For fiction, it all begins with an idea. A single situation or event, and that’s essentially what I build from. It does vary from project to project. Some books need outlines. In those cases, I kind of need to know where I’m going the whole time. This approach works for my crime and adventure stories, the horror pieces I work on, and even some of the non genre pieces, but sometimes I just have no idea where I’m going at all (laughs). I just let the characters speak to me and speak through me, almost like a form of automatic writing for certain projects. My book, An Open Letter To Arthur Pond, is a good example of that. I make sure I write a little bit of the project I’m currently working on every single day—even if it’s a short session—I absolutely have to get my session in.

I’ve been asked that one on a few of the podcasts I’ve done and at readings by the portion of my readers in attendance, and still that’s hard to answer. What I can say is that they announce themselves to me—the characters—every part of them. Their names, their look, features, character traits, and as I go, the characters and their individual situations grow more complicated. The story just develops organically; it always has.

I’ve grown to respect them, really. I used to be terrified of the term at the start of my career, but as time has passed I stopped believing in it as a threat. Essentially if you have work to do, you do it. For me, telling a story is work and I need to get to the end of that work. Some days are terrible and what I’ve written on a particular day may seem pretty bad at the moment, but I pedal through and make sure I’ve done my work. When I check back in later, it’s never quite as bad as I thought it was (laughs). There are those days when writing seems like something so taxing and daunting even, and on those days I’ve learned to just go with it; take a walk, which I love to do anyways, play some video games, tinker with my computers, or perhaps even go visit some monument in my city or the next one; go for a meal somewhere, really sit and ponder, and then when I get back home, I usually get right back to it.

It happens. Today—especially today—not everyone is going to agree with your story or its narrative. Heck, they might even detest your characters and their overall plight, but like insults thrown at me when I was a kid—I was bullied in school— eventually you have to just let them roll off your back and understand that that is just one person’s viewpoint (or in some cases many), and you need to move on to the next project—whatever it may be— and give your best every time out, regardless of anyone’s opinion. Especially in some of the journalism I’ve written, I get a lot of feedback and those that don’t agree—especially in the sports writing I’ve done. It’s a free world and really, they’re allowed not to agree. The only issue these days online is when people think that their own word is law and they try to enforce it. That’s terrible behavior, but sadly it’s out there, especially on social media, but as artists who put ourselves out there in this climate, we have to learn to ignore the noise, so to speak.

My process isn’t really challenging, I must say. Writing has changed though—the entirety of the industry—and that goes for fiction and non-fiction alike, but if this was a pre-internet age when more books were published a year and pays for writers were in fact higher, maybe a lot more really good writers would be writing full-time, but that’s just not the way of the world right now—the writing world—but you go with it.

I was first published when I was 10 years old. It was in a school board periodical. I was published again the following year and really since that time, I wanted to be a writer. I loved to read from early on and I loved films. I so desperately wanted to be a part of that story creating world I loved so much. I didn’t exactly know how to get there, but I kept at it, writing in my journals, and over the years, I sent out stories to short story magazines and got started on my journalism. In 2016 I independently released my first novel, Weathered Tracks, a horror novel, and then in 2018 I professionally sold my first bit of journalism. And off to the races I was…

Take your time. Your first book will always be your first offering unto the world. You’ll want it to be a bold statement, but one you can be proud of. I’m grateful. I took my time with my first, and even all these years later, I’m proud of that first book. (The aforementioned Weathered Tracks.)

Truthfully…they develop on their own. Don’t force the issue. Let them speak for themselves, and if you’re connected to your story they will…eventually. Patience is super important. Keep an open mind and don’t write for a sensitive reader or an open minded reader. Don’t keep your reader, or any type of reader, in mind at all. Just put it on the page…put forth what feels right to you and your characters. They’ll tell you if you’re doing well…again if you’re connected to them deeply. If you have no connection to the story or its characters, then something pretty important is missing.

I can’t choose a favorite. For me my books, my articles, my poetry, they’re my children, my home, where I lay my head and heart, so I cannot choose between them; they have all come from my heart. I have written 18 books and over 1750 articles.

My latest book is a collection of poetry… Ancient Credos In Sanskrit Moderna. Really putting them together for publication isn’t as hard as writing a full-length novel or even a collection of short stories. My poetry is bold and honest. I don’t pull any punches and there’s something very liberating in that, so this wasn’t difficult for me. Actually, it was a great break from the aforementioned full-length novel, though, which isn’t hard, as stated before, but you need to get it done, and it can sometimes be a lot of work. But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like the extra work.

I have included poetry in many of my other collections or anthologies but like the Beats (the beat generation of poets and writers) before me, putting together a full book of poetry was an idea I had by being inspired by them and their work. Think Gregory Corso’s Gasoline, Jack Kerouac’s Mexico City Blues and Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. I wanted to offer the world something of my own in the same vein.

If a scene in fiction gets hard, or a portion of a poem is hard, that means that the issue is being forced…perhaps the individual is trying too hard. That’s when the best thing to do becomes stopping and waiting until a fresh idea comes. Continuing while forcing the issue is like going against the grain. Writing needs to be smooth.

Classical music. Loads of coffee…sometimes tea.

I wish I could go back in time and sit in a café with Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Huncke and William Burroughs, but since that’s not possible God rest their souls, I would love to sit and have an espresso and a game of brisk in some out of the way New York Italian bar with none other than Don De Lillo. Great conversations can be had over a game of brisk. Trust me; I can make a list of two dozen or more. The term ‘kid in a candy store’ comes to mind, but if I narrow it down to just one, there you have it.

Just last week (laughs). Mostly I find some of the trending articles I have written, still…but what made me happy was that I happened upon a few pages that showcased my fiction, and at the end of the day, that has a special place in my heart. After all, that’s where it all comes from: my heart. It all comes out pure in the beginning. Before it gets misconstrued or even enjoyed…it comes from a place of purity and it’s that purity that I love about writing. When I write I’m back to being a kid, making up stories or reporting on what happened…a 10 year old kid. It’s why I still do this, no matter the ever-changing industry. Who knows…maybe one day it’ll go back to the way it once was. Wouldn’t that be nice…? Thanks for your time.