Author: NOLAN C. LEWIS

Author's website address:
nolanclewis@pendoreillepress.com
nolanclewis@yahoo.com
www.pendoreillepress.com

Books in Print:
MAULED, a fun mystery ISBN1-4137-1215-0
IONE CIRCA 1930, memoirs of growing up in a smalltown, ISBN 0-9755088-0-6
CLOUDS ARE ALWAYS WHITE ON TOP, a WW2 Air War Saga,ISNB 0-952-2603-36

Books in Process:
INVITATION TO MURDER, sequel to MAULED, 3/4 done.
SUNOMA, story of rebuilding 1921 wooden boat, at 10%
Mt. St. Helens, Dealing with government in emergencies

Welcome, Nolan.

1. When and why did you begin writing?
Sort of by the back door. My high school English teacher told me I'd never be a writer. My favorite uncle (Uncle Sam) put me into a position where I had to do a certain amount as photo/public information officer. The Oregonian newspaper hired me, based on my military experience (second level of reporters payscale - $117.50 wk) - went to KGW TV News the same way, based on my military and newspaper. Then I did 7years as PR person for the Portland School District where I did TV shows among other things, based on the two previous jobs.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?
I'd have to say computers... I could only type with two fingers - as I still do - and I couldn't type a page without a couple dozen typos. I played with computers, built my first one from components. I had this story I wanted to tell, the WW2 Air that became Clouds. I worked on it for a long time, the oldest rejection letter I can find is dated 1991. I kept hearing, WW2 is not in vogue. Some publisher said "Why don't you write a mystery?" So MAULED happened, and I couldn't get anyone to read it either. IONE, my second published but third written, started life as a column I did in the local weekly paper.

3. How did you approach writing your first book?
I think I'm what I have heard referred to as a seat of the pants writer. I get an idea and start writing, and go wherever it takes me.

4. Who or what influenced your writing?
I'm sort of a seat of the pants......

5. Why do you continue to write?
Too dumb to quit. I don't know. It just happens. I'm totally undiciplined. Don't write for several days and then sit down for many hours and maybe do two or three chapters. I read the previous chapter and if it is there, it becomes like watching a movie. I just copy it down.

6. What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?
Fame...and Fortune... I should live so long.

7. What has been your experience as a published writer?
That when you get it all ready for the printer, you have done about 10% of the work. Marketing is the other 90%. My local grocery store has sold over 100 of my books and calls me a best selling author. Then adds, at the grocery. And I remember he is the only one in a town of 300.

8. How do you promote your book(s)?
Every way I can think of. One funny - oddity - My publisher is in London. (They approached me because the book was about WW2 in England.) US publishers expect the author to do the majority of the marketing. The English publisher seemed surprised that I was willing to do any promotion. I have done both Emailings and snail mailings to every media outlet, book store, and any other place I could think of, then wait for a few weeks and do it again. Got some great coverage in weeklies but I don't think the guys at our local metro paper know how to read. They just review movies, or run book reviews done by papers 3,000 miles away, off the wire services.

9. What advice would you like to share with other writers?
For god's sake, get inoculated against it. There is a lot more pain than gain.

10. Any other comments you would like to add?
I've probably talked too much already. I always do. Maybe that's why I write books. I could never write short stories.

Thank you for your time, Nolan.

I thank you. nolan

Interviewer: Kaye Trout - June 23, 2006 - Copyright

Author: PHILIP COLANDER

Author’s website address: www.pacbooks.net

Books in Print: Those Made to Suffer

Books in Process: TBA

Welcome, Philip.

1. When and why did you begin writing?
My first stab at writing (that I recall, at least) was back in high school. In sophomore English, my teacher had us do a couple creative writing projects over the course of the semester. I was told I had a good writing style and a vivid imagination. I tried writing my first book in college. I got four chapters into it before I realized I had no idea where I was going with the plot (I’ve shelved it for now…I hope to get back to that one later). Why did I begin writing? I treasure books and wanted to write one of my own.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?
My love of books, first and foremost. I was also inspired by all of my favorite authors. I envy them and the great stories they’ve already belted out.

3. How did you approach writing your first book?
Extraordinarily unconventionally. All the "how-to" books I bought suggested writing an outline first, then following that outline. I came up with my title first, the idea second, then worked out the plot as I went. I didn’t know where the story would take me. I would constantly go back and alter the plot to fit an idea I would have later. This may be why it took me four years to write!

4. Who or what influenced your writing?
Again, my utter fascination with the talent of my favorite authors. You’d think every story would’ve been written by now, but they just keep plugging away and creating magic.

5. Why do you continue to write?
I’ve got a lot more to tell!

6. What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?
Inspire others. If you’ve got an idea for a story brewing, get busy! We want to read that story!

7. What has been your experience as a published writer?
Strange for an author to say, but words cannot express how thrilled I am to be a published author! To see my labor of love as an actual, 3-dimensional object that others can purchase and enjoy still amazes me.

8. How do you promote your book(s)?
So far, due to a lack of funds, word-of-mouth has been my primary method of promotion. I have, however, submitted my book to a national writing contest. Additionally, I’ve paid to have my book advertised in ForeWord Magazine with the help of my publisher, as well as going to local bookstores to set-up the process of (hopefully) selling my book through them. Other than that, I have self-made business cards ready to whip-out at a moment’s notice.

9. What advice would you like to share with other writers?
Do not give up! Keep writing, no matter what. If you’re passionate about your story, see it through to the end…literally! One more thing…unless you are famous, are related to someone famous, already work in the publishing world, or have a family member or close friend that works in publishing, consider self-publishing. I languished through four year of impersonal form letters from literary agents saying, "Thanks, but, no thanks" to all my query letters. I wasn’t expecting to get picked up by an agent right out of the starting gate, but constant rejection does wear you down a bit. I’m not saying that happens to everyone…just 99% of authors looking for representation! Self-publishing costs money, sure, but, you’re in charge and your book appears as you want it to!

10. Any other comments you would like to add?
Please feel free to visit my website and let me know what you thought of my book. I’d love to hear from you!

Thank you, Philip.

Interviewer: Kaye Trout - May 8, 2006

Author: TOM DAVID

Author’s website address: www.tomdavidbooks.com

Books in Print: Kory’s Lot: The Other Battle of Antietam

Books in Process: Zephyr: Journey to Antietam, Flight from Antietam

Welcome, Tom.

1. When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing my debut, Kory’s Lot, in the summer of 2005. The story had been in the back of my mind for several years, and the time had come to get it out.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?
Oddly enough, I seriously considered putting my story on paper when my friend, a general contractor, started to build my home. I was intrigued by the process of all the layers, all the pieces, coming together to result in a wonderful, finished product. That product was something very tangible and something that would be around for a very, very long time. As a Financial Advisor, there is not that single, tangible ‘thing’ that is created and left behind. I decided my story, in the form of a book, could be that something. My decision that others could benefit from a story of this nature was the clincher, and I began to write.

3. How did you approach writing your first book?
Aggressively. I sat down and started to hammer it out, and didn’t stop until it was done…many months later. Yes, there were some late evenings when my wife had to force me and my bloodshot eyes away from the computer.

4. Who or what influenced your writing?
The fantasy characters of Anne Rice stuck with me long after I read her books. She is able to breathe life into pages like no one else.

5. Why do you continue to write?
Creating life, characters, and falling in love with them or hating them is a process that overwhelmed me, and I can’t get enough of it. There’s also great satisfaction when a reader ‘feels’ what I have written, and takes something away with him or her.

6. What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?
My intent is to entertain with big, bold characters, and while doing so introduce elements of real life that often go unnoticed to many in the mainstream. The simple concept of a father/son relationship is one of those areas. Breast cancer is another such area. Zephyr: Journey to Antietam opens with Zephyr racing, horse top, against time to get to his wife’s side before she dies. So here we deal with a man losing his wife of 42 two years in the year 1874 when conceptually breast cancer is not what it is today. For me, doing this successfully will mean keeping these themes in the background while the characters move forward and touch the readers in different areas. Based on early reader feedback, I’ve done that successfully in Kory’s Lot.

7. What has been your experience as a published writer?
It’s been fun, and it’s been scary. Pouring yourself out on paper and then handing the result to someone to praise or damn can be pretty unnerving. It has definitely been worth it.

8. How do you promote your book(s)?
My wife is, uh, aggressive. She has been responsible for many more book sales than I. She has us in a handful of local businesses and bookstores. We have lots of posters up locally. Business cards, a website, signings and the other regular stuff are used.

9. What advice would you like to share with other writers?
Go for it. It’s worth it. Pick your project, stay focused, write often and finish it. Once finished, consider non-bookstore retailers. After the local Borders finishes inventory this week, we’ll be available there, but we have sold more books through non-traditional book retailers such as restaurants, delis, thrift/gift shops, and yes, even gas stations. Most small business owners tend to be supportive; especially when working a consignment deal where they’re getting inventory for free until something is sold and replaced with new product.

10. Any other comments you would like to add?
Good luck all….

Thanks Tom.

Interviewer: Kaye Trout - May 8, 2006 - Copyright

Author: JOSEPH P. RITZ

Author’s website: http://www.jritz.net.

Books in Print: The Despired Poor, I Never Looked for My Mother

Welcome Jospeh,

1. WHEN AND WHY DID YOU BEGIN WRITING?
When I was seven my foster mother, wanting to take a nap after a long walk with me in the woods, told me to write about what we had done and when she woke up praised me greatly for what I had written, showed it to my second grade teacher and kept it for many years. It was then I learned that one could get welcome praise for writing. Something we all wish for, even when we don’t admit it. Later on, in grade school I entertained my fellow pupils with my stories written in response to English assignments. They were murder mysteries. I hit on a formula that’s been successful in Hollywood — lots of violence and when the story began to drag, a murder or two. My plots were strong, but my endings were weak because: 1 - I had no idea how a story would end when I began it. 2 - By the time I got to the last page, I had killed off all my characters without resolving the mystery.

Nevertheless, my stories were a hit among my young classmates, more interested in the murders than the plot’s resolution. On rare occasions in English class they asked my teachers to let me read my bloody tales. It gave me recognition I craved.
My first writing to be published in a daily newspaper took place when I was in the army and The Tacoma Tribune printed a long article I had written about army ski training in the nearby Cascades. However, I was not paid and there was talk of court-martialing me.

2. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK?
My first book, The Despised P oor (Beacon Press) grew out of a national welfare controversy I was covering for a Gannet Group newspaper in Newburgh which was receiving national coverage. The book was praised by The New York Times and several other newspapers and by a few national magazines. It also got me on national television, but it sold only a couple of thousand copies. It is still being quoted, I am told, by sociologists and political scientists. In fact I have been invited to give a speech about the subject in September.

3. HOW DID YOU APPROACH WRITING YOUR FIRST BOOK?
That was in the 1960s when major publishers were still open to being approached by unknown writers. I wrote several major publishers with an outline of what I planned to research and write and was invited to lunch by an editor from Harper & Row. She told me what research was needed and asked me to write the first three chapters. After I did, she said she liked what I did but it had been decided that the subject would be of little interest to the public by the time the book was published.I wrote the book anyway and then set about the months long project of approaching publishers. At last Beacon Press decided to publish the manuscript.

4. WHO OR WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING?
I’ve made my living as a journalist which means that I have worked under several editors, a few good, most terrible, with little knowledge of either the subject or good writing. I have read and keep several books about writing, but I have been mostly influenced by reading good writers from Shakespeare to Scott Turow. I also write plays and it was by reading Eugene O’Neill in high school that I decided to be a playwright. Unfortunately, while I have won some national awards, my plays have largely been produced in small theaters before small audiences.

5. WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO WRITE?
I said it best in my memoir, I Never Looked for My Mother:
I know at this late age (I’m 76) that I will never win a Tony or the National Book Award. I know that I will never have dinner in the White House or have my book or play turned into a movie, or receive an honorary degree from an Ivy League college. And I will never live in a mansion with an Olympic-sized swimming pool. But I still spend the majority of my days writing. You know why so many old men died when soldiers overran the Indian villages in the old days? It wasn’t because they couldn’t run away. They stayed for the honor of dying while they fought their enemies. It’s tempting to say that I write to make the world better, but that would be like trying to stop the earth’s rotation by sticking my hand into the wind. I write knowing that I will fail and that my idea of good is not everybody’s and perhaps even not shared by whoever my readers are. But I find pleasure in the argument. Writing is my conversation with the world. It has been so since my foster mother, wanting rest and quiet, sent me to my room to write an essay on what I had done that weekend.

6. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH THROUGH YOUR WRITING?
See Above.

7. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A PUBLISHED WRITER?
I’ve become aware that people seldom read bylines, or remember them, so the writer remains unknown to most readers.

8. HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR BOOK?
By doing book signings, radio interviews, trying to interest newspapers to do reviews (very difficult these days for a POD book), creating a web site.

9. ADVICE TO OTHER WRITERS:
Don’t plan on getting great wealth, do it because you feel you must. If you don’t, plant a garden, spend more time with your children.

Thank you, Joseph.

Interview by Kaye Trout - June 7, 2006 - Copyright

Author: DAVID BARRY

Author’s website address: www.carelesstalksoap.btinternet.co.uk

Published books by the Author: Each Man Kills (Gomer ) and Flashback (Authorsonline)

Books in Process: Muscle

Welcome, David.

Interview:

1. When and why did you begin writing?
In 1970, I wrote my first television script, broadcast the same year, because I was working in a situation comedy as an actor.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?
I’ve always enjoyed the thriller genre, and decided my first book would be a police thriller located in Swansea and west Wales, involving Celtic mysticism.

3. How did you approach writing your first book?
I researched police methods first, and I also heard of a mysterious motiveless murder in west Wales, and became fascinated in solving the mystery fictionally.

4. Who or what influenced your writing?
I read so much there have been a vast amount of influences, everyone from John Steinbeck and Kurt Vonnegut to P.G Wodehouse and Jerome K Jerome.

5. Why do you continue to write?
I enjoy it. If I don’t write I start to feel something’s wrong with life.

6. What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?
I’m quite satisfied if I entertain readers.

7. What has been your experience as a published writer?
Shared experiences with other writers.

8. How do you promote your book(s)?
Radio interviews, press releases and mailouts.

9. What advice would you like to share with other writers?
Find a voice, and try to discover a market that will listen to that voice.

Thank you, David, and it was a pleasure reading your book.

Interviewer: Kaye Trout - June 3, 2006 - Copyright

Author: WALTER M. BRASCH

Author’s website address: http://www.walterbrasch.com

Published books by the Author: 16, primarily language, social issues, media/journalism

Books in Process: 3 (1 social issues novel, 1 critique of the Bush/Cheney Administration, 1 university textbook about magazine editing and production)

Welcome Walter.

Interview:

1. When and why did you begin writing?
I always seemed to have a "knack" for writing. I was a sports correspondent for a local daily while in high school; in college, I took courses that required term papers—I’d usually do poorly on tests, but quite well on the essays and term papers. I had planned to become a physician, but soon drifted into social work—it was the ‘60s, and I saw social work as a way to "save the world." (My A.B. is in sociology.) But, I realized my abilities, like that of many activists, could better be used in journalism. Thus, this idealist eventually started working for a newspaper, and then evolved.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?
I was in grad school, and it seemed like a good thing to do. Actually, it just seemed to fall into place, developing out of a paper for one of the classes. The first book was an annotated bibliography of American Black English. It was something that needed to be done. I was interested in language and culture studies, and this gave me a greater insight into a culture and its people—as well as the racism and ignorance. The book was quickly picked up by an academic press and became a standard reference work. My second book, Black English and the Mass Media, looked at the portrayal of Black language in the media, and revealed that journalists and teachers often spoke and wrote with little knowledge of people and language. This book was both a historical and contemporary look at language in a social setting. This book also was picked up by a university press, had high critical praise, and became one of the company’s "best sellers." It didn’t take me long to realize that books have a longer lifespan than newspaper and magazine articles. But, I still wrote for newspapers and magazines. That’s where my journalistic soul is.

3. How did you approach writing your first book?
It was purely an academic exercise. No great bolts of lightning. No unusual wisdom. It was tedious and meticulous, done long before there were PCs and databases for the average scholar. It also gave me a real "feel" for hard copy and libraries. The Interlibrary Loan department was swamped by my requests—and I learned a lot about libraries. It’s hard for me to explain to a 20-year-old bright student that all knowledge isn’t available by the Internet, that some comes from actually feeling the hard copy of the article—smelling the dust, reading the type in the way it was originally presented, etc. Persons who can work in libraries, I believe, have a better love of history and, thus, can better understand the present.

4. Who or what influenced your writing?
My journalistic "hero" is Horace Greeley, an editor/publisher who believed in the people. He was probably the most influential editor in America before and during the Civil War. It was he who pushed Lincoln into eventually delivering the Emancipation Proclamation. Greeley, who was pro-worker, also was founder of the first newspaper union, believed women should have the vote, and gave his employees a share of his newspaper. He became great not only because he was a great publisher, but because he was a great person. Among other writers, I admire Lafcadio Hearn; most of the muckrakers of the 1890s-1910s, including Jacob Riis, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Ray Stanard Baker, publisher S.S. McClure; James Thurber, Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Breslin, Art Buchwald, Tom Paxton, Tom Lehrer, Aaron Sorkin, and many MANY others. Ironically, I don’t read many books, so the ones I do read tend to be by persons who are expert in short-form journalism, who can take that ability and transform it (whether music or printed words) into either a collection of great columns or excellent narrative, or a great play. Journalists aren’t confined to one medium—we should be able to write for all media, depending upon our subject and what we want to say.

5. Why do you continue to write?
It’s what I do best. (It may be the only thing, other than teaching, I truly enjoy.) I get mentally stimulated by it. AND, most important, I believe I can make a difference and help people with the kind of writing I do. That’s why I focus on social issues, when I realize I can make money from genre writing. – Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I’m a pretty good teacher, so I can combine teaching and writing. – Besides, it also feeds my ego; my name gets outside of my home town, and I get to hear from people from throughout the country and (sometimes) other countries. Thanks to the Internet (and the fact my columns appear on many I-net sites), I get a lot of feedback; this helps me better understand people and their concerns.

6. What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?
Because I am a social issues journalist, I hope to make people more aware of society, of the issues in society, and what can be done to improve our society. Although many of my columns and books focus upon government, many also look at people, many of whom are part of the underclass or invisible society that are not reported upon by the more "establishment" media. I report good news and bad news; and, although I readily acknowledge I am a liberal, I am fiercely independent, even to the point of not being afraid to attack the news media when I think there’s an overwhelming incompetence or blind spot in their coverage. Some of my most stinging satire has been against the media.

7. What has been your experience as a published writer?
I have spent a LOT of time trying to answer this question. Alas, because I’ve been a writer for four decades, my experiences are so vast, so different, so – idiosyncratic – that it’s hard to answer this one question, without writing a three-volume autobiographical diary that not even I would want to read. Fortunately, writing, and my relationship with readers, editors, and others in the industry changes every day, so it keeps me fresh and alert. Some days I am ecstatic, some days depressed, some days furious, other days blissful. It even changes by the hour.

8. How do you promote your book(s)?
With the major and minor publishers now focused more than ever upon "bottom line profits," and realizing they can make money only if they don’t have to spend money on us mid-list authors, it’s up to us to promote our books. Every one of my books has a 40-60 page promo/marketing plan. This includes a wide range of possibilities. However, the best promotion I find is contacts through my own mail list and hope they keep spreading the word to their friends and acquaintances. I also hammer newspapers (whose reviewers often turn up their arrogant noses at us low-life authors who don’t reach NYTimes lists and, thus, toss us into the trash bin). Thus, I deal with real reporters and editors for feature and news articles; I’m more successful with this. I also do a lot of radio interviews. I contact people (sometimes 2-3 times before they call back). I find some publications (RTIR, e.g.) more effective than others in making radio producers aware of my stuff. It’s not unusual for me to do a couple of phone interviews a day when book is in promo-stage. I don’t do TV. I just have a better body for radio. TV would boost sales, but TV has deteriorated to a point that many interviewers are unprepared, that they want "hot topics" and "hot celebrities," especially the ones who have a fan club, publicist, and posse—but are published solely because of that, not because they can write. I send out a lot of postcards. I use VistaPrint and other low-cost companies since cost is minimal. (Fortunately, I am also strong at graphic design, so I save money in that area.) In all of my bills, I send a bookmark or postcard. After all, these companies send us a lot of junk mail, I see no reason why I can’t return that favor. (I especially like the self-stamped envelopes credit card companies and others send to get us to fall for one of their offerings; it’s a win situation for me—I send info, they pay for the postage.). I do a LOT of public speaking, and make sure the audience has something to take with them—postcards, magnets, bookmarks, etc. I often do bookstore signings, but these are never as lucrative as they should be in sales. BUT, the key is to meet people, find out what they’re thinking, talk about them—and your book. They MAY remember later. ALSO, a key to a good bookstore signing is to make sure you talk with the clerks. If you can hype them on the book, they may later recommend it to a customer.

9. What advice would you like to share with other writers?
WRITE! Write some more. And then edit. Edit tightly. Ask yourself "would a reader like this phrase? Can I make this sentence tighter and more dramatic? Does it need a better rhythm and flow? Is this passage necessary? Does it contribute to an understanding of the story? Is there something missing?" In non-fiction, I believe that research and investigation may be 80% of writing, the actual writing is about 20%--and, just for kicks, figure 100% on the business end and promotion. In fiction, writers who don’t do their research are quickly found out. Assume every reader knows more about the facts than you do. You don’t want a reader to say, "That’s just not true; that doesn’t make sense." It diminishes the credibility. Alas, far too many writers churn out garbage, published by presses that have cut back on costs by cutting back on decent editors and copyeditors or work them far too much to be effective. Books WILL have errors (maybe a misspelled word, a fact that isn’t a fact, etc.) but the purpose of good writing is to make the reader NOT have bumps by stopping and saying, "That’s just not right."

10. Any other comments you would like to add?
The rise of POD publishing, allowing the effective emergency of small publishers and self-publishers, has allowed writers to get their views spread. But, the trade-off is that there is so much junk out there, and the design and promotion are often abysmal, that it seems that bad writing drives out good writing. Certainly, it’s become a problem since book reviewers (although they’ll vigorously deny it to your face!) and some major book review magazines tend to look at a publisher’s imprint and promo package and tend to discount that which doesn’t "seem" to be major, before even reading a couple of pages. As far as book reviewers—and I realize I could be tightening the noose on my literary future—I agree with James Michener, who said that if these people could write, they wouldn’t be book reviewers. The industry has also tended to feature authors who have little to say, but say it anyhow—just because publishers can publicize just about anything. If I were to capitalize on this unfortunate trend, I might title my next book, How to Bake Dietetic Pornographic Cookies With Britney Spears While Being Your Own Best Friend.

Thanks Walter, that's a great title and closing.

Interviewer: Kaye Trout - June 1, 2006 - Copyright