But let's not talk Politics. Nope. Some subjects we just agree to disagree on. Still . . . .
You'll find in this interview that writers are writers. The Art (or really; isn't it a sort of Curse? A Love/Hat relationship you can't live with and certainly would dry up and wither away if you tried to live without it?) of Writing cuts across all forms of human boundaries, both real and artificial, and links us all together. We're cousins. Or brothers. Or sisters. We're all related. We all know the hardships, the joys, the madness that has to be within all of us in order for us to write.
And apparently we all have the same fears. Check out what Arlington says concerning what he fears the most about being a writer. I couldn't agree with him more. (Also check out what he says concerning what fictional characters he'd like to hang out with. I'm kinda curious to hear Travis McGee's answer as well)
And oh . . . about literary agents. Well . . . you decide for yourself.
This is Arlington's interview. All his. You may not have heard of him. But he's a writer. And like most writers known or unknown, he knows the joys and fears the rest of our bothers and sisters endure with every day.
Why don’t you begin
by telling us a little about yourself
I
was born in St. Louis . I’m named for an
1880’s baseball player, Arlington Latham. I’m an educator. It leaks out into my
writing. My career path was industrial sales and marketing but it required me
to teach people how to handle new technology. I really enjoyed teaching kids to
ski downhill a lot more. I’m also a good learner with poor grades but it hasn’t
killed me yet.
When did you decide
you wanted to become an author?
No,
I write full time. My other jobs are music and housekeeping and keeping the
fire built on our patio. Oh, and I’m a real presence in the kitchen. I’ve had
some continental training and do ethnic, My wife does the authentic Southern
cooking.
Were you an avid
reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?
Tell us a bit about
your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.
Remembering Arlie was a labor of
love. It concerns my paternal grandfather in his own voice. As I wrote it, it
seemed to have universal appeal as a true American rags to riches story, it
took on a life of its own. That often happens in writing, the characters decide
the dialog and the plot progression. The author just types.
How would you
describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it
stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?
Did your book
require a lot of research?
Some
do. My historical novel, 2027, New Madrid, Missouri took me to water ditches,
lakes, cotton fields, museums and college libraries. My adventure novels and
Telephoto were researched on the Web unearthing some very weird but useful
sites.
Who are your
literary heroes and why?
If you could have
any vice without repercussions, what would it be?
Well,
in no particular order, all the vices in moderation. Driving fast in a cool car
would come second.
What kind of
promotions do you do for your books?
I
maintain a Website, I do all the written and mailed stuff, to newspapers, radio
and TV plus the Internet writer’s and reader’s sites. I do a lot of book
signings, scratch up blurbs and reviews and I blog but I no longer “tweet” on
the major social network sites. That was just silly.
What is the
funniest/most embarrassing/scariest story from one of your books signings or
events?
No
one knew I was coming. They had the wrong date and I drove four hours to get
there. I then sold a book to a woman who only had a ten dollar bill. I let her
have it and darn if she didn’t show up an hour later with the rest. A kid asked
me why he had never heard of me. “Now you have!” I show my book trailers on a
PC on the table. I was asked if I was selling PC’s.
Who do you think you
are?
Wow!
I identify strongly with Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin
but I am not any of them. I devoutly wish that I at least shared some of their
qualities and talents.
If you could have
been the servant to any famous person in history, who would that be and why?
I
would have liked to follow William F. Buckley, Jr. around. He was not only a
deep thinker and a wry wit but also an imaginer and creator. I would have taken
something new home when each day ended.
If you are a world
builder, what is your favorite part of creating these worlds?
Authors
are like little Gods. They get to create, bear, kill, teach, manipulate, well,
without being graphic, get to make people do things within or outside of their
character without any consequence. I can write friends into books with
permission. Sometimes they beg. It’s wonderful.
How do you research?
I
start on the Web, then I go to places that I need to go to. Research is really
45% of writing. Marketing is 45% and the other 10% is writing.
When did you start
writing? Relate an anecdote from your earliest writing years.
I
began with a Spiral Steno Book in a mall parking lot in Chesterfield , Missouri between sales
calls. I started writing my short stories journal style, just thoughts. These
gave way to finished works, then the novels started pouring out.
Who was your mentor?
I
wish that I had one. My Grandfather taught me a love for the written word and
for creativity in general. So I guess that you could say that he was.
What would you tell
aspiring young writers about the publishing business?
Plan
to be broke, do your own butt work but enjoy writing. Don’t believe the crap
you read about Indie publishing. Grammy winning bands are recording in garages,
films made with Sony cameras are winning at Sundance and Cannes . Just make sure
that your work is tightly edited.
What has been your
experience with literary guilds or groups?
I
am a co-founder of the Independent Authors Guild. Groups like ours pass valuable
marketing and production information between each other and aspiring writers.
I’ve sold a few books as a result of this effort but I’ve gotten more reviews
and blurbs as a result.
Do you belong to a
critique group? How has this helped or hindered your writing.
No,
I tried and there are too many trolls out there. Honest people tend to stay
away from critique. It isn’t worth the unnecessary humiliation from unqualified
wannabies. Check writerscafe if you want a dose of lugubrious umber. Actually,
I got great feedback and remarkable ratings on Francis Ford Coppola’s
zoetrope.com. That was a positive experience.
What so you see for
the future of publishing and ebooks?
Traditional
publishers are having to reinvent themselves. Who can read the same safe stuff
they publish every six months. The problem is the inventory model, both in the
warehouse and on the shelves. The traditional publishers are now using print on
demand to minimize this problem but the gates are now open to Indies who write well and
edit with excellence.
If you could talk to
any fictional character, who would that be and what would you say?
I
thought about Jay Gatz, Rhett Butler and a few others but I would like to hang
with Travis McGee and ask him how he stays alive and meets so many hot women.
Which of your
characters do you love/hate/fear/pity the most and why?
I
most pity Amanda Uganda from Murder in
March Commons. She was a Belle from the Mid South with everything going for
her but she just went down the wrong road. Molly Barksdale from Telephoto is a close second. She never
knew what she wanted out of life so she trashed everyone around her.
Tell us five random
things about yourself.
1)
I’m a computer geek. 2) I love dogs and horses. 3) I play everything but horns.
4) I can recite the Greek alphabet. 5) Green is my favorite color and also the
color of my eyes.
What other types of
artistic talents do you have?
I
was trained to be a concert pianist but ended up an almost rock star. I’m a
pretty good photographer and work at line drawing. Mostly, I’m an educator in
engineering to writing to alpine skiing. I a licensed pilot and I’m rated
high-performance retractable gear. Mach .38, baby!
What type of writer
are you—the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who
mostly daydreams and fantasizes?
My
work springs from my imagination, but who doesn’t have a life experience spun
into their work? I think that you can’t avoid the places that you’ve been and
the people you’ve met and the things that you’ve done both good and
unfortunate.
When do you get your
best ideas and why do you think this is?
I
usually get my best ideas in restaurants overhearing people at other tables. Also
in cemeteries People are the best subjects to spin into fiction.
Do you get along with
your muse? What do you do to placate her when she refuses to inspire you?
I
live with her, I love with her and we spar over words. It is a mutual love of
reading and writing that I wouldn’t trade for a pot of gold. We have that
together. I wrote for two years in a motor home at a fish hatchery at Montauk
in the Missouri Ozarks. I taught her writing on the Internet. We traded works
and she asked if she could edit for me. I went down to Arkansas for a weekend and
forgot to go home. We married in 2011.
From the moment you
conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?
Each
book takes about a year from beginning to end no matter how I rush. I wrote
2027 in forty days to impress a woman, now my editor and wife (that part worked)
but it took a long time to edit and publish.
Describe your
working environment.
I’m
in a kitchen with oaken cabinets. The bar is angled out, I’m on the great room
side on a comfortable bar stool. I’m on a Frankenstein cobbled IBM laptop on
our wireless network with stereo speakers attached. I can access our hard drive
in the other room or save to my speed stick through either USB. Wireless is
magic. Behind me is a ten speaker 500 Watt Bose system and I can crank up
Serius XM Blusville if I have the need. I either write to it or play along on
my Godin guitar or my stack of keyboards.
Do you write
non-stop until you have a first draft, or do you edit as you move along?
Nope,
I write and then go back three chapters and re-edit. No one can successfully
edit their own material, they see their mistakes as correct but it helps and it
lets me put the missing words between the other words.
They say authors
have immensely fragile egos… How would you handle negative criticism or a
negative review?
After
two divorces, I couldn’t find my ego. Where the hell did that go? Yes, authors
do have fragile egos but good writers find friends and reviews easily. After
many years of being fired from good jobs, I have a pretty tough skin.
As a writer, what
scares you the most?
I
am most afraid of a lack of ideas. In fact, I’m frightened by any gap in
creativity.
When writing, what
themes do you feel passionate about?
Truth,
justice and the American Way .
Are you a
disciplined writer?
For writer
moms: How do you divide your time
between taking care of a home and children, and writing? Do you plan your
writing sessions in advance?
Hey,
this applies to Dads too. Moms don’t have a patent on stress. All writers
budget their time, men, women, mothers and fathers. If we have a passion, we
pursue it. With a singular purpose.
When it comes to
writing, are you an early bird, or a night owl?
Mid
morning suits me then I edit in the afternoon. In the evening I read the two papers,
Blytheville and Little Rock .
Do you have an
agent? How was your experience in
searching for one?
It
was dismal to abominable. They are blood sucking leaches or else they are too
high gloss to answer their mail. The rest want to charge a “reading fee” before
they vanish completely, make gross denigrations to inspired prose and turns of
phrase. This species is extinct unless they start to police each other.
You can agree or disagree with Arlington. Your choice. But the sheer act of opening your soul up and bleed freely all over a clean slate in an effort to say something congently makes him a friend of mine.
Regardless (grinning widely) whatever his Politics may be.
You can agree or disagree with Arlington. Your choice. But the sheer act of opening your soul up and bleed freely all over a clean slate in an effort to say something congently makes him a friend of mine.
Regardless (grinning widely) whatever his Politics may be.