About “Company”

1. What was your motivation for writing “Company”?
2. What challenges—if any—did you have writing your story?
3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Company”?
4. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “Company”?
5. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “Company” that hasn’t been asked?

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?
2. Do you have a favourite book? If so, what is it?
3. What is your favourite poet or author, if any?
4. Do you gravitate towards reading genres outside the ones you write?

Writing

1. Why do you write?
2. What do you love about being a writer?
3. What time of the day do you write, and do you have a writing routine?
4. Where do you get your ideas from?
5. How long does it take you to write your projects?
6. What advice would you give to other authors/writers/poets?
7. What project(s) are you currently working on?

Answers to interview questions

ABOUT “COMPANY”

1. I was motivated to write “Company” by the challenge of depicting the world of a person without the ability to see. I wanted to make his responses to the world around him as realistic as possible. I added the concern that this character was also losing his hearing just to make things more interesting.
2. The challenges were the same as in any project.  Finding specificity and truth.
3. “I see a blind, paranoid, old queen who needs a drink!” 
4. I want readers to walk away feeling relieved that Richard has conquered his fears and will find the ability for more intimacy in his relationships.
5. Perhaps not.

READING

1. I’m currently reading a number of books.  “Calloustown” by George Singleton, “Hue and Cry” by James Alan McPherson, “The Broken Shore” by Peter Temple, and “The Flamethrowers” by Rachel Kushner.
2. Favorite book? That’s a tough one. Probably “A Hall of Mirrors” by Robert Stone.
3. Favorite author? Another tough one. Lucia Berlin comes to mind, as does Flannery O’Connor.
4. Occasionally Sci Fi, just for exercise.

WRITING

1. I write to more fully understand the world I live in. I prefer to write about people on the sidelines, in the shadows, reluctant to step into the light. They feel separate from others, and their reticence to engage has justifications from childhood trauma to criminal history, and life’s myriad disappointments. Empathy for these people drives me to mine for truths in the voids between us all, men, women, young, old, strangers, lovers, man and beast. I choose to tread lightly, using irony, dark humor, and a detached but wary benevolence.
2. What I love about being a writer is the solitariness that it requires.
3. I generally write during the day, so it resembles a real job. However, I always make notes at all hours, no matter what.
4. My ideas come from every direction. Overheard conversations, music, painting, newspapers and close observation of others.
5. First drafts happen quickly as a rule. Then the real work starts, taking weeks, months, even years for a final draft.
6. My only advice would be to avoid being longwinded and piling up useless information that a reader doesn’t need. Or as Raymond Carver once said, “Get in, get out, don’t linger, go on.”
7. My current project is my second novel, “Animal Man,” about someone who rejects the company of other people and bonds with animals in a powerful way.