Ask the Author: B.J. Smith
Answered Questions (6)
B.J. Smith
Of course:
Conrad woke to a pleasant whiff of sawdust and the buzz of a blade tearing through floorboards. He rolled out of bed in the darkness, straight into the abyss.
Conrad woke to a pleasant whiff of sawdust and the buzz of a blade tearing through floorboards. He rolled out of bed in the darkness, straight into the abyss.
B.J. Smith
I'm working on my third crime novel.
On the back burner for now: A short story that started out wanting to be a novel. It grew to about 30,000 words before going on the back burner and it's now awaiting some major surgery. Once the short story is done, I just might make it a long story after all.
On the back burner for now: A short story that started out wanting to be a novel. It grew to about 30,000 words before going on the back burner and it's now awaiting some major surgery. Once the short story is done, I just might make it a long story after all.
B.J. Smith
The best thing about writing fiction is the freedom to create something out of nothing. You can turn your imagination loose for a while and then rein it back in to shape an idea into something that you hope others will understand and enjoy.
B.J. Smith
My most recent fiction work was my second crime novel featuring Detective Red Shaw. It grew out of my longtime interest in bicycling. I've spent a lot of time riding for fun, exercise and transportation, including several times across the state of Iowa in an annual pilgrimage called RAGBRAI and some other excursions in Colorado, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Cycling, especially long distances, gives a person a lot of time to think.
The beginning of "North of Grand" was triggered by frequent sightings of bike storage lockers in Boulder, Colorado, but the Des Moines lockers in the book are purely imaginary. (I did tell the transit authority there that I was going to do that.)
The idea for the first Red Shaw book, "Blood Solutions," came from my years in journalism. After college I was a reporter for a couple of daily newspapers, then I landed at a news/features syndicate in Des Moines. As an editor there, one of my responsibilities was proofreading a weekly crossword puzzle. It wasn’t my favorite part of the job, but it sparked the idea that became my first crime novel.
The beginning of "North of Grand" was triggered by frequent sightings of bike storage lockers in Boulder, Colorado, but the Des Moines lockers in the book are purely imaginary. (I did tell the transit authority there that I was going to do that.)
The idea for the first Red Shaw book, "Blood Solutions," came from my years in journalism. After college I was a reporter for a couple of daily newspapers, then I landed at a news/features syndicate in Des Moines. As an editor there, one of my responsibilities was proofreading a weekly crossword puzzle. It wasn’t my favorite part of the job, but it sparked the idea that became my first crime novel.
B.J. Smith
I tell them not to aspire, but to get busy writing and don't stop. I also tell them to read a lot, then write more, and develop a thick skin.
They have to learn to value their work and avoid giving it away in return for "exposure" instead of money.
They have to learn to value their work and avoid giving it away in return for "exposure" instead of money.
B.J. Smith
Inspired? I don't need inspiration to write. Let's pretend you asked me about getting motivated.
My motivation to write is different depending on the kind of writing involved. When I wrote a memoir about my mother's Alzheimer's Disease and how that affected me and my siblings and our families, I needed to get all of that out of my system and behind me. It worked to some extent. It was therapeutic.
Writing about my recent experience with leukemia in "That time I had cancer..." was also therapeutic and I hope others can benefit from reading about it.
Writing fiction? That's a creative challenge and I simply enjoy doing it.
Writing for my last day job helped pay the bills and gave me the satisfaction that came from doing interesting work that was worth doing.
My motivation to write is different depending on the kind of writing involved. When I wrote a memoir about my mother's Alzheimer's Disease and how that affected me and my siblings and our families, I needed to get all of that out of my system and behind me. It worked to some extent. It was therapeutic.
Writing about my recent experience with leukemia in "That time I had cancer..." was also therapeutic and I hope others can benefit from reading about it.
Writing fiction? That's a creative challenge and I simply enjoy doing it.
Writing for my last day job helped pay the bills and gave me the satisfaction that came from doing interesting work that was worth doing.
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