Interview with Author Steve Fisher

Welcome to my blog interviews with novelists, short story authors, scriptwriters, and more.  Today’s is with author Steve Fisher.

Armen: Hello, Steve. Please tell us something about yourself, and how you came to be a writer.

Steve:  I’ve been a freelance writer for over 30 years. Most of that time was spent writing non-fiction books, seminars, articles, etc. What did I write on? Just about any topic you can imagine – nuts and bolts, stocks and bonds, cow feed, urinalysis machines (!), etc. and, yes, this is true, worm chow!

Armen:  Why did you begin writing fiction and what inspired you to write your first book?

Steve:  I first start writing fiction in 1995 and came to it in a strange way. In July of that year, I had surgery for an acoustic neuroma (tumor) near my ear. The surgery turned out fine (obviously). But I was very depressed afterward due to lack of money, marital difficulties, etc. So, a psychologist gave me an anti-depressant. Within two weeks, WHAM, it kicked in, lifted the depression and I knew in an instant that I could write fiction.

Armen:  When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Steve:  I considered myself a professional fiction writer the first time I threw out 90,000 words of a novel because they were crap. That told me I had the necessary objectivity for the profession.

Armen: That’s an interesting epiphany point.  You write tween books, was there a reason to choose this genre and age group?

Steve:  I wrote “The Merryvale Adventures,” a tween series for horse-loving girls, simply because I introduced my then 8 year old daughter to horseback riding and she took to it with a vengeance (still rides today!). The series was my gift to her.

Armen:  My children also inspired me to write, funny how they challenge you!  What have you had published to-date?

Steve:  Beyond “The Merryvale Adventures,” I’ve written four novels in the “Fragger Sparks” scifi series as well as the action/adventure satire, “American Job” (as in the Biblical Job). I’ve been published in the Canadian horse magazine, Nuzzle (defunct, sadly) as well as the online magazine, Apex Magazine.

Armen: Which authors did you read when you were younger and how did they impact you as a writer?

Steve:  Three writers influenced me: Mark Twain for his clarity and sense of humor; Charles Dickens for his unmatched ability to create memorable characters; and Ernest Hemingway for his economy of style.

Armen: Those are certainly some good writers to teach you the craft.  Do you get a second opinion on your stories before they’re published – if so from adults, children or both?

Steve:  Nope – I have people read to catch mistakes but I rely on myself for the story itself.

Armen:  Do you have any tips for anyone thinking about writing in the YA/tween market?

Steve:  Think like a tween and respect them. Kids are smart; treat them that way.

Armen: Are your books available as eBooks, paper, or both?

Steve:  Both

Armen:  How involved were you in publishing process?

Steve:  Not nearly as much as I should be!

Armen:  Do you have a preference between eBooks and paper?  Did you choose the titles / covers of your books? How important do you think they are?

Steve:  On a personal basis, I favor paper books, but I also read ebooks as well. Whatever format, it’s the story that counts. I choose the titles and the covers. In terms of covers, a professional one is absolutely necessary. It tells a potential reader that you’re a professional as well.

Armen: Do you have a favorite of your books or characters?

Steve:  In the tween books, my favorites are Lauralei and Sarah, two courageous girls who learn to do everything “with style and grace.”

Armen: What are you working on at the moment?

Steve:  Currently, I’m working on my first murder mystery (for adults). It involves yoga, neo-Nazis, male fashion models, politics, sex, etc.

Armen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Steve: I just run with an idea. I’ve tried plotting before and can’t get the hang of it. Seems like it would save a lot of time!

Armen: I hear you about plotting.  I write a very loose outline, which I freely deviate from as needed.  I think it gives me the best of both worlds – or perhaps the worst of them <laughs>.  Do you have to do much research?

Steve:  I research as I write. How much research depends on the nature of the book.

Armen: Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Steve:  I’ve had tons of rejections! I deal with them by having a one-hour “pity party.” At the end of that hour, I go back to work.

Armen: Do you do much marketing for your work?  Do you think of yourself as a brand?

Steve:  No, but I should.

Armen: What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?

Steve:  Not surprisingly, the least favorite aspect is rejections. The second least favorite is the stated/implied attitude of family who say, “When are you going to get a real job?”

Armen:  Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Steve:  Plotting is the most difficult for me.

Armen:  Writers are often described as a different breed of cat.  Do you have any interesting writing quirks?

Steve:  I don’t know if it’s a quirk or not, but I take a break from writing by drawing cartoons. It’s satisfying to sketch something and see instant results (unlike writing!).

Armen:  Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Steve:  What I’ve learn from writing any book is that you need to trust yourself and listen to any detail or character who pops up again and again.

Armen: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or eccentric habits?

Steve:  As I mentioned earlier, I’m a cartoonist. I also enjoy inflicting really bad puns upon an unsuspecting world!

Armen: Steve, thank you so much for sharing your time.  Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Steve:  Why are you talking to me? You should be writing! <grins>

Armen:  Steve, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to include a brief synopsis of your book and an extract.

Steve:  Sure, I’m happy to share.

Synopsis: A Very Strange Land is the first of a series of books designed for pre-teen girls. The series is titled The Merryvale Adventures. The first story takes place at a riding school in a land called Merryvale, a realm of oddities, flying horses, and wonderfully bad puns. There is a very strange riding instructress, encouraging parents, and a lesson to be learned: that with confidence, one can do anything, particularly if you use considerable style and grace.

Here’s the beginning of A Very Strange Land:

“It wasn’t going to be our first schooling show.  Or our second.  But it promised to be the most exciting one.

First, because Sarah is my very best friend, and she and I were determined to jump higher than we ever had before.  Well, Sarah was, really.  I still wasn’t too sure. You see, last time I fell off the horse.  It wasn’t a bad fall, but it scared the heck out of me.  Second, we were going to a new ranch, one that had sent out a very weird schooling show notice.  So, we weren’t sure what to expect.

The fog didn’t help our nerves any, either.  It rose and settled as if a giant bellows were pumping it across the freeway.  My Dad couldn’t see well as we drove north from Lapton.  He grumbled at the weather, then looked in the rear view mirror and grumbled at us.

Sarah and I didn’t return his glance, afraid he would turn around and go back home because we’d made him go out in such weather.  We pretended to do our math homework and there was way too much of it as usual so we were too nervous to do anything more than pretend.  The truth was, no one seemed to have heard of Merryvale Stables, not even our riding instructor, Karen.  But, someone had mailed notices from Merryvale.

Very strange notices.

Instead of the usual, cheap colored sheets that stables send out, these had been made of an intensely white paper with a fancy, bright-blue script that glowed and smelled of horses and hay — the most wonderful smell in the world..  The words spelled out the oddest message:

MERRYVALE STABLES

INVITES YOU

TO A

MOST SPECIAL SCHOOLING SHOW

– OCTOBER 32nd –

DON’T BRING YOUR NAG. HORSES WILL BE

PROVIDED.

THE SHOW WILL BE HELD IN SPITE OF THE FOG.”

***

Additional information about Steve

http://www.stevendfisherwriter.com/