Life at Open Heart Publishing

Author Archive

Here, with an eye that can see beyond (or is that behind?) the grave, is Robert Dean, author of “Blue Eyeliner” from “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child.”

Hi Robert. Thanks for joining us. Let me start this off with a really heavy and important question. What do you think is the meaning of the masthead, “An Honest Lie?”

“An honest Lie,” to me, is an underscoring of life. People tell white lies daily to save face or someone’s feelings. We tell lies with the best intentions possible. So the name is an extension of what we do daily and we don’t even realize it. Go human race!

Go! Speaking of the human race, then, what do you feel is your most important contribution to that human race?

I’d like to say my writing but that would be pretentious and lame. As it stands right now, I’m going to go with nothing. You’ll know my worth after I’m dead. If it is my writing, then score one for the good guys. If not, then hopefully by the time I hit the grave, something will have worked itself out.

I’d like to think that too. Speaking of the grave, Robert, are there any skeletons in your closet that you believe our readers might find fascinating?

It’s all out there. Email me a question and I’ll answer it. Hell, read my blog and you’ll find a graveyard’s worth of skeletons for someone’s sick pleasures to enjoy. I don’t hide anything. It’s a matter of if you’re willing to ask. I don’t do drugs but I’ll drink myself into an early demise. I’ve had sex with girls and I’m left handed. There’s a start. Start your mental engines.

(You can visit Robert Dean at www.twistedworldofrobertdean.com)

Back to the here and now, Robert, here’s another heavy duty question. What do you feel are the important symbols and icons of culture in the 21st century?

I don’t pay any attention to pop culture outside of what is shoved in my face and I have zero ability to deter myself from it. If I had to guess, I’d say Apple/Mac, and now that Michael Jackson is dead, he’s going to get some pretty severe hero worship forever now. Either way, I’m pretty happy avoiding all thoughts about stuff like that. Let me wallow in my own corner of the universe where I could care less what Kim Kardashian is wearing or how we’re continually making ourselves dumber via text speak or Googling everything known to man.

A convincing argument. Let me change directions now. How about a question concerning “way back when.” Were you ever been a bed wetter?

No, I’ve never been one to piss the bed but I have shared a bed with a female who had too much drink and no nighttime pee control. Needless to say, I was not happy with the morning result. I don’t enjoy waking up wet. Ever.

Well put, and I’m sure your sentiments are shared. Changing track again, what other sorts of creative writing are you currently involved in?

Currently, I’m finishing my second full-length novel and I’ve got a variety of short stories written. All the while I continue to be a contributing writer for Offbeat magazine. I also write love poems to all of the women who’ve broken my heart. I cut them into my chest and stand in front of their windows screaming the words (think some serious John Cusack type stuff) … I’m kidding. Seriously, I’d never do that. What if it rains?

Good point. So now, what, or who, inspires you to become a better writer?

Life inspires me to become a better writer. If you’re going to write the life, you better live it. I moved to New Orleans because I knew the gloves would be off and I’d experience things here that I couldn’t imagine elsewhere. I’ve sat in bars next to fat bald guys with beards who happened to be in wedding dresses. I’ve seen a bondage bunny bar hop, zombie parades, homeless street fights. I’ve watched people vomit on themselves and never miss a beat. I’ve heard lovers scream bloody murder at one another in front of my house at all hours of the night and with zero respect for anyone who might have been hearing. I’ve been blind drunk every night for over 40 days in a row. I’ve woken up in strange beds and in the back of cars. I’ve got stories that could be scenes in everything from “Deuce Bigalow” to “Silence of the Lambs.” I’m the master of relationships that end up as flaming balls of ill placed feelings and major depression. I have a severe habit of loving the wrong kind of girls and letting them ruin my life … just another morbid detail in the twisted thing that I’ve been a part of for 28 years and counting. Living life at a million miles per hour is what keeps me relevant. If I’m going to try and capture the dust of what life is on the dark side, I better do my best to know what I’m talking about.

And that’s a wrap for our interview with Robert Dean, author of Blue Eyeliner.

Visit Robert Dean at
www.twistedworldofrobertdean.com

Robert Dean is a freelance writer, author, and poet from New Orleans, LA. Born on the Southside of Chicago in 1981, he studied English and writing throughout his formative school career but never considered it something more than a hobby. After taking a compositional writing class his senior year of high school and meeting a teacher that changed his perspective on the art, he decided to take up writing as a career, for better or worse. Graduating with top honors from the Chicago Center of Broadcasting, he learned the journalism side of writing. While the other students were busy getting ready to look good on camera, he was busy reading books. Dean has worked for NBC, ABC, The Michiana Entertainer, and has had freelance pieces published in online journals. He has also contributed to various independent ‘zines’ that have came and gone throughout the years. Currently, he is a staff writer for the world-renowned Offbeat music magazine and has gotten to write about and interview some of the most exciting musicians to come out of New Orleans. Leaving Chicago to pursue his writing career, Dean moved to Louisiana to seek out new ways to expand his mind and dive into a life where fiction meets reality. Since the move, he’s written a full length novel titled “In the Arms of Nightmares” that is currently being shopped for publication. He is also writing a collection of short stories titled “The Snakes in the Garden.”

strong>Joining us today is Will Terry, author of Situational Dyslexia from “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child.“

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Hi Will. The title of your story “Situational Dyslexia” conjures many questions. What is that exactly?

Situational Dyslexia is a make believe illness, similar to sequential order deficiency. The character who has it does things and doesn’t remember doing them until after its over. It depends on the situation. Sometimes his brain tries to protect him like this.

Have you had other pieces of work published or is “Situational Dyslexia” the first?

I have some work published in Dallas by The Pannhandler, in Philadelphia by The Vivid Literary Journal, and in Florida by The Corporal. This will be my first piece published in a book.

You strike me as the kind of guy who could make a success out of any endeavor. What made you want to become a writer?

My favorite teachers were always English teachers. My fourth grade teacher submitted a poem of mine and it was published when I was very young. People in my school just referred to me as a writer from then on and I got used to it.

Okay. I need you to put on your imagination hat. If you could be any character from any story, who would you be and why?

I would be Case from Neuromancer by William Gibson. He lives in a cyberpunk world of permanent night and that sort of thing agrees with me.

Very interesting, Will. Henry Dorsett Case is an impressive character. Let me ask you about a different kind of character, one from around the house, say, a pet. Have you ever felt as if your pet held you in contempt?

I had an epeleptic cat who had have seizures whenever people would come over. It made dates interesting.

What else might our readers find in your house? Are there any skeletons in your closet that we might find fascinating?

I sometimes use what I call the writing process dartboard. It’s a complex system of swinging hula hoops from the ceiling and aiming at different genres, character ideas, and plots with a dart. There are pictures of it on my website at www.philosopherdown.com.

Getting back to your writing, what other sorts of creative writing are you involved in?

I manage a website for aspiring writers in Austin. It’s www.philosopherdown.com. I’m working on a manuscript for a novel called “Trash Librarian”.

Well, there we have it, a brief look into the mind of Will Terry. Look for his exciting story in “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child,” coming this fall to a bookstore near you!

Visit Will Terry at
www.philosopherdown.com

Will Terry is twenty five year old writer from Austin Texas where he is a student at Austin Community College . He is currently working on a bachelors degree in Social Work with aspirations for a masters degree in English. His work has been published by The Panhandler in Houston , The Vivid Literary Journal in Pennsylvania , and the Armageddon Buffet E-zine. He maintains a website for aspiring writers at www.philosopherdown.com. His writing centers on humorous exaggerated interactions between men and women. “Situational Dyslexia” focuses on the tendency for people to set themselves up for confusion and only figure out after why. Some authors that he admires are Louis Ferdinand Celine, Charles Bukowski, and J.G. Ballard. His philosophy to writing centers on embellishing personal experience.

Becky Warner, featured author for “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child” is here to share with us some interesting things about herself, her work, and this very interesting book coming soon from Open Heart Publishing.

The floor is yours, Becky!

 
Hi Becky. Can you tell us what was your favorite book as a child and why?

Huckleberry Finn- I read it when I was fifteen and related to Huck so much so that after I finished the book, I did some checking on the author. I was shocked to find out he’d been dead a while and that someone could write something so emotionally charged that it reached out from the pages and touched me so dramatically.

What made you want to become a writer?

Same reason as question no. 1. It always amazes me how you can reach a total stranger simply through the written word. Every single time someone reads something I’ve written and compliments me on it, I’m absolutely thrilled.

Is “Thompkins Literary Review” your first story to be published?

No. I’ve had several poems and short stories published as well as a fiction novel.

You recently had a book signing that was written up in the local newspaper. Isn’t that right?

Yes. Here’s the link to the article: http://www.norwalkreflector.com/articles/2007/12/16/front/iq_466666.txt

The article goes into detail not only about your struggle to get this book published, but also about how you came up with the story for your book, “And the Bull Saved Me.” How did you come up with “Thompkins Literary Review,” your story in An Honest Lie?”

“Thompins Literary Review” is based loosely on personal experiences and my son and husband’s sometimes humorous reactions to my writing efforts.

It seems your son and husband do influence your work. Let me ask you some questions about your personal beliefs, and I’m starting with a heavy one. Have you ever contemplated committing a crime?

No, for three reasons. First, God would know, my mother would know and I’d know and none of those three would be happy about it.

Well put, Becky. Another question, do you believe in life after death in any form?

Absolutely. Otherwise, what’s the point of living? One’s story doesn’t end with death. A new chapter simply begins.

Back to your writing, what other sorts of creative writing are you currently involved in?

I’m finishing my 9th fiction novel and outlining a play.

We’ve mentioned a couple of your published works. Can you tell our readers what else you’ve had published and where it was published?

My comedy/romance novel “And The Bull Saved Me” (under my pen name- Alex Rose) was published by PublishAmerica and can be found at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Borders.com My short stories “Commuter Trains and Ankle Chains,” and “You Move Me” (under my other pen name- Rose Alexander) were published by Double Dragon Publishing and can be found at Carnaldesirespublishing.com My non-fiction credits include The Scribblers Club newsletter and The Candy Factory Gazette. My poem “God Loves You” was published in the American Poets Society compilation, Reflections, and my poem “The Middle Ground,” published by VoicesNet, Inc., was awarded Special Recognition in the Voices Net Anthology.

Can we have an example of one of your husband or son’s humorous reactions to your writing efforts?

Sure thing. After I’d written my third book, my son accidentally found out that I also wrote ‘Erotica’. He walked up behind me while I was writing at my computer one night and read what was on the screen. His response was immediate and indignant.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, his tone so uncannily similar to my mother’s, back when I was a girl, that it made me wince. My automatic panic ‘cover my tracks’ mechanism kicked in and I started scrambling, thinking of alibis to get me out of trouble. I’d already come up with a couple good ones when I remembered who I was talking to and came back from nastyolgia lane.
“It’s nothing.” I told him. Then I explained to him calmly, which is something he was not, giving him my reasons for delving into the seedier side of literature. However, the horrified look on his face as I told him made me feel like Clarence Darrow informing the jury at the Scopes trial that they were all descended from monkeys.
Some things are just too upsetting to face.
“What do you mean you were just experimenting?” he said, his face contorting in repugnance.
“I’m working on some erotic short stories.” I told him. “After writing a romantic scene in my last book I wondered if I could write a full-blown sex scene. It’s sort of a writing exercise”
“A writing exercise?” he groaned, rolling his eyes like he was dying. “You’ve got to be kidding me! What do you mean a writing exercise?”
“I thought it would be a way to teach me how to write my characters better. To kind of get inside their heads more. To write something with less dialogue and more..uh…physical and mental content. And since there’s not a lot of talking when people have sex…..”
“Oh my God!!” he bellowed. “I don’t want to hear any of this! Does Dad know what you’re doing?”
“Your father doesn’t care. Besides the two of you never read my stories…..” I stopped in mid-sentence, realizing that I’ve let the proverbial ‘cat’ out of the bag. My days of writing freedom were about to end. Unless my guess was wrong, I’d just pressed him into service as resident ‘writing monitor.’ I quickly tried to cover my tracks, telling him that it was only an experiment and that I hadn’t even saved the story.
“Oh yes you have!” he griped, pointing accusingly at the title bar in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. “You’ve even given it a name! ‘Playing With Passion’? You’ve got to be kidding me! It’s nothing but Porn! What are you planning to do with this stuff?” He paused and a frightened expression filled his face. “Holy Cow! You’re not posting this stuff on the Internet, are you?”
The thought had never occurred to me but I didn’t answer right away because I was now feeling a bit of indignation myself. I wasn’t used to having my teenage son teach me morals so it seemed only right to make him sweat a little.
“You haven’t? Have you?” he said, his eyes now big as saucers.
“No.” I replied, trying hard not to smile. I started to add that it might be worth looking into when he abruptly cut me off.
“Good! And promise me one more thing!”
“What’s that?” I asked, suddenly propelled back in time to a similar lecture by my father on the evils of premarital sex. He should have told me about the perils of postmarital sex instead.
“Don’t ever work on that stuff when my friends are around! Okay? Promise?”

Will you tell us what your new novel is about?

My new book is a fiction novel titled, “Lightning Strikes Again” about a man named Gene who gets hit by lightning and afterwards, can read minds. He disappears for about eleven months when he’s poked and probed by a group of scientists. He re-appears in his hometown after he’s lost the unique ability and meets up with his best friend, Aaron. Aaron finds out that Gene lied to the scientists about losing the ability and for the next two weeks, follows Gene around, finding out what’s he’s been doing with his new-found talent. Aaron ends up in one crazy situation after the other as he gets caught up in Gene’s schemes. The zaniness continues as Gene talks Aaron into helping him look for a guy they both suspect might be a serial killer, whom they track down, but only at the cost of possibly being the man’s next victims.

Thanks for taking the time to share some thoughts with us Becky! We’re all eagerly awaiting the publication of “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child,” and reading your short story, “Thompkins Literary Review.”

Becky Warner writes fiction and non-fiction under the Nom de Plumes of Alex Rose and Rose Alexander… Her comedy/romance novel And The Bull Saved Me (Alex Rose) was published by PublishAmerica. Her short stories Commuter Trains and Ankle Chains, and You Move Me (Rose Alexander) were published by Double Dragon Publishing. Her non-fiction credits include The Scribblers Club newsletter and The Candy Factory Gazette. Her poem God Loves You was published in the American Poets Society compilation, Reflections, and her poem The Middle Ground, published by VoicesNet, Inc., was awarded Special Recognition in the Voices Net Anthology. She started out writing personal poems for her friends and then graduated to short stories and novels. Becky resides in Ohio and heads a local literary group called The Scribblers Club. Their goal is to bring together area writers to share ideas and resources, and to promote one another’s writing efforts. One of her happiest writing experiences was when she and a fellow Scribblers Club member had book signings together at the same bookstore. Her friends in the group inspired her so much that she based one of her novels on them, appropriately titled The Scribbler’s Club (a mystery about a local legend and The Underground Railroad- as yet unpublished). She grew up in the Lake Erie area of Ohio and bases many of her story locales there. She also enjoys reading and craft shopping in Amish country.

Here we are again with another featured author from “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child.” Sharing some thoughts with us is Jon C. Forisha, author of Jellyfish Castles.  Enjoy!

Hi Jon. Let’s start with a question about your story. How does “Jellyfish Castles” reflect your own life?

Once when I was but a wee tyke, I was with my family vacationing at a beach. I forget what beach so we’ll act like it doesn’t matter. There must have been a thousand jellyfish there, and every one of their unthinking gelatinous bodies was lurching for the support of some hapless human swimming in the ocean. My mother, in a very non-characteristic spurt of vengeance, became the jellyfish killer, catching and burying jelly after jelly in the sands of the beach. I was saddened at their demise at the time, but now, hearing more and more about the constantly multiplying jellyfish population, it doesn’t seem like such a sad story.

That’s a very interesting childhood memory, Jon. I can see your mother must have had great influence on you. Who or what inspired you to be a writer?

When I was in 4th grade I wrote fan fiction (had I known that’s what it was at the time I would have immediately stopped) for the games Diablo and Starcraft, and an episode for the show Buffy. They worried my parents and teachers at the time, but their fears were quickly dispelled when I turned out to not be crazy; I just liked crazy stories. I got into fantasy novels by RA Salvatore around 6th grade and from there moved through Science Fiction. My love for writing has developed over the years, but it all started with worrying my teachers in 4th grade.

Where would we be without teachers? Well, we know about your childhood now. What about your future? If someone were to write a story about you, what would the title be?

The Alchemist of Creativity. This would be because whenever somebody says nothing is creative anymore, I am saddened. People say, “_______’s just a newer version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre!” or, “_______ is just like Star Wars!” This has been a saying for quite some time, people admitting that Shakespeare was the last creative thinker, that all the rest of us artists that were unlucky enough to come after the father of Romeo and Juliet are doomed to a life of cleverly borrowing and reusing elements invented before we were conceived. Therefore, if someone were to title a book about me The Alchemist of Creativity, that would be a grand compliment to my skills as a writer. As an Alchemist of Creativity I may combine elements and form new ones! I might make literary, and creative, gold at long last!

A very passionate point of view. What are some other things you are passionate about (besides writing)?

I’ve been a drummer since 6th grade, playing everything from xylophone and drum set to congas and Peruvian box drums. I’ve been in four or five bands and still play to this day. We turned my older brother’s bedroom into a music studio when he moved out, and it’s now home to more instruments than I care to admit.

It sounds like a great room to relax and have fun in. Tell me, when you aren’t relaxing and having fun and are hard at work, how do you go about writing? What is your writing process?

I generally think up some wacky concept (usually while doing something mundane, like brushing my teeth), joke around with it in my mind for a bit, realize it could actually turn into something, and then write the concept as a note on my phone. I then read over it weeks later and wonder what I was thinking. A few hours after that, I realize what I might have been thinking and I go back and ponder over it some more. As the notes on my phone stack up, eventually I really start rooting for one of them, and then it becomes a story with the help of some lightspeed typing!

Sounds like a very efficient way to go about it. Let me ask you something off-the-wall now. How would you describe yourself in 7 words or less?

These questions are always difficult to answer without appearing conceited. But here it goes: amazing, glorious, funny, awesome, sexy. Oh, that was only 6? I think it covered the gambit anyway.

Six are good enough! Here’s another one. How do you encourage the delinquency of your inner child?

I do zany things like make a U-turn where it specifically states not to. I play my drums loudly when I know someone will be annoyed. And then I write goofy stories, most of which will never see the light of day due to their inanity. But, really, hopefully every good story has at least a little bit of delinquency encouragement tied into it. I mean, could Jim Hawkins ever have saved Doctor Livesey and the gang in Treasure Island had he not acted a buffoon in the face of Long John Silver?

Well, Readers, I’ll let you be the judge of that! And that’s the end of our interview with Jon C. Forisha. Tune in again for more interviews with the authors of “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child.”

Find out more about Jon C. Forisha at http://thecolorsplorge.wordpress.com.

Jon C. Forisha is currently a Creative Writing student at the University of North Texas.  He was born and raised in Plano, Texas, and attended Plano Senior High School, where he enjoyed playing very loud music as the Drumline Captain.  Among his other works, he writes science fiction stories about everything from airships sailing post-apocalyptic landscapes to insane doctors experimenting on kidnapped hobos.  During his senior year of high school, he entered into and was chosen as a winner for the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement in Writing Award.  His winning story for the contest was about a German roboticist who created ridiculous machines to ease the burden of day-to-day living.  He actively plays music, drumming for two different bands and eating up the rich musical setting that the University of North Texas has to offer.  His favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Kurt Vonnegut, and Michael Chabon.  He frequently visits his local public library, where row upon row of books never fail to call to him.  He plans on starting a career of writing short stories and novels and plans to break into screenwriting in the near future.  When not playing music or writing stories, he is hard at work determining how to keep the constantly multiplying jellyfish population from becoming the rulers of the world.  As of yet, he has found no plausible solution except to trap them in sand castles, though he is still hard at work.