What is your favorite quality about yourself?
That’s a tough one. I’m so wonderful in so many ways.
What is your least favorite quality about yourself?
My excessive modesty.
Ha. Seriously, I’d say my favorite quality, as a writer, is my imagination. Least favorite, impatience.
What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he’d learned in seven years.” —Mark Twain
I like that one because as I grow older I find the arrogance of youth to be one of the most tiresome things.
What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life?
Writing The Lowlands of Heaven.
How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
I was in my teens before the “cultural revolution” struck America. Consequently, my writing tends to be informed by the values of an earlier time.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I’ve always admired the way that writers create entire worlds out of words.
When and why did you begin writing?
I took my first serious shot at writing in the early 90s, when I wrote a draft of a novel. Why? I wanted to see if I could work that magic I mentioned.
How long have you been writing?
I dabbled in writing intermittently for many years. But I’ve been committed to it since 2005, when I began to develop The Lowlands of Heaven.
When did you first know you could be a writer?
With that novel I started in the 90s. Parts of it were good enough to make me confident that with practice I could write consistently well.
What inspires you to write and why?
I believe that we are spiritual beings and that there much more to reality than we can perceive from within the human condition. I try to explore that idea in my writing.
What genre are you most comfortable writing?
I believe it goes under different names: Speculative. Fantasy. Paranormal. Take your pick.
What inspired you to write your first book?
The Lowlands of Heaven grew out of the idea that there is more to reality than we see, and the possibility that different worlds may intersect.
Who or what influenced your writing once you began?
The need to finish. The need to improve.
Who or what influenced your writing over the years?
Skillfully written stories and a spiritual view of things.
What made you want to be a writer?
The way writers create entire worlds out of words is something I’ve always admired. I suppose it was inevitable that I’d emulate them.
What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general?
Getting started.
Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?
It taught me a number of things, but the most important of them was that I could do it. That I could finish a novel.
