Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, educator, actor, and standup comedian. This is my second poetry book. I also have a humor book coming out in a few months with a traditional publisher, and a collection of short stories I’m hoping to publish by the end of the year.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled “Feast of Sapphires.” Some topics I tend to discuss in my poetry are travel, illness, mortality, existentialism, individuality, spirituality, love, and understanding/serenity.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I enjoy writing in crowded places like my local donut pub. Lately, I’ve also been listening to classic rock or meditation music when I write at home. It is important to change up how and when you write in my opinion.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
In terms of poets who influence me, there are just so many. Charles Bukowski, Wallace Stevens, E.E. Cummings, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot etc. I do read new poets–and find them on Instagram–or just by doing searches on Amazon–or attending readings.
What are you working on now?
A collection of short stories. They cover a wide range of styles and subject matters. I think horror and gore–with a bit of comedy thrown in–seems to be my primary genre.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Keep an email list and send out monthly updates. Other techniques that work include creating memes for social media and obtaining reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to help build excitement for a book.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Persistence is most important. It sounds foolish. But I think that is the key element with writing and publishing. You have to keep at it. Put work out into the universe. Then let go. The rest is out of your hands to a very large degree.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I like advice that suggests you should really try and dig deep and express what is most critical to you. Yes, Samuel Goldwyn once said, “If you want to send a message, try Western Union.” And there is something to that too–art is maybe not the best place to proselytize. But, given this caveat, what separates artists is perhaps that those who have something important to say, those who are really connecting with the audience in a visceral way, in many cases, last much longer.
What are you reading now?
Stephen King’s “The Stand.” I’m also finishing a sci-fi novel called “Snow Crash.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
The collection of short stories. After that I’m hoping to complete two unfinished novels.
What is your favorite book of all time?
“Gulliver’s Travels,” and “A Confederacy Of Dunces,” probably because I love satires. I also like adventure stories like “Robinson Crusoe” and “Treasure Island,” and thriller type novels with cultural commentary like “Native Son.”
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