You’re a teacher, right? So, when did your writing career begin?
Oh, early on, as a boy. I have always enjoyed writing, and felt compelled to write, mostly in a small notebook or journal, since about age 10 or 11. It was never for sharing though—just personal reflection or maybe a chance to vent. It’s been a great emotional outlet. Later, when I began to take account of what my students were reading, I realized that perhaps I had the motivation and ability to write for them. But I knew it wouldn’t be an easy thing to master. That is, coming up with a story powerful enough for them to actually want to read it.
Who would you consider your writing influences?
Teachers, in the public schools—so many who held the writing process in high esteem, and were successful in passing on that passion to me. Also, my mother, who loved writing letters, always very mindful of her choice of words and perfect penmanship. I remember too, receiving letters from my father, and how special those were. It always seemed to be about the power of those words and letters to pull at my heart. Also, writers, to whom story matters(ed) more than anything. People like Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Willa Cather, Steinbeck, Melville, Cooper, and Dickens. I’ve loved the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs since boyhood. And I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, and Tim O’Brien. O’Brien writes with such emotion.
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