“Good stories have the capacity to make readers think who want to engage with the book on deeper levels, while entertaining those who don’t.” –G. Sampson, sample interview questions, in my media kit.
Above all, books have to appeal to buyers. I would rather sell a ton of books than win a pile of awards.
Happy Thanksgiving
“The Governor’s feisty today,” whispered a business magazine journalist.
“Roseanne Maria Ariana, Network Poll. How do you respond to people who say your administration’s failure to prevent illegal dumping is a failure of your policies for safeguarding Florida’s natural resources?”
“How do you respond to readers who say that your failure to prevent typographical errors is a failure of your editorial policies?” [responded the Governor.]
“Mistakes happen. They’re no reflection on our rules for syntax, grammar, and spelling.”
“Likewise, criminals breaking the law do not equate to policy failures.”
Tattered Flags, written in 2005. (Before Chris Christie.)
Nobody noticed the disappearances at first. This might seem odd for a small town in the rural South, but for the intersection of two major rail lines, north-south and east-west, which brought transients, freight-hopping hobos, headed south in the winter and elsewhere in the summer. The rail yard, which enveloped this transcontinental interchange, parked and switched freight, human and cargo, as it arrived on the tracks. Hobos camped in the woods. Trails from the rail yard, town, and highways led to the camp. Though it was permanent, its population was not; though its people changed, its character did not. It was a “dog eat dog” world of “might is right”. Consumed by the misery of their lives, men used robbery, theft, and violence as means of survival. Addicts that sought money for another bottle—the next hit–preyed upon the weaker men that were losers at life. Hobos left or disappeared all the time. The others were too busy or obsessed with their problems to care.
The disappearances began among the hobos.
—Power In the Blood, winner of the 2006-2007 P.O.W. award.