no delusion of making much
money. Author proceeds from Rarity from
the Hollow have been donated to a nonprofit child abuse prevention program
from the start, so I’m not disappointed that “rich and famous author” is the
equivalent of telling one’s mother, “Mommy, when I grow up I’m going to be an
astronaut.” The opportunity to raise a little money is my favorite aspect of
Indie publishing. I hate holding bake sales to raise money for a good cause. My
brownies never turn out perfect.
Q: What is
your least favorite aspect of being an indie author?
A: My least favorite aspect of [being an] Indie is the constant need to
battle with my own common sense about spending money on fancy sounding
self-promotions packages. Technology has generated new industries and one of
the most predatory targets aspiring authors because we are so susceptible. I
desperately want Rarity from the Hollow to
succeed. I see expensive and inexpensive author promotions packages all the
time, with testimonials by supposedly satisfied customers who I do not know or
trust. In my income bracket, I can’t afford to pay for self-promotion of my
writing, but I’m constantly tempted to do so.
Q: What is your
current writing project?
A: I always have several writing project in various stages of progress at the
same time. Since I’ve recently retired, the difference is that I’ve become
productive. Instead of ideas, partially developed and then abandoned because
life has always seemed so complicated, I’m reaching closure on a ton of older half-baked
stories. A new short story just got rejected by a major science fiction
magazine, so I’ve got some work to do on it, especially since I agree that it
was prematurely submitted. Ivy, my
next novel, is almost ready for professional editing. I’m holding off, trying
to build name recognition before I submit it to the publisher for
consideration. My dream with respect to writing fiction is to get to the place
where I no longer need to request book reviews, but instead book reviewers ask
the publisher for a copy of my work to review. I’m hopeful that I’ll get to
that place with Rarity from the Hollow
and then have the release of Ivy
perfectly timed so that I can concentrate on writing instead of promotions.
Overly optimistic? Of course.
Q: What are three of
your favorite novels?
A: I don’t think that I can actually pick three favorite
novels. I have tons of favorites. Here are three, but that doesn’t mean that
the fourth or fifth, for example, would be less favorites: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut; Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Collins; and, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by
Douglas Adams.
Q: If you could have
lunch with any novelist, living or dead, who would it be? What would talk to
them about?
A: I would
love to have lunch with Abby Hoffman (Steal This Book) so that I could ask him to share his views about how the youth
counter-culture of the late ‘60s and ‘70s did or did not influence America as a
leader in the world, and why he held whatever views that he shared with me.
Q: What is your best
piece of advice for budding authors?
A: I have advice for budding authors,
but that doesn’t mean that my advice is sound, that they will listen, or that
my advice will have applicability in this rapidly changing technology and
marketplace. If I would have listened to the advice of established and
well-meaning authors when I started writing fiction, Rarity from the Hollow
would have never been published. My best advice to budding authors, therefore,
would be to listen to your heart, impose self-discipline with respect to
productivity, and pay attention to the changes that are going on before your
eyes. What worked in the past for someone else may not be the least bit
relevant to whether you achieve your dream to become a successful author.
Q: What is your
favorite inspirational quote?
A: My favorite quote, but I don’t know to whom to attribute
it, would be, “Don’t let the buttholes get you down.”
Pick up your copy of
Rarity from the Hollow here!
