Author Bio:
Born in south Mississippi and enjoyed the experience of nature around rivers, lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Took a Masters in English and taught college and high school for 6 years, then was recruited by a student’s mother into AT&T who moved me to New Jersey. Soon, I became a principal in a consulting firm and later COO and CEO of two technology businesses. Today I split my time between the Dominican Republic and New Jersey.
What inspires you to write?
Both nature and the interplay of human beings both trip my emotional response to being alive. I suppose that’s why I’ve always loved reading so much and have spent a lifetime studying both my life and the lives of people around me, especially as it relates to nature and intense emotional situations.
Tell us about your writing process.
I write at all times of the day and in a coming novel of mine I explore a character’s emergence as a writer by using my own process of allowing words and ideas to form within me. I think quietly before I sleep and when I first awaken without leaving bed, there I process ideas to come and revisions I want to make. Much of the creativity occurs quietly and then connects to my fingers when I feel the fullness within that needs to express itself. I’ve always had a voice inside me but it took me decades to realize it was me as writer speaking.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Both really as I place myself within the character’s mind as I write and try and see the world as he or she does, to feel that emotion and those words that might occur to them. I’m equally comfortable with first person narration (though more difficult) and third person and enjoy the particular demands each place. In my two coming novels I’ve chosen each perspective to write from as a way of best developing my own creative voice.
What advice would you give other writers?
Observe and write. Don’t worry so much about the finished product as you do about keeping your energy moving forward. The first words to be written are the foundation and must flow uninhibited in order to provide foundation, but it is the multiple trips back over the ideas that really provide the true work and the clear voice. As Bradbury said, “There is no such thing as good writing, only good re-writing.”
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’ve written for years and knew one day I would publish but did not want to contaminate my writing energy with all the work of publishing. I finally reached a place where I knew it was time and over the next two years I will publish numerous stories and two books. I’ve always written in my jobs and when I was CEO write essays I entitled, “A Byrd’s-Eye View” and that was great practice. Now, however, I am 61 years old and want to speak my mind while my mind is still clear.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Sadly, hard copy books will decline more and become more of a novelty but living in a developing nation as I do today for half the year, I appreciate the convenience of ebooks. I used to lug suitcases of books to the Dominican Republic until my children gave me a Kindle, and now I can’t imagine not having the clever little device with me.
What do you use?
Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?
short stories and novels
What formats are your books in?
eBook
Website(s)
Arthur Byrd Home Page Link
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