About Frank Talaber:
He was born in Beaverlodge, Alberta, where the claim to fame is a fox with flashing eyes in the only pub, yeah, big place, that’s why his family left when he was knee high to a grasshopper and moved to Edmonton, Alberta. Eventually he got tired of ten months of winter and two of bad slush and moved to Chilliwack, BC. Great place, Cedar trees, can cut the grass nine months of the year and, oh, he says it does snow here once or twice. Just enough to have to find out what happened to the bloody snow shovel and have to use it. GRRR.
He’s spent most of his life either fixing cars or managing automotive shops at fifty-six is found to be blessed now with two children (okay, he had them earlier and they’ve grown up and began living on their own), two loopy cats and a bonkers-mad English wife. His insatiable zest for life, the environment, and the little muses that keep twigging on his pencil won’t let his writing pad stay blank.
He’s had several short stories published, short-listed in contests over the years and a few automotive articles published in RV magazines. This will be his third novel published.
When asked once, “where does this creativity spring from?” He answered, “It’s the Gypsy blood from my mother’s Hungarian ancestry.”
Literary madness that drives his wife crazy when he leaves their bed in the middle of the night to pound out some sort of prosaic induced brilliance. “Here we go again, the next War and Peace, Aka 21st century,” she moans, only to realize it’s either gibberish or there’s no lead in his pencil and he’s scribbled on sixteen blank pages in the dark.
He can usually be found puttering around the yard of their heritage home, talking inanely to the squirrels or wondering how one can plant a dozen flower seeds and get five thousand weeds. Known to getting up early in the morning to write, when it’s just the pencil, his imagination and the raccoons that pass by looking for handouts. Bloody bandits, they are. Okay the crows, blue jays and the damn never ending weeds can also be annoying. Good think he makes his own wine, damn good sh*t, most people comment, before falling over with ear to ear grins.
What inspires you to write?
The muse inside. All I can tell you is I write because I must. Did anyone ask Babe Ruth why he hits baseballs? Or Wayne Gretzky why he batted around hockey pucks, (well okay his dad probably made him to start), or whatever possessed Tim Horton to drop his hockey gloves and begin making donuts and selling coffee (but man are we Canadians darn glad he did). It’s in my soul. Of course there’s always the adage that the borderline between genius and madness is rather tenuous. Yeah, but I like to live on the edge and in his day a lot of people called Einstein and Leonardo DaVinci mad. But no one is laughing now.
Tell us about your writing process.
Okay, I write in a couple of different ways, I jot down ideas or short scenes to start. I do use a spiders web design, the theme in the centre circle and put each chapter at the outside edge and list each scene down in that chapter. Then I can change scenes into different parts of the web if needed. Of course list this in pencil so that you can move things around. Best thing though is writers flow. Just start writing and let it out. Once the scene starts flowing, just go with it. Of course starting to write a scene while driving is not a good idea and can cause serious injury. Well so they say, hasn’t happened to me yet. Which makes you wonder is he at home or behind the wheel here. “Ah, sorry officer, I’ll be right with you.”
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
As the scene progresses they do all the talking and in fact often take the scene in some direction I didn’t intend. As long as it isn’t canoeing or sky diving then I’m okay. Hard to write with a paddle in my hand or with wind rushing along at 200 miles an hour. And don’t even get me started about milking cows, I’m Lactose intolerant.
What advice would you give other writers?
The first creative writing course I took I opened the text and said “Hey, there’s nothing but lines in here. And they’re all blank.” “Yes, your job is to fill them.” I thought he was nuts. The first half of the class we had to enter something everyday. At first I’d write about the walls, the girl in front of me, how I hated this class. By the end I was writing down several pages before the time was up and even then they had to pull the pencil out of my hand and slap me several times to get back to reality. This was before Starbucks and Tim Hortons.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Well I did self publishing and got nowhere. Didn’t realize the input needed to put my name out there. So I went with two different publishers, they did the edits, (bless them) and the cover art. Still need to spend a lot of time via social media though.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Well last year 51% of total book sales were ebooks. I think that will continue to grow, but there will always be a place for paper books. Who knows someday soon they’ll probably have 3D books. The technology is growing at such a pace.
What genres do you write?: urban fantasy, romance, mystery, oral legends, fantasy, crime
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Frank Talaber Home Page Link
Link To Frank Talaber Page On Amazon
