Author Q & A
This question and answer session with Stan
is geared toward his writing for children and young adults.
Below you will find a second set of Q&A
regarding his songwriting books.
Q: When and how did
you start writing books for children and young adults?
A: Several years ago I had an idea for
what I thought would be a fantasy book for adults. The working title
of the book was A Boy And His Dragon. After I had written
about three chapters I realized that the style and feeling of the
book seemed to be geared more toward younger audiences. It sort of
shocked me when I realized this, but once I accepted the fact, the
book came quite easily. I think I finished the first draft in about
3 months. Of course, the book then went through 11 or 12 re-writes,
but that’s a different story.
Q: So The
Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck isn’t your first juvenile
fiction work?
A: No. I actually finished the
“dragon” book and published it through AuthorHouse (which was then
1stBooks) as The Dragons of Shadara. I had the basic
premise and outline done for Hobart about the same time, but then
Harry Potter hit and I was hesitant to pursue it as my book was also
about a young boy and magic. I wanted to wait and see what Harry
Potter was all about. After reading the first Harry Potter book, I
figured there was enough difference between the books that I should
go ahead and pursue publishing Hobart.
Q: So you don’t see
a conflict of interest to the Harry Potter series?
A: Not at all. I figure that now that
the last Harry Potter book is out that hopefully young readers will
turn to something in a similar vein. I guess I actually owe J. K.
Rowling a thank you for bringing so many young people back to
reading!
Q: What else can
you tell else about the book?
A: Hobart Hucklebuck is a ten-year-old
boy living in the village of Pennywhistle. Magic is an everyday
thing here and most people have magical skills of some level
although the “old-fashioned” art of magic is being lost.
Enchantments are the newest thing, but all enchantments are done in
factories. There is a big difference between magic and enchantments.
Magic spells aren’t permanent and wear off after a time depending on
the skill of the magician. Enchanted items hold their enchantments
forever. Or at least they should. Things get interesting in
Pennywhistle when enchanted items begin losing their power. When
Hobart’s grandfather is accused of causing the problem and is
eventually sent to prison, Hobart and his friends have to save “save
the day”.
Q: Do you have
plans for additional Hobart books?
A: That’s the long-range plan. I
already have two or three ideas for new books scribbled down on a
napkin somewhere. Actually, the second book is already in the works
and should be available in the fall of 2009. The working title for
that one is The Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck:
Pandemonium in Pennywhistle.
Q: Will you keep
the same characters in the next book?
A: Most of them will be re-appearing
characters. I think kids will identify well with Hobart, Specks
Spacklethack and Rosie Rumpleskirt. There are a lot of great
characters in the book. We will, of course, introduce a new
character or two and perhaps bring Hobart’s parents to the
forefront, but only time will tell.
Q: You have written
fiction and non-fiction books. Which do you prefer to write?
A: That’s a good question. They are
very different. Non-fiction books usually require more research.
Fiction writers, for the most part, are perhaps more creative. I’m
not sure every author could successfully do both though I know
several who have. Maybe authors just end up enjoying one more than
the other and that’s why you don’t see a lot of cross-over. I
probably enjoy writing fiction more, but there’s not the financial
advantage that non-fiction brings to the table. At least not yet.
I’m hoping that changes with Hobart or maybe my upcoming zombie
titles!
Q: What else do you
have in the works?
A: I am currently working on a couple
of new books. One of them is a re-release of The Dragons of
Shadara book I talked about earlier. I’m doing a complete
re-write as I plan on it being a series as well. It will be released
as Dragontooth: Book One. My wife and I have discussed
collaborating on sequels. I’m also working on a couple of books
aimed at more mature readers. They all have a zombie theme.
Q: What do you do
with in your spare time?
A: As you can imagine, there’s not
much time for spare time in my life. I have a full-time job and then
spend another 25-30 hours a week writing and marketing. My wife and
I like to travel when we can. I secretly love reality TV shows, but
don’t let anybody hear that. I love the reaction between the people
on these shows. I think it helps in my writing as well. It helps me
understand why people act and react the way they do in certain
situations. And you can seldom predict the ending!
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The
following question and answer session with Stan is geared toward his
singer/songwriter talents and writing books for songwriters.
Q: How The
Songwriter's Journal differ from other books on songwriting?
A: It is actually quite different from
most other songwriting books I could find. And, believe me, I did
plenty of research. It is not as much a book on “how to write a
song”, although there are plenty of tips and tricks included, but
rather a motivational book full of song ideas and exercises designed
to spark the muse that resides within all songwriters.
Q: What is your
background when it comes to songwriting?
A: I’ve been writing songs for more
years than I care to think about. I wrote my first song when I was
about fourteen and have probably written over 200 songs since then.
Q: So do you know
the lyrics and music to all those songs?
A: I actually wish I did. Many of the
songs I wrote years ago are lost forever. Now, in many instances,
that is probably not a bad thing. But it’s strange to go through a
stack of lyric sheets from decades ago and not even recognize the
songs, let alone remember the chords and melody. I think Paul Simon
made a reference of that type in one of his songs. In “A Hazy Shade
of Winter” he said something like “funny how my memory skips while
looking over manuscripts of unpublished rhyme.” He hit the nail on
the head with that line.
Q: Do you have a
CD?
A: My producer and I are actually
working on my first CD right now. It’s a slow process as I am trying
to market my books and am also working on a couple more manuscripts
currently as well. The working title of the CD is "Driving Down To
Eden" although I am also considering "Do Computers Dream of
Pixelated Sheep?"
Q: Isn’t that a
reference to a science fiction book?
A: Yes. Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It’s a great book. People
probably know it better as the movie “Blade Runner” with Harrison
Ford. I was an avid science fiction fan in my younger days. Well,
actually, I guess I still am.
Q: So you a
songwriter and an author. Do you have other creative outlets as
well?
A: I’ve painted an oil picture or two,
but I’m really not much of an artist. In fact, I hired a great
artist (Michael Koch) to do the cover artwork for my juvenile
fantasy novel, The Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck.
He’s done a great job capturing the feel and look of the book and
its characters.
Q: Do you prefer
writing fiction or non-fiction?
A: That’s a good question. They are
very different. Non-fiction books require much more research in most
cases. Fiction takes a lot of creativity. I’m not sure a lot of
authors could successfully do both. I probably enjoy writing fiction
more, but there’s not the financial advantage that non-fiction
brings to the table.
Q: The that brings
us to our next question. Do you prefer creative writing or
songwriting?
A: I love writing songs. Not many
things are more satisfying than penning a new number. If I could
make a living doing that, well, I guess that’s what I’d be doing.
Songwriting is a very different process than creative writing
especially if you’re talking about entire books. It’s a quicker
process, of course, and it’s much easier to share your work with
others. But I enjoy writing books too.
Q: What types of
music do you like?
A: I like a variety of music. Life
would be pretty boring if you ate meatloaf everyday for dinner.
Well, maybe not for me. I love meatloaf! But you see what I mean. I
listen to all types of music especially when I’m getting ready to
write a new song. It stimulates the creative process and gets me out
of any rut I might have fallen into. Whether it’s Bob Dylan, Blind
Lemon Jefferson or Glenn Miller, it’s all good.
Q: What style of
music would you classify your own songs in?
A: It’s folk or soft rock or somewhere
in between. I guess the newest label for it is Americana.
Q: What else do you
have in the works?
A: I am currently working on three or
four different books at once. I guess I need to narrow that down if
I’m ever going to finish any of them. I actually just finished a
juvenile fantasy book which I mentioned earlier. It’s called
The Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck and I’m real excited
about it. I’m also working on another called Dragontooth.
It was published some years back as The Dragons of Shadara,
but I’m doing a complete re-write as I plan on it being a series. My
wife and I have discussed collaborating on the sequels. I’m also
working on a a couple of books with a zombie theme. Don't ask...
Q: What do you do
with in your spare time?
A: As you can imagine, there’s not
much time for spare time in my life. I have a full-time job and then
spend another 25-30 hours a week writing and marketing. My wife and
I like to travel when we can. I secretly love reality TV shows, but
don’t let anybody hear that. I love the reaction between the people
on these shows. I think it helps in my writing as well. It helps me
understand why people act and react the way they do in certain
situations. And you can seldom predict the ending!
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