1) When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? Did any one person influence you in particular?
I have two answers to this one.
First, I didn't know until about 1990, but I have been a writer all my life. Even as a tiny child, I made up stories and fantasies to myself. I never told anyone about them -- who'd want to hear my 'nonsense'? But this inner world was often more interesting and friendly than the so-called real one.
I've always had a way with words, a way of translating complicated concepts into simple explanations. In 1980, I put this skill to use, writing for a magazine about my current passion, which was building your own house. This was a deliberate apprenticeship. I wanted to develop the skills of writing, and build up an audience. By the time my building book came out in 1986, the audience was there. And the skill is still growing. I won my first short story contest prize in 1991. I've written 12 books so far, and each one is better than the one before it.
Just think, how good my last book will be, in 2050!
2) Out of the books you've written, which is your favorite and why?
I have three children. None of them is my favorite. I love them all, in different ways, but not unequally.
The same is true of my books.
I have had two 'how to' books published in Australia. Both are out of print for the moment, and I am revising them right this minute. Well, I am taking a little time off to answer your questions. Both are favorites because they are useful, because they sold lots of copies, because so many people have said kind things about them.
I have two psychology books. They are also my favorites, because they help people who are suffering. I get real joy out of helping people to climb out of the black pit of emotional distress.
There are four completed books in my historical adventure series The Stories of the Ehvelen. The Ehvelen are my favorite humans. I love to be in their world.
Then there is Sleeper, Awake, my first book to win a major prize (EPPIE 2001 Award for Science Fiction). When I wrote it, I lived within its world and 'reality' became a pale shadow. This was the first book I wrote without meticulous planning. I created a situation, put some people into it, then found out what happened as they did.
Then there is the hardest book I have written, and to date the best: the biography of a woman who did the impossible several times, and survived the unsurvivable. I am proud to say she was my mother. I guess, all in all, this has to be my number one favorite to date.
3) What do you think is your greatest strength as a writer?
You want a single answer to a complex question? :)
As I said, I can explain things in words. I've worked on building sites where others could DO something much better. But I was the one who explained it to the apprentices.
Then I am absolutely OBSESSIVE about getting things 110% right. I'll check and recheck until I drive even myself crazy, improving expression, finding typos, getting it spot on or better. This is one of the reasons I make a good editor.
And of course I am cursed with creativity. I have a complete inability to fit into other people's boxes -- or even into my own. For example, 'Sleeper, Awake' was deliberately a Science Fiction novel. I tried so hard to fit into the category! But in the end, it's a literary novel with many hidden meanings, which just happens to be set 1500 years in the future.
Similarly, my biography was supposed to be non-fiction. And so it is… up to a point.
4) If you could choose any historical person (real or fictional) to spend an afternoon with, who would it be and why?
Only one? You're very hard…
In Napoleonic times, the boss man of the little Principality of Hessen Kastel was a Wilhelm Heinau. Prince Wilhelm was a very unusual fellow. While most of the German mini-nations joined the alliance against the French, he sided with Bonaparte, and became a General with many wins to his credit. As thanks, Napoleon promoted him to be an Elector of the Empire.
Wilhelm also chose the eventual losing side in the field of romance: he fell in love with the daughter of a Rabbi. No commoner could marry a Prince, and certainly no Jew could. So, Wilhelm 'married' her off to one of his Barons, then openly lived with her. They had three sons and three daughters. The sons were raised as Catholics and trained as soldiers. The girls were raised in the Jewish faith.
Then came the Peace of Vienna, when Napoleon was defeated for the first time. Wilhelm, being a 'traitor' was at great personal risk. He hid his three daughters in Budapest, Hungary, in the care of a Rabbi who was presumably a relation. The three sisters then married three brothers. I am descended from the middle one.
Wilhelm fascinates me. He must have had incredibly vigorous genes. I've met many of his descendants, and seen photos and paintings of others, and all have a recognizable similarity. Also, all of them are intelligent, creative, mavericks who refuse to follow anyone else's path.
I'll choose great-great-great-grandfather Wilhelm.
5) Tell us about your latest release...
No.
I'll tell you about my latest book to have won a prize.
The Making of a Forest Fighter is the winner of the Action/Adventure category of the latest Dream Realm Awards. It is the fourth book in the series The Stories of the Ehvelen, and it's different in that the hero is one of the Doshi, the people who were the Ehvelen's deadly enemies.
So, I am presenting the story of a three year war entirely through the eyes of a teenager to whom the Ehvelen are magical, terrible creatures who kill from invisibility. My young friend Ribtol is a thoroughly decent person. He is sensitive, intelligent and kind. This is why he suffers what we would now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: he has nightmares about his first contact with the Ehvelen.
How does he react to the nightmares? Well, he is ashamed of 'being a coward', and therefore volunteers for all the most dangerous missions. And by the end of the three-year war, he is a hero.
6) What are you working on right now?
I am scanning and revising my two out-of-print books, the 'Earth Garden Building Book: Design and build your own house', and 'Woodworking for Idiots Like Me'. To keep myself sane during the repetitive activity of scanning, and swearing at programs that don't do as they are told, I am expanding a great little Science Fiction story into a Young Adult book. Currently I have over 22,000 words. The eventual length will be 40,000 to 50,000 words.
This story has humans in it. They are the villains. My protagonists are bright green, and have three arms and three legs. They start life as boys, grow into men, then at a certain stage of development undergo a Transformation into girls. Incidentally, there are terrestrial organisms that do this very thing, so it's not that unbelievable.
I am having a great deal of fun with this one.
7) Do you belong to a critique group or work with a critique partner? How has this helped you grow as a writer?
When I have a completed book, I go out and find people to give me feedback. If the other person is a writer, I offer a barter arrangement: critique for critique. For my latest book, I found seventeen different people to do this with.
I think what makes me grow as a writer is anything that helps me to grow as a person. So, this is not specific to writing-related activities like getting feedback on my work. I am beyond the stage where I need to learn tricks or techniques. My growing point is insight into the human condition -- whatever that may be. :)
8) How many hours a day do you spend writing? Are you diligent or do you write when the muse takes hold?
I don't know. I am not organized enough to set aside a specific period. I write when I am bursting with an idea. I write when someone demands it of me. For example, I am currently helping to organize a Festival, to be held next February, and I've been writing magazine articles to go with the advance publicity. And I write when I want to get away from the world and its pressures.
9) Are there any lucky charms, talismans or other baubles you use to help you write?
No.
10) Tell us what you do when you aren't writing...what other hobbies or interests do you have?
Insufficient space. :)
I earn (much of) my living as a psychologist. People come to me in despair, without hope, without joy, feeling powerless and faulty. In most cases, they go on with their lives after a few sessions: feeling in charge of their destiny, able to cope, optimistic and strong. This makes ME feel wonderful. When my books become best-sellers so I don't need to do anything else for money, I'll still continue counseling.
I'm also a committed conservationist. There are only two kinds of people: conservationists and suicides. If you don't look after the future with every act, then you are killing yourself. So, I spend a lot of time and effort on activities that are designed to save the world from us.
When I am stuck, need a little time to allow my subconscious to work on a problem, I play the DREADFULLY ADDICTIVE game of FreeCell. But don't tell anyone: I'm ashamed of this addiction.
I read a lot, always have.
I love to go for walks in the bush, watch the birds, animals and plants, breathe real air.
I like to make things that work. It's less satisfying to make things that fail to work, but then those are the learning experiences…
11) How do you juggle writing and the rest of your life?
I don't have a rest of my life. I just have one life, and it goes on very nicely, thank you. Writing is simply a part of it. When creativity has me in its grip, I think about the current project, whatever else I may be doing. So, I can be said to write 24/24.
12) What piece of advice would you offer to new writers?
Believe in the reality of a paradox. First, write for yourself, the perfect piece of writing for you. At the same time, if you want to become a professional, you need to research the market, and write what will sell.
Clear? :)
As a freelance editor, I see a lot of writing that makes me want to cry. The story may be fantastic, have many excellent features, but the author lacks craft.
What would you think of a supposed violinist who never practices, but wants to start with a Mozart concerto? Would you let a person operate on you without having learned the craft of surgery?
And yet people expect to be able to write without any knowledge of grammar, punctuation, the conventions of the publishing game (like which is the right order: ," or ",). There are others who have not a clue about how to construct a story line, convey information without lecturing, or bring a character to life.
Writing needs an apprenticeship. To learn, you need to write, and seek feedback. And welcome negative feedback: it's the opportunity for learning.
13) Anything you'd like to add?
Yes, my web site address: http://bobswriting.com/. Make sure you leave plenty of time when you visit, because it's stuffed with hours' worth of entertainment.
14) URL you want me to link to at end of interview--
See above.
15) Very short bio (no more than 5 lines) to include with interview.
Dr Bob Rich is a visitor from a faraway galaxy. In his 257 years, he has seen things you wouldn't believe. Some of his most unbelievable observations were on a planet called Earth. The people there are BIZARRE: they kill their own kind, even have organized games called 'wars' for doing this. They raise their young in a way that is guaranteed to squash their spirits and make them into depressed, anxious or aggressive as adults. And they destroy the ecosystem that keeps them alive. Being a fan of horror, Bob is visiting this planet again right now.
Thanks!!