Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
No, not really a message, but it would please me if readers felt they could enter andfeel part of the specialized nautical subculture of the "boat bum."
How many hours a day do you spend reading/writing?
Two hours writing. Even if those hours are not always productive, I
make myself sit there in front of that screen every morning. Reading time
is so variable; some days only at bedtime, other days, an entire afternoon,
and anything in between.
How would you describe your process of fiction different from non-fiction writing?
With fiction, when it is going well, you enter into something like
an alpha state--the process moves smoothly without much conscious
direction. Nonfiction, on the other hand, is a much more cerebral process.
It requires structure, a particular type of discipline, and the ability to
write length, on deadline.
What are your current projects?
Eight chapters into a new novel, plus editing two different
nonfiction books for other authors.
If you could have been the author of any novel, which title would it be
and why?
I'd probably say ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE, Garcia Marquez's
novel set in his native Colombia...It allows the reader to become immersed
in his exotic landscape, meet outrageous yet believable characters, and
somehow feel at home there.
What advice would you give anyone who wants to become a published author?
Develop a thick skin.
And do you have a list of favorite books/authors?
There are so many it's hard to choose. I would have to say, among
others, William Faulkner, Lawrence Durrell. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, James
Joyce, Marcel Proust, Umberto Eco. Great storytellers all.
