Q: What is the next book you will be reviewing?
A: Word has it that I should be receiving the latest Leonard Sweet title any moment now, fresh off the press. I'll have my mitts on Lenny's pages within the next 48-hours. You can bet I'll read him quickly, but will take my time writing my review, which should make its way, then, to the pages of several magazines.
Q: Exactly how many books are you working on right now?
A: This is difficult to answer. The easy answer would be to say that I work on one book at a time. The truthful answer would be to say that there are no less than a half dozen books in various stages of dress. The best answer is to say that I don't keep track of numbers, just deadlines and ideas about deadlines. If I concentrate on anything else, those deadlines will kill me.
Q: What is your next book to be published?
A: Currently, if the book gods are true to their word (they usually lie), I can expect to receive contributors copies any day now. This time, a poetry anthology that includes a nice representation of my verse. But if this book doesn't strike first, it could be a book about Jesus, or wine, or perhaps even a novel. I stopped trying to predict these outcomes years ago. Which is why I never buy a lottery ticket.
Q: How are you coming along on your goal to have 150 essays published in 2014?
A: Thanks for asking, Vinnie. Thus far I've had thirteen essays published (which, of course, is an unlucky number). I'm going to have to pick up the pace considerably if you do the math. But if I count book reviews, too, I should make some headway once I receive my first big-ol-shipment of books.
Q: Word has it you don't sleep much these days. Is this true?
A: Obviously, I do sleep. Compared to a black bear in hibernation, I sleep very little. Compared to the mouse in my attic that keeps me awake most nights, I sleep too much. But I have been known to go for days on the stamina produced from coffee and the glow of a fresh page on the computer screen. If I have work that won't let me sleep, then I don't. When my wife tells me she wants me, or just has to have me in bed right now, I sleep with her. (But just imagine that black bear in hibernation and you'll have an accurate picture of what this entails.)
Q: As a writer, what do you hope your legacy will be?
A: Isaac Asimov wrote something like 600 books in his lifetime. If the book gods smile favorably upon me, perhaps I'll reach the 100 mark by the time the worms chew my gizzard.
Q: Any advice you would give to the young writers out there?A: Yes. Just do it . . . and stop reading this blog.
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