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Interview with Byron Edgington

Published 2015-06-27.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I'm convinced that I can make the world a little bit better place for someone else. My writing reflects that wish, I hope, that the only thing worthwhile in life is leaving the campsite a bit cleaner than we found it.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Thinking about writing. Seriously, I spend a great deal of time working on social issues such as LGBT rights and efforts to elimintae the divisive, corrosive dialogue in our society.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I go to the store on my Kindle and browse through the biographies and autobiographies, then move on to aviation fiction.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
It was a screenplay, actually, a horrendous attempt at a prehistoric time-travel bit titled BC Brain. My main character was a hoary fellow who invented television prior to electricity. His associates speculated that they'd have to watch it in the dark. Thank the gods of authorship it never saw the light of day.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Kon Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl's ripping adventure story of crossing the Pacific east to west on a small raft. I devoured Kon Tiki, partly for the story, partly because it led me to understand I could write.
How do you approach cover design?
I have the greatest cover design artist on the planet, and I'm keeping him to myself. He's a Serbian fellow, fast, attentive, inexpensive, smart and an artist.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
To Kill a Mockingbird, Kon Tiki, Moby Dick, The Sound and the Fury and Dead Wake. These books made me miss things I maybe should have attended. Moby Dick in particular. It should be read cover to cover by any aspiring author. Here's a tip: It's not about a whale.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Kindle Paperwhite. I love that little marvel.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
In Columbus Ohio, home to James Thurber, Arthur Schlesinger jr., Mary Robison and R.L. Stine. In Columbus, no one ever told me I couldn't write.
When did you first start writing?
Shortly after birth. I was second of ten kids in a raucous, disrupted, Irish-Catholic family. I couldn't get a word in sideways, so I wrote instead.
What's the story behind your latest book?
The Sky Behind Me 2nd Edition, Extended Downwind is aviation memoir based on my 40 year career in the cockpit of a helicopter. It is stories from the sky, plus an added chapter on the new safety system called Crew Resource Management.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Seeing the words: 'The End.' Since writing is an obsession for me, I have to force myself to finish projects. It's never easy, because I'm convinced it can be better.
What do your fans mean to you?
Fans are nice, but I'd write anyway. Good thing, too, since the average American reads less than one book per year, and there are 3,000 new titles every day.
What are you working on next?
My works in progress include the following: 'Bless Me father, Losing My Religion and Finding Myself,' 'Final Sky, An Air Medical Love Story,' Honorary Fag, My Journey as a Straight Male in Homophobic America,' and 'Waiting for Willie Pete, a Helicopter Novel of Vietnam.' For excerpts from these, see my website, www.byronedgington.com
Who are your favorite authors?
Harper Lee, Eric Larson, Malcolm Gladwell, Herman Melville, Jeanette Walls and William Faulkner
What is your writing process?
Most days I have no trouble rapping out 2 to 3 thousand words in draft. Depending on which project I'm working on I allow the words to flow for a day, then return the next day to tweak and rewrite. I once heard that the guy with the most expensive car in Hollywood has a license plate that reads: 'Rewrite.'
What do you read for pleasure?
Biographies and autobiographies, plus good aviation fiction when it's done well. And I can tell when it's not.
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Books by This Author

To Write It Right 200 Cures For Writer's Block by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 2,710. Language: English. Published: May 21, 2023 . Categories: Nonfiction » Education & Study Guides » Literacy » Alphabets & writing systems, Nonfiction » Education & Study Guides » Literacy » Composition & creative writing
In 10 chapters of 20 items each, my book itemizes cures for the most common challenge authors face, the persistent and insidious disease of writer's block. The 200 cures are arranged by categories labeled as 'tools': Psychological, Physical, Fun, Mindset, Preparation, Environmental, Random/Training, Physiological, Traditional & Basic tools to help any writer defeat writer's block every time.
The Sky Behind Me 2nd Edition, Extended Downwind by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 98,940. Language: English. Published: June 25, 2015 . Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Autobiographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction » Engineering, trades, & technology » Technical Writing
The Sky Behind Me is aviation memoir, and instructional matter on Crew Resource Management. TSBM fits on shelves alongside Chickenhawk, What It is Like to Go to War, CW-2, A Final Arc of Sky: A Memoir of Critical Care and Flying: The Aviation Trilogy. Non-fiction readers who love flying and human interest tales will devour The Sky Behind Me.