Ask the Author: Douglas Esper
Answered Questions (6)
Douglas Esper
my wife won't hesitate to tell you I am horrible at communicating emotions in real life. I will add that I feel disconnected from the buzzing hive and hub of society and also from myself at times. adding those two things together, I think I express myself better with stories than I do with actions or my own words. and, I prefer it that way. spending the time to translate what I feel and observe into a fictional story is a fascinating process that I am excited to be a part of and learn from.
Douglas Esper
my novel, A Life of Inches will be published by Limitless Publishing on May 26th. that book was inspired by a few events and people in my life. When I started writing it, I was prepping to attend my ten year high school reunion and I thought it would be interesting to follow two old friends who had a falling out and were going to reunite a the reunion. from there, I added in a female character who both men had been attracted to and was partially responsible for their falling out. Shortly after that I heard a news story on the radio about a guy who got in an argument with his wife and was yelling at her just as his mother in law was walking up to the house. the mother in law heard the yelling and called the cops. the guy got taken by the cops to a holding cell and since it was a holiday weekend, he spent three nights in jail and missed a plane to a vacation he had saved years to take his wife on. the guys rotten luck became a characteristic of my main character while his estranged best friend had amazing luck and everything seemed to break his way. by the time I was finished the book had morphed dramatically but the luck/bad luck and ten year reunion elements remain as a portion of the story.
Douglas Esper
it's April in Cleveland, so my main concern is my tan...I couldn't even type that with a straight face.
my current projects are all over the map:
1) I am halfway through the first draft of the first book of a YA adventure/fantasy series
2) I am revising a character driven suspense/thriller novel.
3) I am writing, revising, and editing a short story collection.
4) I am ghost writing an autobiography book by rock vocalist chuck mosley, but it is currently stalled out until he is ready to proceed.
5) a picture book for children I wrote several years ago that I might revisit this summer to self-publish if I can find the right artist to work with.
I think that's it...
my current projects are all over the map:
1) I am halfway through the first draft of the first book of a YA adventure/fantasy series
2) I am revising a character driven suspense/thriller novel.
3) I am writing, revising, and editing a short story collection.
4) I am ghost writing an autobiography book by rock vocalist chuck mosley, but it is currently stalled out until he is ready to proceed.
5) a picture book for children I wrote several years ago that I might revisit this summer to self-publish if I can find the right artist to work with.
I think that's it...
Douglas Esper
living, breathing, dreaming, walking, observing, thinking, doing, eating, interacting, reading, obsorbing...and by chicken wings
Douglas Esper
My advice probably mirrors what you'll read elsewhere: read a lot, find time for writing, get outside eyes to edit your work, attempt to improve every time you write...but, I also, feel that you must trust yourself to know when to ignore all advice and do your own thing, develop your own style, habits, interests, and worlds. I am still working on that myself.
Douglas Esper
I don't want this to come off the wrong way, but I haven't run into writer's block yet. Ideas are constantly running through my brain and I don't think I have enough life left to get them all on paper, let alone the ideas I'll have in the future. now, that's not to say that every idea is awesome and would make a compelling novel, but they might work for song lyrics, short stories, blog posts or even never completed backstory for a character. If I reach a point where I have no ideas to explore, it will be an ugly day.
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