My first interview as an author

I was very pleased to be chosen for an author spotlight on "Writ.” A writers group on Google Plus. The following is the interview:

Time for our March Writer Spotlight! This month, the honor goes to +Tim Fairchild , an action-adventure novelist hailing from Maine in the United States.

1. Your first novel appears to be an action adventure with an environmental spin. Is there a deep motive behind that, or was it just the story that came to you?

Good question, Andy! I tend to think it was a little bit of both, and, in my book, I wanted to apply an adventurous tie with my characters between history, nature, and our quest for new energy. It was a good medium to express my awe of nature’s sometimes harsh fury and that we as humans have this false sense of security that our planet, with its ever changing ecological and geological attributes, can never be altered, or in the case of my story, Zero Point, used as a weapon to harm us.

Nature has done some amazing things over millions of years. For example; Incredibly, human-kind was almost eradicated 70,000 years ago by an act of nature, leaving only an estimated 15,000 humans left on the planet, which is the subject of the next in my series, The Toba Element. Surprisingly, our planet was warmer in the 1500′s than it is now. A Tsunami five-hundred feet in height was recorded as recently as 1958 in Lituya Bay Alaska, and that wasn’t the first, or the last time it will happen.

Our planet Earth is an amazing, living, breathing thing; constantly changing and sometimes it can be a bumpy ride. It is human arrogance to believe that our world never changes and if it is, that we alone are the cause, though we can surely expedite it with our greed, waste and short-sighted thinking We have a choice to be good stewards of our home, or not. If we choose the latter, our host, the planet Earth, will surely remove us as easily as a dog ridding itself of a flea.

2. You’re a novelist who plays guitar and hosts open mics. Do you dabble in songwriting as well?

A few year back, well, more than a few, I wrote a couple of songs, but at the time, I did it for fun. I still enjoy doing the classic of the 70’s…yeah, I’m that old.:-) Songs from the Beatles, James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, and the like. Surprisingly, many still enjoy that genre of music. I’m really astonished at how many younger people do.

3. What are your feelings on Oxford commas?

I’ve been criticized for using it and for not. I guess it depends on the writer’s voice and choice. Me? I believe; when in doubt, use it. The Chicago Manual of Style strongly recommends using the Oxford comma because it prevents ambiguity when reading a passage.

4. What about Maine led you to choose it as your home?

Our children are now grown and have their own lives, so when I retired, my wife and I decided to relocate to Maine as a choice of finding a quieter lifestyle. We love the peacefulness of the outdoors and Maine has so much to offer us. Beautiful rocky shore-lines, mountains, rivers, the occasional moose on the interstate; oh, did I mention lobsters?

5. Why do you write?

I was always a dreamer as a young person. My mind would wonder off on adventures in exotic far-away places. (Mainly during class in school.) I always held the dream of visiting different lands and experiencing different cultures. I finally had that opportunity later in life with mission trips to places such as Honduras, Belize, and Peru. I discovered so many beautiful places and wonderful loving people on these trips. It had a profound effect on me and I try to express that in my writing. One of my characters, Samuel Caberra is based on a Qeuchuan Native friendship I established in Peru. All in all, I write for the enjoyment that others get from my story. That to me is gratifying. I don’t do it for money, or fame, though I wouldn’t be upset if I made a few dollars.:-)

6. Have you been writing forever or did it just start one day?

I think we all have probably heard many friends say, I would love to write a book.” I was one of those for many years. A busy life of having to maintain a career, raising a family and all the other things in life’s little ‘cookie jar’ kept me from realizing that dream. It wasn’t until my retirement that I sat down one day and said: “I’m going to do it!”

I started writing my first novel Zero Point in late 2007. Put it on the shelf for a year, and, in the interim, took a couple of fiction writing courses. A friend encouraged me after reading the draft to stop doubting myself and pursue finishing it. Well, I did finish it and self-published it with Lulu POD and Kindle. I even went out on a limb and entered Zero Point in the Clive Cussler Collectors Society’s annual Adventure Writers Competition. To my amazement it made the top five finalists with the winner to be announced this October at their annual convention. I guess my point here is; to beginning authors, don’t ever give up on your dream of writing.

7. What are your non-writing interests and do you think they affect your writing?

Oh, I believe so! I’m a huge science and history buff. If I didn’t have the Discovery, or Science channels on the television, I’d get rid of cable TV.:-) I’ve always held an interest in archaeology as well, thus my protagonist’s occupation. I was taught to write what you love the most and what you care about. I can’t speak for others, but for me, it seems to work.

8. Other than Writ, what, if any, writing groups do you belong to?

Though I’m still pretty new on Google plus I am following Writers.com, Authors Anon, The writing Network. On the web I found; The World Literary Café. Great place!

9. What color is your toothbrush?

Blue and white. Isn’t everybody’s?

10. If you could tell the Writ community one thing about you, what would it be?

First I think it’s great we have a place like Writ to share our experiences, work, ups and downs, and the like. For that I am grateful. The one thing about me? Hmmmm? I believe in the over-all good in humanity and that we can make a difference in other people’s lives.