JBRNM: how long did it take you to write 22 stories?
DAVID: quite a while... i'd have to look back over some notes to get the exact dates, but i believe i started writing it in 2001 and didn't finish until the summer of 2004. more than 2 years
JBRNM: is that including the time it took to publish it?
DAVID: yes and no... i submitted it in the beginning of the summer the first time in 2004, then did some more substantial rewriting, and resubmitted at the end of summer
JBRNM: so it got accepted pretty quickly then?
DAVID: well, accepted is not the best word, as it is a POD publication, which means that they my publisher will publish just about anything. i took some of their editing advice the first time, but not the second time. in a way, my book was NOT accepted, because they did not rate it high enough to receive editor's choice. but this was because of large-scale decisions i had made that they simply did not agree with, like writing in the present tense.
JBRNM: right, you don't see many books written in the present tense, but I think it is because it is just so natural to write in the past tense and many people have problems staying in the present tense. You pulled it off beautifully though. so was this your first book written? and do you have plans for others?
DAVID: yes, this was my first book, and yes, i do have plans for others. i have already been researching for quite some time the sequel, which will be entitled Tav. and just yesterday i realized i could even write a third novel in the series, but i'm not committed to that one... yet.
JBRNM: is this something you consider a hobby or are you planning on making a carrer of it?
DAVID: i certainly hope to make a career of it, but it will be slow going for quite some time i think
JBRNM: are you planning on taking 22 stories to a publishing house since you have it on the market now?
DAVID: yes, although i don't plan to shop it around until i've (mostly) finished the sequel
JBRNM: sounds good. what does infinite dot mean? (for those who haven't read your book?)
DAVID: infinitedot is the name of my website, which was inspired by a quote from Mark Leyner: "I was an infinitely hot and dense dot." Leyner is interesting reading.
JBRNM: What did he write?
DAVID: i only know of four books so far, which are collections of very crazy writings. not really short stories. not really poems. almost automatic writing. the titles of his books should give you a clue: "Tooth Imprints on a Corn Dog" and "My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist". stuff like that.
JBRNM: wow sounds like a book I just finished reading called foop! do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
DAVID: i'll steal advice from Isaac Asimov - at least i think Asimov said this - "Write every day." however, i don't think it's really necessary to actually WRITE every day, just to be thinking about what to write, or reading about what to write... keeping your mind open for ideas.
JBRNM: good. is there anything else you would like to add?
DAVID: i think it's important, when starting to write, to write for oneself. you are your most important audience in the beginning. writing for a target audience i think is secondary. if you can't be true to yourself, you can't be true to another. of course, it is still important to try to write in a way that will eventually please your audience. hence the need for editing... and more editing.
JBRNM: I agree.
JBRNM: When did you know you wanted to write?
DAVID: I've been told that when i was an infant, i "babbled in sentences"... which is kinda cool if it's true. I knew I wanted to write at a very young age, mostly just because I enjoyed reading so much. I particularly remember "The Narnia Chronicles", by C.S. Lewis, and "The Prydain Chronicles" by Lloyd Alexander. After those books, I was hooked. The first story I actually wrote was for the Young Authors competition when I was in the 5th grade. It was some confused story about a cat and mouse entitled "Squeezer and Blinky". Don't Ask.
JBRNM: Who are some authors that influenced you the most?
DAVID: My favorite author of all time is Thomas Pynchon. He
goes to the top of the list. I was first exposed to his writings during my last year of high school, when I first visited the college where I would earn my B.A. in English Literature.
Other favorite authors, in alphabetical order, are:
Lewis Carroll
Philip K. Dick
Umberto Eco
William Gibson
Frank Herbert
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Tom Robbins
Neal Stephenson
I've read and enjoyed the work of many others, but these few possess some very special qualities I try to emulate.
JBRNM: Thank you for taking time to do this with me.
DAVID: thank you
