Author Bio:
William Elliott Hazelgrove is the best-selling author of five novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks, Mica Highways, Rocket Man and the Pitcher. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly, Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications. He has been the subject of interviews in NPR’s All Things Considered along with features in The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Richmond Times Dispatch, USA Today, People, Channel 11, NBC, WBEZ, WGN. His most recent novel, The Pitcher is a Junior Library Guild Selection and was chosen Book of the Year by Books and Authors. net. His next book Jackpine will be out Spring 2014 with Koehler Books. A follow up novel Real Santa will be out fall of 2014.
He runs a political cultural blog, The View From Hemingway’s Attic.
What inspires you to write?
I am driven to write the way other people breathe. My mother took away my television and I started reading and never stopped. When I graduated college I wrote my first novel and never stopped.
Tell us about your writing process.
No. I don’t outline. I use a notebook and sketch out the scene for the next day. This way I know what I am going to write when I sit down at the computer. Also it allows it to remain organic and lets the story go where it needs to.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
No. But I hear the characters speaking very clearly in my head.
What advice would you give other writers?
Never give up. Learn your craft. Don’t self publish too soon. Don’t write for the market. Write from emotion and what you believe in.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
My books were published traditionally. Bantam and Random house picked up my book after a very small publisher in Chicago brought it out. A new author should look at all the options.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Books will always be here be they ebooks or print.
What do you use?
Professional Editor
What genres do you write?
Mainstream Fiction. Young Adult. Adult. Mystery. Courtroom drama.
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
William Hazelgrove Home Page Link
