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What inspired you to start writing?
Inspiration doesn't always have a reason. When I was a kid and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said a writer. I have no idea where that idea originated. It seems like I was born with it.
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Can you tell us a little about your latest book?
"Baseball, Birthday, and Ten Cent Beer" is a coming of age novel set during the infamous Ten Cent Beer riot at a Cleveland Indians baseball game in 1974.
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How do you create your characters?
I let them write themselves. No character that I've ever conceived turned out exactly how I envisioned them from the beginning. As I'm writing, they decide what they want to do. I can only facilitate the process.
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What does your typical writing day look like?
It takes several cups of coffee before I fell sufficiently fortified to attempt to write. Once I get started, I don't stop until I've run out of things to say. Sometimes, a day's work is a sentence. Other times, it's a whole story. I'm retired, so I can afford to waste a day.
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What has been the most rewarding part of being an indie author?
Introducing myself as a writer.
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What’s one challenge you’ve faced in your writing journey?
For approximately 30 years of my adult life, I didn't write a word of fiction. I was busy making a living in academe. During that time, though, I authored around 100 academic articles and 300 reviews, very few of which I'm afraid were ever read. When I turned 50, I decided to write what I really wanted.
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Do you have any favorite writing tools or apps?
Coffee.
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What advice would you give to new or aspiring indie authors?
Don't waste time.
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How do you handle book promotion as an indie author?
Throw everything out there and hope something sticks.
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What’s next for you? Are you working on a new book?
I'm working on what will be the tenth book in my "Holidazed" series of satires published by Evolved Publishing. Each of these is a satire centered around a different holiday. Check them out at https://evolvedpub.com/series/holidazed/. The next one, in progress, is tentatively entitled "The Curse of Columbus Day."
