Today I welcome Chad Schimke to the guest author interview, you can read what he has to say below:
Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
My name is Chad Schimke and my location is San Francisco, California. I am a writer with four books (Picker, Pieces, Weirder and Walker) available for purchase through Amazon. In addition to fiction; I write a content rich blog about city life, arts and letters. I am very involved in the city’s arts community. I also organize a creative writer’s critique workshop that meets each week.
See below for a list of links referenced in this feature.
What first inspired you to start writing?
Having lived a full life, I reached a tipping point. Right now, I am overflowing. I write because I have no choice but to write. My growing up years were spent in Northwestern New Mexico. In a landscape of ancient puebloans, criminal minds, a uranium boom and UFO’s. Where there were early signposts to a writing life. Now I live in San Francisco, my adopted hometown, which is the vibrant city that inspires my work.
Who is your favourite author and why?
I am fascinated by Oscar Wilde as a literary genius as well as a controversial figure. I respect his writing, place in history, genres (novels, short stories, plays, poems, essays) as well as fearless position on self-expression. He made bold choices that bucked the restrained society of his day. He is widely credited as a prominent figure in the ‘art for art’s sake’ aesthetic movement.
I am passionate about his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was captivated by his biography, Oscar Wilde, A Certain Genius by Barbara Belford. Another highlight is the haunting imagery from The Ballad of Reading Gaol. And, of course, for his plays which are his best known written works.
What do you find is the hardest part of writing?
As a writer you must funnel a font of creativity, be a detail oriented editor and a well-spoken self-promoter. The hardest part is wrangling and utilizing these overlapping and contradictory elements to produce quality work.
And the most satisfying?
I love it when somebody enjoys my work. I am energized by meeting with other like-minded writers at the creative writer’s critique workshop. Or, in online groups.
If you could write the biography of anyone, who would it be?
I want to write a non-fiction novel/ biography of my ancestor Christian Schimke. He was an immigrant, who made a transatlantic voyage, to claim a homestead on the prairies of South Dakota in mid-1800.
What advice would you give new and aspiring authors?
Read a wide range of genres and forms, learn about what you like and or what works/ doesn’t work. Seek out online and community groups where you can connect with readers/ writers.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on a new novel that will be a paranormal action thriller (along the lines of Picker). With identical twins, identity switches, secret clues, a haunted hotel and a twist ending. My plans after that are a non-fiction writing reference edition and another eccentric fantasy populated by fanciful characters (along the lines of Weirder).
Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more?
Please visit my Amazon Author Central page to sample or purchase my books.
http://www.amazon.com/author/chadschimke
Go to my Goodreads page to enter a free giveaway each month.
http://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscom...
Check out my blog for free MP3 and PDF downloads, mash-ups, vid clips and interviews.
http://www.chadschimke.blogspot.com
Feel free to email me at any time, I love hearing from other writers/ readers. Or, comment on any of my threads on these sites.
chadschimke [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com
Thanks to Chad for sharing his time, on Friday Abbey Richards will be in the hotseat.
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