Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Edward Moore in FAMM
Edward Moore has been lighting it up lately! He's got a flash pubbed in Futures Anthology Mystery Magazine, and it's great. It's right here: Victorian Shoplifter.
Monday, June 27, 2005
William Vitanyi, Jr.
William Vitanyi, Jr.
With two books and one produced screenplay under his belt, William Vitanyi, Jr. has definitely tasted more than a little success with his writing. His first novel, Palm Sunday, is a technological thriller about the organized violation of online privacy. Blending well-developed characters, online technology, and a superbly suspenseful plot, Vitanyi will keep you glued to the page.
His second novel, Kyuboria, is an offbeat and absurdly realistic account of cubicle working. It's sure to crack up anyone who's ever been a state worker, or a cubicle worker. But its appeal translates to anyone who's held an office job. When state worker Clint Palmer discovers that a large grant is available that he could use to start his own business, he gets excited. But there's a catch. The grant is only available to people who've been fired from their job. Easy enough to accomplish, except that the state never fires anyone. Thus begins Clint's mission to get fired with his escalating schemes that become more outrageous by the day. Fans of the Ron Livingston flick Office Space will definitely appreciate Vitanyi's ironic wit and depictions of office politics.
Bill has also written a screenplay. Shakespeare's Dilemma is a short film that places some of Shakespeare's most memorable characters – such as Lady MacBeth and Iago, in a modern office setting as they wrestle with deadlines and politics as they await auditor Othello. A Lyon's Den Production, and starring Bill as an inept, golf-loving Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Dilemma is a satirical and witty look at office life, and it also features some stunning codpieces. Director John C. Lyons, who also plays Iago, has been gathering rave reviews on the film festival circuit for his follow-up short, Hunting Camp. Both Shakespeare's Dilemma and Hunting Camp are available through Lyon's Den Production.
Both of Bill's books, Palm Sunday and Kyuboria are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local bookstores.
1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they've
influenced you?
Louis L'amour - Many westerns. Though he wrote fiction, he prided himself on writing about places that actually existed, and trails or watering holes that he had seen with his own eyes. When reading his stuff you don't even realize that you are turning the pages. Influence: Matching fiction with reality.
Joseph Heller - "Something Happened" (he also wrote "Catch-22", which I haven't read yet.) "Something Happened" includes a lot about office life, though not much about cubicles. In the story the main character has a disabled child at home, which I do as well. This is not the focus of the book, which actually doesn't have much of a focus, but is an entertaining read. Influence: Writing syle and attitude, rambling about nothing, as long as it's funny or ironic. Or funny and ironic.
Chuck Palahniuk - "Choke", "Survivor". Chuck shows how to use your own voice in your writing, to speak to the reader almost in fleeting images. He demonstrates that a fully constructed, grammatically perfect sentence is not always the best way. Influence: Write naturally.
Stephen Holzner - "Visual Basic 6". (Programming reference book). I have to make a living, right?
John C. Lyons - Work memo dated 11/16/2004 admonishing me for taking my personal work home with me. Influence: I now bath less frequently.
Susan DiPlacido - "24/7". She is an Eloquentress Suprema. In fact, she influenced me to get a tatoo: 24/7, on my forearm.
Really? Nah. But she is a heck of a writer.
2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing?
Your biggest weakness or flaw?
My biggest flaw is that I suck. I'm a hack. An amateur. I'll never amount to anything in the world of literature. I will die unknown and unappreciated.
But I'm good with that.
As for my strengths, hmmm...
I guess I'm pretty diligent once I get started with a book. Even though I like to watch football, for example, if a game is on I think about what I could accomplish with my writing over the three hours or so of the broadcast. Then, usually, I write for that time instead.
Also, I know when something is funny, because if it makes me laugh, I know it will make someone else laugh, too. In humor topicality is important to provide a common reference. Writing about an environment that you are intimately familiar with is key to getting the nuance right.
Tropicality is entirely different.
I think I'm getting better with cadence. Writing at its best should be like a song, I think, and just as with music you can tell when something just doesn't fit. It's not necessarily grammar, usage, or any other definable aspect of language. Remember how we used to say in English class, "It just doesn't sound right?"
Well sometimes it doesn't.
3) You've written novels (Kyuboria and Palm Sunday) and a screenplay
(Shakespeare's Dilemma). What do you like best about each medium and which
would you like to focus on in the future?
With novels it's all you. Either you got it right--as far as how you intend it to be read--or you didn't. With a screenplay you get to actually see and hear how someone else is interpreting your intention. It's great. If you are involved in the actual production of your own screenplay, as I was in "Shakespeare's Dilemma", then you get to have a back and forth exchange with the actors, explaining different emphasis, intonation, whatever. Sometimes they have a better idea, and it becomes more of a collaboration. Everyone has more of a stake in the final product, so there is sort of a collective nervousness at how the final product will be received.
Which do I like better?
It depends on the finished product. If one is great and the other mediocre, I like the great one. I'll probably either quit writing altogether, or continue writing in both styles.
Depends on my mood.
4) Palm Sunday is a thriller, and Kyuboria is a satire/comedy. Do you like
writing humor, and do you find it easier or harder to write than "serious"
fiction?
By far Kyuboria was easier to write, because it's more me. People say it sounds like the way I talk, and I take that as an insult, but at least it's what I intended. In Palm Sunday I incorporated fiction with technology, which demanded a lot of research. Although I work with technology, I don't know everything. Palm Sunday was much more of a production because it was far longer, had to be carefully outlined, researched, and of course rewritten time and again. As my first book I'm very proud of it, but I know that if I had to do it again I could make it much better.
Humor is funnier.
5) You've been quite successful so far with two published novels and a
short film made from your screenplay. What, to you, is the hardest part of
the business of publishing and what is the best part of it?
Here's my take on it: Writing is hard, but fun. Marketing is dreadful, but necessary.
So marketing is my least favorite, and therefore, probably, my weakest aspect of the deal.
However...
When I rewrite a manuscript my strategy is always to take the weakest chapter and make it into the best chapter. Make the weakest page into the strongest page. The weakest dialogue into the strongest. I need to follow this model with marketing. If it is my weak point, I need to make it my strong point.
I just don't want to.
I guess I'll work on that one.
Bottom line, you've got to promote yourself and your work. Sometimes that means putting on a show. It means doing what your audience wants. It means GETTING an audience. This has been a pretty good year in that respect so far. I've done signings/events at three universities and a large high school, as well as at Barnes & Noble. It's fun, but also can be tiring, especially when you have a few events bunched together.
6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?
The stock answer would be Jesus, or King Arthur, or Hemmingway, or Washington, or Sun Tzu, or someone else famous and respected.
Jesus would be useless, because he's already told us everything we need to know.
(Sorry, Jesus. I actually mean that as a compliment. But you already knew that.)
Seriously, I would pick one of two people. Either my brother or my daughter. My brother died in 1983, and I would certainly love to have a conversation with him. My daughter, who is now 25, is severely disabled, and has never had a conversation with anyone, although she is alert and responsive. A dinner with her that included even a brief chat would be my first choice.
You just gave me an idea for a book...
7) One CD, one book, one DVD and a desert island. What book, CD, and DVD
do you take?
CD: Neil Diamond's greatest hits.
DVD: Collection of Monty Python, including Holy Grail
Book: "How to get off a Desert Island"
8) Other than fiction writing, what's the biggest lie you ever told?
"Great" in answer to the question "How's it goin'?"
(standard office evasion)
9) You can't have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and
critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be
a bestselling author with the fat coin?
I've already tasted respect as a diligent State Worker.
It's alright.
Give me sales baby, give me sales.
With two books and one produced screenplay under his belt, William Vitanyi, Jr. has definitely tasted more than a little success with his writing. His first novel, Palm Sunday, is a technological thriller about the organized violation of online privacy. Blending well-developed characters, online technology, and a superbly suspenseful plot, Vitanyi will keep you glued to the page.
His second novel, Kyuboria, is an offbeat and absurdly realistic account of cubicle working. It's sure to crack up anyone who's ever been a state worker, or a cubicle worker. But its appeal translates to anyone who's held an office job. When state worker Clint Palmer discovers that a large grant is available that he could use to start his own business, he gets excited. But there's a catch. The grant is only available to people who've been fired from their job. Easy enough to accomplish, except that the state never fires anyone. Thus begins Clint's mission to get fired with his escalating schemes that become more outrageous by the day. Fans of the Ron Livingston flick Office Space will definitely appreciate Vitanyi's ironic wit and depictions of office politics.
Bill has also written a screenplay. Shakespeare's Dilemma is a short film that places some of Shakespeare's most memorable characters – such as Lady MacBeth and Iago, in a modern office setting as they wrestle with deadlines and politics as they await auditor Othello. A Lyon's Den Production, and starring Bill as an inept, golf-loving Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Dilemma is a satirical and witty look at office life, and it also features some stunning codpieces. Director John C. Lyons, who also plays Iago, has been gathering rave reviews on the film festival circuit for his follow-up short, Hunting Camp. Both Shakespeare's Dilemma and Hunting Camp are available through Lyon's Den Production.
Both of Bill's books, Palm Sunday and Kyuboria are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local bookstores.
1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they've
influenced you?
Louis L'amour - Many westerns. Though he wrote fiction, he prided himself on writing about places that actually existed, and trails or watering holes that he had seen with his own eyes. When reading his stuff you don't even realize that you are turning the pages. Influence: Matching fiction with reality.
Joseph Heller - "Something Happened" (he also wrote "Catch-22", which I haven't read yet.) "Something Happened" includes a lot about office life, though not much about cubicles. In the story the main character has a disabled child at home, which I do as well. This is not the focus of the book, which actually doesn't have much of a focus, but is an entertaining read. Influence: Writing syle and attitude, rambling about nothing, as long as it's funny or ironic. Or funny and ironic.
Chuck Palahniuk - "Choke", "Survivor". Chuck shows how to use your own voice in your writing, to speak to the reader almost in fleeting images. He demonstrates that a fully constructed, grammatically perfect sentence is not always the best way. Influence: Write naturally.
Stephen Holzner - "Visual Basic 6". (Programming reference book). I have to make a living, right?
John C. Lyons - Work memo dated 11/16/2004 admonishing me for taking my personal work home with me. Influence: I now bath less frequently.
Susan DiPlacido - "24/7". She is an Eloquentress Suprema. In fact, she influenced me to get a tatoo: 24/7, on my forearm.
Really? Nah. But she is a heck of a writer.
2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing?
Your biggest weakness or flaw?
My biggest flaw is that I suck. I'm a hack. An amateur. I'll never amount to anything in the world of literature. I will die unknown and unappreciated.
But I'm good with that.
As for my strengths, hmmm...
I guess I'm pretty diligent once I get started with a book. Even though I like to watch football, for example, if a game is on I think about what I could accomplish with my writing over the three hours or so of the broadcast. Then, usually, I write for that time instead.
Also, I know when something is funny, because if it makes me laugh, I know it will make someone else laugh, too. In humor topicality is important to provide a common reference. Writing about an environment that you are intimately familiar with is key to getting the nuance right.
Tropicality is entirely different.
I think I'm getting better with cadence. Writing at its best should be like a song, I think, and just as with music you can tell when something just doesn't fit. It's not necessarily grammar, usage, or any other definable aspect of language. Remember how we used to say in English class, "It just doesn't sound right?"
Well sometimes it doesn't.
3) You've written novels (Kyuboria and Palm Sunday) and a screenplay
(Shakespeare's Dilemma). What do you like best about each medium and which
would you like to focus on in the future?
With novels it's all you. Either you got it right--as far as how you intend it to be read--or you didn't. With a screenplay you get to actually see and hear how someone else is interpreting your intention. It's great. If you are involved in the actual production of your own screenplay, as I was in "Shakespeare's Dilemma", then you get to have a back and forth exchange with the actors, explaining different emphasis, intonation, whatever. Sometimes they have a better idea, and it becomes more of a collaboration. Everyone has more of a stake in the final product, so there is sort of a collective nervousness at how the final product will be received.
Which do I like better?
It depends on the finished product. If one is great and the other mediocre, I like the great one. I'll probably either quit writing altogether, or continue writing in both styles.
Depends on my mood.
4) Palm Sunday is a thriller, and Kyuboria is a satire/comedy. Do you like
writing humor, and do you find it easier or harder to write than "serious"
fiction?
By far Kyuboria was easier to write, because it's more me. People say it sounds like the way I talk, and I take that as an insult, but at least it's what I intended. In Palm Sunday I incorporated fiction with technology, which demanded a lot of research. Although I work with technology, I don't know everything. Palm Sunday was much more of a production because it was far longer, had to be carefully outlined, researched, and of course rewritten time and again. As my first book I'm very proud of it, but I know that if I had to do it again I could make it much better.
Humor is funnier.
5) You've been quite successful so far with two published novels and a
short film made from your screenplay. What, to you, is the hardest part of
the business of publishing and what is the best part of it?
Here's my take on it: Writing is hard, but fun. Marketing is dreadful, but necessary.
So marketing is my least favorite, and therefore, probably, my weakest aspect of the deal.
However...
When I rewrite a manuscript my strategy is always to take the weakest chapter and make it into the best chapter. Make the weakest page into the strongest page. The weakest dialogue into the strongest. I need to follow this model with marketing. If it is my weak point, I need to make it my strong point.
I just don't want to.
I guess I'll work on that one.
Bottom line, you've got to promote yourself and your work. Sometimes that means putting on a show. It means doing what your audience wants. It means GETTING an audience. This has been a pretty good year in that respect so far. I've done signings/events at three universities and a large high school, as well as at Barnes & Noble. It's fun, but also can be tiring, especially when you have a few events bunched together.
6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?
The stock answer would be Jesus, or King Arthur, or Hemmingway, or Washington, or Sun Tzu, or someone else famous and respected.
Jesus would be useless, because he's already told us everything we need to know.
(Sorry, Jesus. I actually mean that as a compliment. But you already knew that.)
Seriously, I would pick one of two people. Either my brother or my daughter. My brother died in 1983, and I would certainly love to have a conversation with him. My daughter, who is now 25, is severely disabled, and has never had a conversation with anyone, although she is alert and responsive. A dinner with her that included even a brief chat would be my first choice.
You just gave me an idea for a book...
7) One CD, one book, one DVD and a desert island. What book, CD, and DVD
do you take?
CD: Neil Diamond's greatest hits.
DVD: Collection of Monty Python, including Holy Grail
Book: "How to get off a Desert Island"
8) Other than fiction writing, what's the biggest lie you ever told?
"Great" in answer to the question "How's it goin'?"
(standard office evasion)
9) You can't have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and
critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be
a bestselling author with the fat coin?
I've already tasted respect as a diligent State Worker.
It's alright.
Give me sales baby, give me sales.
Critical Mick
Mick Halpin does some great, unique online reviews. He's currently got a hilarious review up on Dan Brown's Angels And Demons.
He also cleverly reviews my book, 24/7.
These aren't the standard summary, opinion, plug recap reviews you generally see, and he's got a plethora of them. So if you're looking for something to read, surf on over to Critical Mick and check him out.
He also cleverly reviews my book, 24/7.
These aren't the standard summary, opinion, plug recap reviews you generally see, and he's got a plethora of them. So if you're looking for something to read, surf on over to Critical Mick and check him out.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Edward Moore in Berkeley Fiction Review
My pal Edward Moore has a terrific story, "Evening Shifts", in the new issue of the Berkeley Fiction Review. You can get a subscription to the magazine at Amazon.
J.D. Riso in Chick Flicks
J.D. Riso is the featured author this month at Chick Flicks Ezine. They have a background piece on her (which is really interesting!) and an interview, and also five of her stories are featured, including an excerpt from her novel, Blue. Some great reads, give it a look.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Steven Gillis
Author Steven Gillis's latest novel, The Weight of Nothing has recently been released by Brook Street Press and he's enjoying great reviews in influential and prestigious publications such as ForeWord Magazine.
His first novel, Walter Falls was selected as a finalist for the 2003 Book of the Year for Literary Fiction by ForeWord Magazine and also as a finalist in the Independent Publishers Association 2004 Book of the Year for General Fiction. I just finished reading Walter Falls and loved it. With believable characters crafted with depth, Gillis creates a truly moving journey as we as readers watch a man's life, both domestic and professional, fall to pieces in a faustian manner. Even more haunting is his journey to put it back together and carry on.
Steve is the founder of 826 Michigan. An extension of Dave Eggers's 826 Valencia, 826 Michigan is a reading and writing program, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. In Steve's words: "Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. With this in mind we provide drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our free programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student's power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice."
His work can be found extensively online in the form of short stories and reviews. A brief sampling: Coveting at Facets, Korematsu Love at Tryst, Aftercare Paumanok Review, and The Crown Upon His Head in Paumanok Review, and an upcoming story in the summer issue of Frigg Magazine.
He can be found in upcoming issues of the print journals Fence, Bullfight Review, and Orchid.
His new novel, The Weight of Nothing, is the story of two men, Bailey and Niles, who join forces on a journey to Algiers to confront their haunting tragedies.
1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they've influenced you?
I love language and writers who know how to tell a great story in unique ways. I think John Cheever is brilliant and return to his stories all the time. Chekhov and Doesteyevski are writers I cut my teeth on. Lately, I find myself inspired by many of the post-modernists who are truly trying to do great things with the narrative form while still showing deference to classic themes and the essence of the narrative construct, writers like Donald Barthelme, George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Robert Coover. I take a little something from every writer I read and I read all the time. I love to be awed by great writing. I just read a wonderful story by a young writer named Wells Tower that blew me away.
2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing? Your biggest weakness or flaw?
I think, again, it is my love of language. I love it when finally a paragraph works just so because of the detail to language and the commitment to knowing what the story requires. Making the words work to create just the right image, I try very hard to get at. As for weakness, I have a romantic spirit and have to very consciously try to avoid being overly earnest. A story will die from to much earnestness. I try to write "around" the events if you know what I mean, to get into the heart of the matter by exploring the grey, by not smashing the nail on the head if you will, but showing how the hammer became raised.
3) A lot of your work revolves around domestic life/issues in one way or another. Do you think being a family man helps you to think about and ask questions about fidelity/trust/betrayal in this manner?
Good question. Honest answer: what I write about when it comes to family evolved from my childhood which was fraught with familial incidents and details which forever framed me; my wife says damaged me but that's a story for another time. I try not to repeat past sins with my own family now, though certainly their presence in my life - my wife and two kids Anna (10) and Zach (7) influences a great deal of who I am and what I write. SO in short, it was my childhood which framed the domestic aspect investigated in my writing, but certainly my current happy adult family life that allows me to feel grounded.
4) The Weight of Nothing, however, doesn't seem, by the initial description, to be quite as "family" motivated. Was this an intentional departure, or does it still have family ties at its core?
TWON started as a very family oriented piece as you can find from the opening scene. As the novel evolved, I did consciously set out to do something different from Walter Falls, and I was becoming very politically conscious, very disheartened by things I was witnessing, the hate and how this country could be so foolish as to elect G.W and then elect him again! I wanted to explore certain aspects of this but as you see it is all tied up in the familial, as everything that happens in the world, as they say, comes home to roost. In the end, TWON is a philosophical treatment on love and loss, recovery and memory so in that sense, yes, it remains a "family" piece.
5) What are you working on now?
I started the drafting of a new novel - Temporary People - about a year ago and got 4 drafts in and am very pleased - as pleased as I ever am in the middle of writing a novel. Then as is my habit, I came up for air and wrote a story. I usually only write one story then go back into the novel I am working on. This time however, I really enjoyed the short story writing process, and more importantly, was discovering things in the writing of stories which was allowing me to evolve as a writer. (Even after 2 novels published and years of writing behind me, it remains always a process of wanting to improve and learn as writer.) The story I wrote sold very fast, and I wrote another. That one sold, too. I wound up writing 8 stories - more than I ever had in one stretch - and sold them all. This has been between January and June. I am now finishing up a few more stories and have a collection of stories I am working with my agent to publish. I anticipate returning to my novel - with newfound energy and much excitement - by July and completing it over the next 12 months.
6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?
Ahh. As I lost my father last August, I would say him. But that is me being too earnest and romantic. Still, yes. My dad whom I had a "lively" relationship with to be sure. As for someone famous. Hmmm. John Cheever as an author and - to cheat and give you three then - I admire much the courage and charity of Ghandi (truly people hear the name and it is a cliche but the man was amazing) and would love to talk and find out how he did it. But I doubt he would eat much. :)
7) One CD, one book, one DVD and a desert island. What book, CD, and DVD do you take?
Well the DVD would have to be Cool Hand Luke - assuming its out on DVD - a great movie! ("Sometimes nothing is a pretty cool hand." "What we have here is a failure to communicate.") The CD, mmm, I tend to fall in love with music then play it to death. What CD has lasted over the years for me? I would say Deja Vu by CSNandY. The book? To repeat a theme: The Collected Stories of John Cheever. For the novel maybe The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles.
8) Other than fiction writing, what's the biggest lie you ever told?
Wow! The G-rated or X-rated version? And for the record, fiction is a misnomer as nothing is truer than good fiction writing. But I digress. The biggest lie? X-rated: "I'll only put it in a little bit." G-rated: assuming any lie is G-rated, I was always the youngest in my class at school and used to tell the girls I was older. This was fine until it came time to drive. I told a girlfriend's mother I was 17 and had my licence. She let us use her car and I - true story - wrecked it pulling out of the garage! Took the whole side of the car off and much the same for the garage door and wall. Needless to say, I didn't get lucky that night.
9) You can't have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be a bestselling author with the fat coin?
Easy easy easy. Truly. As sincerely as I can say this, there is only one answer for any writer worth a damn: respect from one's peers. If you are writing to simply make a buck, I say go away and go sell shoes or practice law and leave writing to the real writers! Can you tell you hit a nerve with this question? Ha! In point of fact, I was making some nice money when I did practice law - which I did until I turned 30 - and was writing all the time then too, and decided life is too short and bagged law and went from making the big bucks to no bucks and writing and I have never been happier. Any writer who writes solely to make a buck is not really a writer if you ask me. One man's opinion.
And that's it. Thanks, Steve!
Thank you very much Susan.
His first novel, Walter Falls was selected as a finalist for the 2003 Book of the Year for Literary Fiction by ForeWord Magazine and also as a finalist in the Independent Publishers Association 2004 Book of the Year for General Fiction. I just finished reading Walter Falls and loved it. With believable characters crafted with depth, Gillis creates a truly moving journey as we as readers watch a man's life, both domestic and professional, fall to pieces in a faustian manner. Even more haunting is his journey to put it back together and carry on.
Steve is the founder of 826 Michigan. An extension of Dave Eggers's 826 Valencia, 826 Michigan is a reading and writing program, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. In Steve's words: "Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. With this in mind we provide drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our free programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student's power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice."
His work can be found extensively online in the form of short stories and reviews. A brief sampling: Coveting at Facets, Korematsu Love at Tryst, Aftercare Paumanok Review, and The Crown Upon His Head in Paumanok Review, and an upcoming story in the summer issue of Frigg Magazine.
He can be found in upcoming issues of the print journals Fence, Bullfight Review, and Orchid.
His new novel, The Weight of Nothing, is the story of two men, Bailey and Niles, who join forces on a journey to Algiers to confront their haunting tragedies.
1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they've influenced you?
I love language and writers who know how to tell a great story in unique ways. I think John Cheever is brilliant and return to his stories all the time. Chekhov and Doesteyevski are writers I cut my teeth on. Lately, I find myself inspired by many of the post-modernists who are truly trying to do great things with the narrative form while still showing deference to classic themes and the essence of the narrative construct, writers like Donald Barthelme, George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Robert Coover. I take a little something from every writer I read and I read all the time. I love to be awed by great writing. I just read a wonderful story by a young writer named Wells Tower that blew me away.
2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing? Your biggest weakness or flaw?
I think, again, it is my love of language. I love it when finally a paragraph works just so because of the detail to language and the commitment to knowing what the story requires. Making the words work to create just the right image, I try very hard to get at. As for weakness, I have a romantic spirit and have to very consciously try to avoid being overly earnest. A story will die from to much earnestness. I try to write "around" the events if you know what I mean, to get into the heart of the matter by exploring the grey, by not smashing the nail on the head if you will, but showing how the hammer became raised.
3) A lot of your work revolves around domestic life/issues in one way or another. Do you think being a family man helps you to think about and ask questions about fidelity/trust/betrayal in this manner?
Good question. Honest answer: what I write about when it comes to family evolved from my childhood which was fraught with familial incidents and details which forever framed me; my wife says damaged me but that's a story for another time. I try not to repeat past sins with my own family now, though certainly their presence in my life - my wife and two kids Anna (10) and Zach (7) influences a great deal of who I am and what I write. SO in short, it was my childhood which framed the domestic aspect investigated in my writing, but certainly my current happy adult family life that allows me to feel grounded.
4) The Weight of Nothing, however, doesn't seem, by the initial description, to be quite as "family" motivated. Was this an intentional departure, or does it still have family ties at its core?
TWON started as a very family oriented piece as you can find from the opening scene. As the novel evolved, I did consciously set out to do something different from Walter Falls, and I was becoming very politically conscious, very disheartened by things I was witnessing, the hate and how this country could be so foolish as to elect G.W and then elect him again! I wanted to explore certain aspects of this but as you see it is all tied up in the familial, as everything that happens in the world, as they say, comes home to roost. In the end, TWON is a philosophical treatment on love and loss, recovery and memory so in that sense, yes, it remains a "family" piece.
5) What are you working on now?
I started the drafting of a new novel - Temporary People - about a year ago and got 4 drafts in and am very pleased - as pleased as I ever am in the middle of writing a novel. Then as is my habit, I came up for air and wrote a story. I usually only write one story then go back into the novel I am working on. This time however, I really enjoyed the short story writing process, and more importantly, was discovering things in the writing of stories which was allowing me to evolve as a writer. (Even after 2 novels published and years of writing behind me, it remains always a process of wanting to improve and learn as writer.) The story I wrote sold very fast, and I wrote another. That one sold, too. I wound up writing 8 stories - more than I ever had in one stretch - and sold them all. This has been between January and June. I am now finishing up a few more stories and have a collection of stories I am working with my agent to publish. I anticipate returning to my novel - with newfound energy and much excitement - by July and completing it over the next 12 months.
6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?
Ahh. As I lost my father last August, I would say him. But that is me being too earnest and romantic. Still, yes. My dad whom I had a "lively" relationship with to be sure. As for someone famous. Hmmm. John Cheever as an author and - to cheat and give you three then - I admire much the courage and charity of Ghandi (truly people hear the name and it is a cliche but the man was amazing) and would love to talk and find out how he did it. But I doubt he would eat much. :)
7) One CD, one book, one DVD and a desert island. What book, CD, and DVD do you take?
Well the DVD would have to be Cool Hand Luke - assuming its out on DVD - a great movie! ("Sometimes nothing is a pretty cool hand." "What we have here is a failure to communicate.") The CD, mmm, I tend to fall in love with music then play it to death. What CD has lasted over the years for me? I would say Deja Vu by CSNandY. The book? To repeat a theme: The Collected Stories of John Cheever. For the novel maybe The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles.
8) Other than fiction writing, what's the biggest lie you ever told?
Wow! The G-rated or X-rated version? And for the record, fiction is a misnomer as nothing is truer than good fiction writing. But I digress. The biggest lie? X-rated: "I'll only put it in a little bit." G-rated: assuming any lie is G-rated, I was always the youngest in my class at school and used to tell the girls I was older. This was fine until it came time to drive. I told a girlfriend's mother I was 17 and had my licence. She let us use her car and I - true story - wrecked it pulling out of the garage! Took the whole side of the car off and much the same for the garage door and wall. Needless to say, I didn't get lucky that night.
9) You can't have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be a bestselling author with the fat coin?
Easy easy easy. Truly. As sincerely as I can say this, there is only one answer for any writer worth a damn: respect from one's peers. If you are writing to simply make a buck, I say go away and go sell shoes or practice law and leave writing to the real writers! Can you tell you hit a nerve with this question? Ha! In point of fact, I was making some nice money when I did practice law - which I did until I turned 30 - and was writing all the time then too, and decided life is too short and bagged law and went from making the big bucks to no bucks and writing and I have never been happier. Any writer who writes solely to make a buck is not really a writer if you ask me. One man's opinion.
And that's it. Thanks, Steve!
Thank you very much Susan.
Monday, June 13, 2005
DONALD CAPONE
A graphic designer who lives in New York, Don Capone is already a well-published short story writer. His stories "Going Local" and "Deforestation Blues" were published in Edgar Literary Magazine, and "Green Panties" was published in Flask Fiction. His work can be found online in Thieves Jargon, both "Reprisal" and "Door to Door Service".
For a taste of his work, and to perk yourself up in the morning, his story "Astronaut" is available on a coffee mug from Flashfiction.net. You can find that right here: Astronaut.
Displaying classic good taste, Don is also a Yankees and Beatles fan. His second novel, As If I'd Never Been Born, incorporates his admiration for The Beatles by weaving a very personal journey with a landmark event in music history. I was lucky enough to read a draft of it, and it's truly engrossing and moving.
The query alone to his first novel, Into the Sunset, is unique and engaging and downright hilarious.
His short story "Another Day" has just been published in the June edition of Word Riot, and you can look for him in the upcoming anthology, See You Next Tuesday from Better Non Sequitur.
Funny, talented, and always with a fresh vision that'll keep you engrossed and engaged, you can find him online right here: Donald Capone.
1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they’ve influenced you?
John Irving, T.C. Boyle, Ernest Hemingway, Elmore Leonard. You’re influenced in different ways by different authors. Hemingway’s clean prose set the template for authors for the next 75 years (and counting). He’s the Beatles of the literary world (have you noticed 40 years later and bands are still trying to sound like the Beatles? Well everyone is still trying to write like Hemingway whether they know/admit it or not). Irving and Boyle are so good it takes me twice as long to read their work because I re-read sentences and paragraphs just to enjoy them a second time. Boyle also writes short stories, which makes him a good author to study. And Leonard, what can you say? He’s the man. Guy’s like 80 and he hasn’t lost a thing, still cranking out these great books full of kick-ass dialogue. So, as a writer, you have to read the good stuff, absorb it, get a feel for how it’s done, run it through your own internal filter. Then spit it out in your own unique way. When I’m in the mood for a laugh: Christopher Moore, Bill Fitzhugh, Ted Heller, Tim Dorsey, Nick Hornby, and Susan DiPlacido, of course!
Flatterer!! I love it.
2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing? Your biggest weakness or flaw?
My strength? Staying off the beaten path. I try to write about subjects I haven’t seen done 2,001 times before. And even if I do work with a common theme (say, 9/11), I’ll take a skewed look at it, try to give the reader a surprise or two. “Stay away from the obvious” is what every writer should keep in mind as they are banging away at the keyboard. Also, I think I have a good ear for dialogue. As soon as my other ear gets on the ball, my dialogue will be killer! My weakness: I never write enough. Every book on writing I’ve ever read says how you have to cut your manuscript by 10-20% during revision. HA! I laugh at that! Because I’m the opposite—I have to ADD 10-20%. An up-side to that is I don’t have a lot of fat to trim, just some basic copy-editing. So maybe it’s not a weakness after all.
3) You're a born and bred New Yorker. How do you think this affects your creative view and your writing in particular?
Hard to say really. The world is such a smaller place now, so connected. We’re all watching the same films, TV shows, surfing the internet. We all have those same influences. Is someone sitting in San Diego or London really that different from me anymore? Maybe the only affect being a New Yorker has on my work is that most of my stories take place in New York. So I can get a good sense of not only the environment, but the attitude of the people. Because I’m one of them. New Yorkers are always on the go, we try to maximize every minute of the day. I do that by writing as often as I can, I don’t want to waste time or put it off to the next day or the day after. You’ll never finish writing a story or novel with that attitude. So maybe being a New Yorker just makes me write faster.
4) You’re also a graphic designer and painter. Is there anything you learned from painting that you apply to your writing, or are they two completely separate forms without intersection?
Totally different animals. I don’t consider myself a painter, anyway, at least anymore. I sold a few some years back, but I’ve given it up now. I’m a much better writer than painter. And my dirty little secret is I can’t draw. Plus, writing is a lot cheaper.
5) You have a lot of range as a writer. I’ve seen you tackle very serious subjects (such as 9/11) from different angles: ironic and also deeply moving. You seem to move effortlessly from comedy to action to suspense to intense drama. Do you have a “mood” or tone in mind before you begin a particular story, or can something change and develop as you write? (Like, have you ever set out to write something very serious and it took on a comic undertone?) Also, what kind of mood/genre/tone do you find to be most demanding and what are you eventually most satisfied with?
I don’t consciously set out to write in a certain mood. Anyway, the story itself usually dictates what tone it’ll take. 9/11 wouldn’t really translate into a slapstick comedy, you know, though you could get away with black humor (maybe). I tried it in a story called “Terrorist Lite,” about a pre-9/11 wannabe terrorist, but I’m still trying to get that one right (this is an example of setting out to write something serious and it taking on a comic undertone). My early writing was more humorous; once I became a better writer, or got more confidence at least, I was able to write in a more serious or “literary” style. But I don’t even see myself as crossing any genres when I write because I always write from the character’s perspective (character driven vs. plot driven and all that nonsense). If your character is walking down the street with his best friend and something funny happens to them, then you have a comedy; if his best friend has a piano fall on his head then you have a serious story on your hands. Except that’s not a good example because a piano on the head is pretty funny. Suspense/intense drama is the hardest, and I’ve only really tackled it once with my story “Reprisal.” It worked there, but it’s too hard to keep away from cliches: “Suddenly he pulled a gun from his coat pocket!” Someone gets shot and it hurts and they’re dying. I think I’m most comfortable and satisfied with the “mainstream” story—I find most of my characters are yearning for something, wanting more out of life, yet can still see the ironic humor in life. I always inject humor into my writing, even the more serious pieces.
6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?
John Lennon. And I hope he’d be alive, because dead it wouldn’t be a very appetizing meal. Off the top of my head, though, I can’t even think of any questions I’d have for him. I’d be happy to just sit and listen to him talk all night. Then Yoko would come and gather him and I’d go home with a good story to tell.
7) What’s the best sound of New York in the summer?
Yankees radio announcer John Sterling screaming, “The Yankees WIN! TheeEEEeeee YAN-kees WIN!!” Haven’t heard it enough this year, though. When Yankees rookie pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (pronounced Wong) won his first Major League game earlier this year, Sterling actually was corny enough to say, “The Yankees Wong!, TheeEEEeeee YAN-kees Wong!!!”
8) Other than fiction writing, what’s the biggest lie you ever told?
See the answer to question #9. Seriously, I really can’t think of any big lie I’ve told. Just your normal, run-of-the-mill small daily lies. Maybe I haven’t told my big lie yet.
9) You can’t have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be a bestselling author with the fat coin?
I’d love to take the high road and say critical acclaim and respect from my peers. But it’d be hard to resist the big bucks and the opportunity to quit the daily grind of cubicle life. Once you hit the jackpot, then you’ll have plenty of time to work on critical acclaim (see Stephen King). $o, in conclusion: fork over the cash, bastardize my work, cast Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr in the movie version of my novel and let me out of this cubicle already! OK, that makes me sound like all I want is money. Every writer knows there’s no money to be had, we’re giving our work away! Literally. So I don’t begrudge anyone their money. If someone breaks out and scores big, more power to him! Because we all know we write for the love of writing, and having people enjoy our work, and seeing our name in print. No one gets into writing to make the big bucks. You’d have a better chance winning Lotto.
For a taste of his work, and to perk yourself up in the morning, his story "Astronaut" is available on a coffee mug from Flashfiction.net. You can find that right here: Astronaut.
Displaying classic good taste, Don is also a Yankees and Beatles fan. His second novel, As If I'd Never Been Born, incorporates his admiration for The Beatles by weaving a very personal journey with a landmark event in music history. I was lucky enough to read a draft of it, and it's truly engrossing and moving.
The query alone to his first novel, Into the Sunset, is unique and engaging and downright hilarious.
His short story "Another Day" has just been published in the June edition of Word Riot, and you can look for him in the upcoming anthology, See You Next Tuesday from Better Non Sequitur.
Funny, talented, and always with a fresh vision that'll keep you engrossed and engaged, you can find him online right here: Donald Capone.
1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they’ve influenced you?
John Irving, T.C. Boyle, Ernest Hemingway, Elmore Leonard. You’re influenced in different ways by different authors. Hemingway’s clean prose set the template for authors for the next 75 years (and counting). He’s the Beatles of the literary world (have you noticed 40 years later and bands are still trying to sound like the Beatles? Well everyone is still trying to write like Hemingway whether they know/admit it or not). Irving and Boyle are so good it takes me twice as long to read their work because I re-read sentences and paragraphs just to enjoy them a second time. Boyle also writes short stories, which makes him a good author to study. And Leonard, what can you say? He’s the man. Guy’s like 80 and he hasn’t lost a thing, still cranking out these great books full of kick-ass dialogue. So, as a writer, you have to read the good stuff, absorb it, get a feel for how it’s done, run it through your own internal filter. Then spit it out in your own unique way. When I’m in the mood for a laugh: Christopher Moore, Bill Fitzhugh, Ted Heller, Tim Dorsey, Nick Hornby, and Susan DiPlacido, of course!
Flatterer!! I love it.
2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing? Your biggest weakness or flaw?
My strength? Staying off the beaten path. I try to write about subjects I haven’t seen done 2,001 times before. And even if I do work with a common theme (say, 9/11), I’ll take a skewed look at it, try to give the reader a surprise or two. “Stay away from the obvious” is what every writer should keep in mind as they are banging away at the keyboard. Also, I think I have a good ear for dialogue. As soon as my other ear gets on the ball, my dialogue will be killer! My weakness: I never write enough. Every book on writing I’ve ever read says how you have to cut your manuscript by 10-20% during revision. HA! I laugh at that! Because I’m the opposite—I have to ADD 10-20%. An up-side to that is I don’t have a lot of fat to trim, just some basic copy-editing. So maybe it’s not a weakness after all.
3) You're a born and bred New Yorker. How do you think this affects your creative view and your writing in particular?
Hard to say really. The world is such a smaller place now, so connected. We’re all watching the same films, TV shows, surfing the internet. We all have those same influences. Is someone sitting in San Diego or London really that different from me anymore? Maybe the only affect being a New Yorker has on my work is that most of my stories take place in New York. So I can get a good sense of not only the environment, but the attitude of the people. Because I’m one of them. New Yorkers are always on the go, we try to maximize every minute of the day. I do that by writing as often as I can, I don’t want to waste time or put it off to the next day or the day after. You’ll never finish writing a story or novel with that attitude. So maybe being a New Yorker just makes me write faster.
4) You’re also a graphic designer and painter. Is there anything you learned from painting that you apply to your writing, or are they two completely separate forms without intersection?
Totally different animals. I don’t consider myself a painter, anyway, at least anymore. I sold a few some years back, but I’ve given it up now. I’m a much better writer than painter. And my dirty little secret is I can’t draw. Plus, writing is a lot cheaper.
5) You have a lot of range as a writer. I’ve seen you tackle very serious subjects (such as 9/11) from different angles: ironic and also deeply moving. You seem to move effortlessly from comedy to action to suspense to intense drama. Do you have a “mood” or tone in mind before you begin a particular story, or can something change and develop as you write? (Like, have you ever set out to write something very serious and it took on a comic undertone?) Also, what kind of mood/genre/tone do you find to be most demanding and what are you eventually most satisfied with?
I don’t consciously set out to write in a certain mood. Anyway, the story itself usually dictates what tone it’ll take. 9/11 wouldn’t really translate into a slapstick comedy, you know, though you could get away with black humor (maybe). I tried it in a story called “Terrorist Lite,” about a pre-9/11 wannabe terrorist, but I’m still trying to get that one right (this is an example of setting out to write something serious and it taking on a comic undertone). My early writing was more humorous; once I became a better writer, or got more confidence at least, I was able to write in a more serious or “literary” style. But I don’t even see myself as crossing any genres when I write because I always write from the character’s perspective (character driven vs. plot driven and all that nonsense). If your character is walking down the street with his best friend and something funny happens to them, then you have a comedy; if his best friend has a piano fall on his head then you have a serious story on your hands. Except that’s not a good example because a piano on the head is pretty funny. Suspense/intense drama is the hardest, and I’ve only really tackled it once with my story “Reprisal.” It worked there, but it’s too hard to keep away from cliches: “Suddenly he pulled a gun from his coat pocket!” Someone gets shot and it hurts and they’re dying. I think I’m most comfortable and satisfied with the “mainstream” story—I find most of my characters are yearning for something, wanting more out of life, yet can still see the ironic humor in life. I always inject humor into my writing, even the more serious pieces.
6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?
John Lennon. And I hope he’d be alive, because dead it wouldn’t be a very appetizing meal. Off the top of my head, though, I can’t even think of any questions I’d have for him. I’d be happy to just sit and listen to him talk all night. Then Yoko would come and gather him and I’d go home with a good story to tell.
7) What’s the best sound of New York in the summer?
Yankees radio announcer John Sterling screaming, “The Yankees WIN! TheeEEEeeee YAN-kees WIN!!” Haven’t heard it enough this year, though. When Yankees rookie pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (pronounced Wong) won his first Major League game earlier this year, Sterling actually was corny enough to say, “The Yankees Wong!, TheeEEEeeee YAN-kees Wong!!!”
8) Other than fiction writing, what’s the biggest lie you ever told?
See the answer to question #9. Seriously, I really can’t think of any big lie I’ve told. Just your normal, run-of-the-mill small daily lies. Maybe I haven’t told my big lie yet.
9) You can’t have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be a bestselling author with the fat coin?
I’d love to take the high road and say critical acclaim and respect from my peers. But it’d be hard to resist the big bucks and the opportunity to quit the daily grind of cubicle life. Once you hit the jackpot, then you’ll have plenty of time to work on critical acclaim (see Stephen King). $o, in conclusion: fork over the cash, bastardize my work, cast Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr in the movie version of my novel and let me out of this cubicle already! OK, that makes me sound like all I want is money. Every writer knows there’s no money to be had, we’re giving our work away! Literally. So I don’t begrudge anyone their money. If someone breaks out and scores big, more power to him! Because we all know we write for the love of writing, and having people enjoy our work, and seeing our name in print. No one gets into writing to make the big bucks. You’d have a better chance winning Lotto.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Better days to come
Ok. I'm a sucky blogger. I admit this fault and apologize. However, we will have some pretty cool stuff coming up soon.
I met another really cool and extremely funny and quite talented writer this past weekend at a book signing we both attended. In his words, it was the " the largest unpublicized gathering of the most regional authors in one place at one time anywhere, ever!"
And that about sums up the event.
But I did get to meet the funny guy, and his name is William Vitanyi and his book, Kyuboria is sure to please anyone who's ever held down a cubicle job. I'll be having a feature on him in a short amount of time.
Also coming up we're going to talk to my pal and future hotshot writer Don Capone. I just finished reading his latest novel and it's smashing. He's got a great new story up now at Word Riot.
Until these things get in order though, why not pop over to Small Spiral Notebook and check out Steve Hansen's review of Paula Martin Morell's broken water.
Thanks for your patience.
And please don't forget about 24/7 at Fictionwise. I've been told that if I get some high scores posted, it'll help sales. And I really need help with sales. So if you're a sport and you're willing to tag my book with a "great" rating, drop me a line and in return I'll send you a Fictionwise gift certificate to get the book FOR FREE.
Thanks. We'll talk again soon.
I met another really cool and extremely funny and quite talented writer this past weekend at a book signing we both attended. In his words, it was the " the largest unpublicized gathering of the most regional authors in one place at one time anywhere, ever!"
And that about sums up the event.
But I did get to meet the funny guy, and his name is William Vitanyi and his book, Kyuboria is sure to please anyone who's ever held down a cubicle job. I'll be having a feature on him in a short amount of time.
Also coming up we're going to talk to my pal and future hotshot writer Don Capone. I just finished reading his latest novel and it's smashing. He's got a great new story up now at Word Riot.
Until these things get in order though, why not pop over to Small Spiral Notebook and check out Steve Hansen's review of Paula Martin Morell's broken water.
Thanks for your patience.
And please don't forget about 24/7 at Fictionwise. I've been told that if I get some high scores posted, it'll help sales. And I really need help with sales. So if you're a sport and you're willing to tag my book with a "great" rating, drop me a line and in return I'll send you a Fictionwise gift certificate to get the book FOR FREE.
Thanks. We'll talk again soon.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
24/7 now at Fictionwise
And we're back to me again. I just realized that my book, 24/7 is now available in ebook format at Fictionwise. Whoo hoo! If you're familiar with ebooks, you'll know what a great bargain they are, and that once you do adapt and start reading that way, you'll really dig it. And if you're not familiar with them, and in case you have a bit of curiosity about my book, this is a good way to check it all out. At Fictionwise, the ebook version of 24/7 is only $6.74, and if you're a Fictionwise club member, it's only $5.73. They have it listed as "erotica" and that's fine by me. It IS filled to the brim with steamy sex. And erotica is apparently what sells best over the 'net. (I know, it's shocking, isn't it?) So I'm not bristling at the label, but I do want to add that it's not just pure erotica either. There's like, a whole big story going on in the book too. So do consider picking up a download. (it's in every format you'd want) I'd appreciate it, and I think you'd probably enjoy it.
Here's the link one more time: 24/7 at Fictionwise.
Thanks!
Here's the link one more time: 24/7 at Fictionwise.
Thanks!
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