Looking back over the last six months, what would you have done differently?

Given the great stories I received, I’m really happy with the end result but I think there are a couple of things I would have done differently : I was a late comer to Twitter – I only started to use it near the end of the story gathering phase.  I think if I had embraced it earlier, I would have got the word out to even more people.  But a big thank you to one of the contributors, Maria Duffy (@mduffywriter), for encouraging me to start to tweeting.  It’s been a fantastic way of getting the word around now that the book is out.  Just yesterday, Graeme McDowell, the golfer retweeted a link to the book leading to over 500 hits on www.trueirishstories.com.  I think the highest before that was 150.

I think I’d also have spent a little more time hounding the national media for coverage when I was starting up – I think if I’d persisted I could have got some more coverage.  Then again, I got some fantastic help from Eimear Rigby in Concern who got me coverage in a lot of local newspapers.

Did anything surprise you about the stories you received?

I don’t think I anticipated just how personal some of the stories would be.  You’ll see if you read the book but quite a few of the stories are personal accounts of very private and difficult times in peoples’ lives.  I think it was incredibly brave and generous of people to share these stories for the cause.

I have to give a particular mention to a story by Linda Gillett who submitted a story called Hurry Home about her illness and her finding a liver donor.  She told the story from the point of view of her husband Noel and it is a very beautifully written and moving story.  Sadly, I received an email from Noel, Linda’s husband last month, telling me that Linda passed away from her illness in June.  As Noel said in his email, Linda would have been thrilled to have seen her story in print.  It’s just a great shame she didn’t get to live to see it.  I’d like to think that wherever she is, she knows though.

What do you think makes a good short story?

Funnily enough, the requirement that the stories submitted be true had an effect on how I judged them.  I had to leave out some very well written stories because they didn’t quite ring true even though they were entertaining to read as fiction.  I also included some stories which wouldn’t necessarily work if they were fictitious but the fact that they are true gives them an extra appeal.

Did you approach any celebrities or public figures to submit a story?

I made a conscious decision at the start not to ask celebrities or public figures to submit a story as I wanted everyone to feel they could submit a story.  I didn’t want people to feel it was about celebrities only.

As it happened, I did receive a few stories from some published authors and media personalities such as Nuala NiConchuir and Quentin Fottrell.  I also got a story from Barry Devlin of the Horslips which was fantastic because it’s a great story and I loved the Horslips!

Tell us about your journey to becoming a published writer.

I am not published yet but I have just signed a publishing deal with Puffin Ireland. My first novel, Angel Kiss will be out in early 2011. It is the first book in a teenage crime series. I started sending query letters to agents and publishers in February 2008. I knew very little about the industry at the time but I was to discover that getting published is a very lengthy process. Eighteen months of rushing to the postbox and obsessively checking my emails followed and then came the magical day when I got an agent and then an offer from Puffin came shortly afterwards.

It sounds like you needed lots of patience. What was the most challenging aspect along the way?

Trying to stay positive. Around the time I started querying, my mum lent me her copy of The Secret. It is all about the art of positive thinking. Reading that book really helped me to stay confident about my writing, but now and again I would slip back into my pessimistic ways, especially after receiving a rejection.

Which authors do you like to read?

I love Mary Higgins Clark. I always buy her new books the day they come out, and usually have them finished the next day. When I was trying to put more suspense in my writing, another writer recommended her books to me. I sat down with my notebook and pen and started reading Loves Music Loves to Dance. I read the whole thing in one go and was so engrossed in it that I didn’t even think to take a single note. Mary Higgins Clark certainly deserves her title as the Queen of Suspense. I also like reading Tracy Chevalier, Sue Townsend, Nick Hornby, Roddy Doyle, Alex Barclay, Eoin Colfer and lots more.

How and when did the idea for your book present itself?

I honestly cannot remember when the idea for this series popped into my head. It was about three years ago. I hear about writers who get ideas for books and short stories all the time, but I had never thought of an idea for a book before this one appeared.

Thank goodness it did! So, reveal a little about your book…

My book is called Angel Kiss and is teenage crime with a supernatural edge. It tells the story of Jacki King, a fifteen year-old who is adjusting to her new life in a small Irish village. She misses Dublin but starts to make new friends: artistic Colin, feisty Emily – and Nick, gorgeous but unavailable. But just as Jacki is settling in she starts to suffer from recurring nightmares and frightening visions. She refuses to believe that anything paranormal could be happening, but then she hears about the unsolved murder that occurred in the village, thirty-two years before…

Which is your favourite character?

My favourite character is Jacki. She is the kind of girl that I would love as a friend. She is fun and fearless but there is also a great depth to her personality. She plays guitar, likes rock music and wears vintage clothes.

She sounds like the kind of girl everyone wants to know. Are there any characters that surprised you or that you dislike?

There is one character that really surprised me. At the beginning I didn’t like her at all, but as the book progressed I got a clearer picture of her motives and what drives her. I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t mention her name. As I wrote Angel Kiss the characters really did take on a life of their own, and I know so much about them now that they seem like real people to me. I hope that doesn’t sound too crazy.

Not at all. That is what makes your characters believable…

Aristotle said, “Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.” Do you think this is true for writing also?

I do think that when you have mastered the rules of writing, then you are free to experiment with altering them. Some writers do it brilliantly. In terms of children’s writing, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book springs to mind. It is particularly dark and jumps from lots of different points of view. I try not to get too caught up in rules, I just write in the way that comes naturally to me.

What opportunities do you think being a published author will bring?

I have no idea. I am just delighted to be able to call this my job. I am truly passionate about writing, and although it is sometimes difficult, I love every second of it. I enjoy being part of the writing community and love meeting other writers.

The passion shows. And now you have achieved your dream of being a novelist. What advice would you give other aspiring writers?

Write every day and never give up. Even if you just write a paragraph in the morning, I think it’s vital to write regularly. It is important to read, but it is even more important to write. If you can get to Dublin then I really recommend Inkwell Writers Workshops. I did the Women’s Commercial Fiction one back in 2007 and it put me on the right track.

Finally, what’s next for Laura Cassidy?

I’m currently putting the finishing touches to Angel Kiss and then I will start into the second book in the series, which has a working title of 18 Kisses. I am really looking forward to continuing Jacki’s story and creating lots of new characters.

Many thanks to Laura for giving such a great interview. Look out for Angel Kiss in bookstores, 2011.

Literary Awards are a key element for many successful writers. The PEN/Studzinski Literary Award is an original short story competition for African writers under the age of 40. Judged by Nobel Laureate JM Coetzee, this new award offers young African writers the opportunity to gain national and international acclaim. A friend told me about one of the stories that made it through to the shortlist: A Star in my Camp by Beatrice Lamwaka. The topic she chose had me hooked and I’m pleased to announce that she agreed to let me interview her for Serendipity Poetry. Read about her shortlisted story and her life as a writer in Northern Uganda, below.

1.What was the first piece you had published and how did you feel, seeing it in print?

My first publication was Vengeance of the Gods and it was part of an anthology called ‘Words from a Granary’. It contained stories written by Ugandan women writers in 2001. I was very excited. The launch of the anthology was big…organized in Equatorial Hotel. I invited my family and friends, and was happy to see them at this very important occasion. Autographing the anthology made me feel great and I knew that I had taken the right path in my life. Since then, I have been writing constantly, but I haven’t had another experience like in the first publication.

 2. What was the journey to publication like? What were the major pitfalls and how did you overcome them?

I had written for two years without getting anything published. This was very frustrating, especially since I come from a country where the reading culture needs a lot of work. When I joined Uganda Women Writers Association there was a movement of women from Uganda to publish and promote women writers.  It was great being part of this group. We went to schools to read to students, invited established writers to facilitate writers’ workshops and had a week of activities celebrating women writers. Most of these women began to win international and national recognition for their writing. This made me realize what was possible and my work has now achieved both national and international recognition.

3. Everyone says, write what you know. How have your own experiences impacted your writing? Do you think it is possible to write something inspiring that isn’t based on experience?

I write the stories I know. I was raised in Gulu, Northern Uganda. There has been two decades of armed conflict in this area which has had a huge impact on my life. Most of what I write is about the things that I saw, heard, and felt in Northern Uganda. Most of my stories are about life in the internally displaced people’s camps, rebels, surviving war etc.

Recently, I have been thinking about writing a story focusing on genital mutilation. The Acholi don’t circumcise women but some parts of Uganda have experienced use of this practice, although there is an attempt to curb it. I hope to do a lot of research in order to complete the story and give it a setting may be in Nakapiripirit or Kapchorwa district.

4. You’re nominated for the PEN/Studzinski Literary Award recently. Why do you think you’ll win? Who do you consider to be your main competitors?

My story ‘The Star in my Camp’ is very strong. It’s based on a true story about a little girl who is defiled by her uncle, who is supposedly infected with the HIV virus. It’s one of those stories that I composed in my mind for a long time, knowing that I would have to write in down one day. I wrote it nonstop, from beginning to the end. However, I cannot say that the rest of the 33 stories are not strong enough. I know this is a tough competition but I hope to win.

5. What new doors would open for you if you win the PEN/Studzinski Literary Award?

The submissions for PEN/Studzinski Literary Award totalled 827 African authors in 2009. Only 34 stories were selected as finalists by the PEN Editorial Board, comprising Shaun Johnson (Chair), Anthony Fleischer, Justin Fox, Harry Garuba, Alistair King and Mary Watson. The Nobel Laureate JM Coetzee is currently judging the shortlisted stories and will choose the winners of the first (£5000), second (£3000) and third (£2000) prizes. The winners will be announced in May 2009. This is a huge award! It provides the international recognition that any writer would want.

6. In what way do sociology, politics and economics impact literature?

Sociology, politics and economics are parts and parcels of every writer’s life. These are issues that we deal with everyday and so it will always show in our writing/literature.

7. Who are your favourite writers and why? Would you say any of them have influenced your own work?

I like Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Goretti Kyomuhendo and Okot p’Bitek. They have helped me to realize that I can write my stories.

8. Has the internet had any effect upon your writing career?

I have submitted to so many writers competitions and submission calls for short stories through the internet. My short stories ‘Queen of Tobacco’, and ‘Vengeance of the Gods’ are published online, making my stories available to a wider audience. I have also met and maintained contact with many writers through the internet. This motivates me to write.

9. What kind of writing would you like to see more of?

I would like to see more of African contemporary books on the shelves in Kampala. I have a Book Club and we read and discuss mainly African books, but it is difficult to find most of these books in bookstores. We have to rely on making special orders to get access to these books. More than the type of writing available, I wish it was always easy to buy the books that I want to read.

Many thanks to Beatrice for agreeing to this interview.

The  PEN/Studzinski results are announced in May 2009. I will be covering the results on Serendipity Poetry.

Explain how the WoF concept came about
 
Well, I have a back ground in radio production and I wrote Storm Trooper Bob back in the day. So the concept is pretty simple. Instead of print I went directly to audio and sold directly to the fans. No middle men, no publishing company, no agents, just you the fan and me the story teller, just seems like a better way don’t it?
 
How would you pitch your work – why should people stand up and take notice?
 
I try to write what is in my heart and wants to come out. I try to write from a different point of view. I am also big into writing in genres that have been done to death and try to bring them some new life. But mostly I write what comes out whether it matches a demographic or not. By not having a publishing company to answer to I can write what I like, and my fans can take what they like and leave what they don’t. Again just a better arrangement for both sides in my eyes.
 
What do you think is the most important function of fiction? In your opinion, who achieves this in way you admire?
 
Lessons: plain and simple. We can learn from others experiences. Fiction offers us a way to have experiences we could not in real life. But I think the Author (WoFer in my case) job is to show all sides the good and the bad, and more importantly teach the lessons.
 
I was impressed when you openly removed yourself from writerscafé.org out of frustration – there being a lack of dedicated writers wanting to get published on the site. Tell us more.
 
First let me say I think Nathan has done an amazing job with WC. I have talked with him a few times and he is truly got an amazing thing going. But there was a couple road blocks in my way there I could not get past. The biggest is that I reviewed over 1500 pieces there, and people seemed to not want to improve their skill but get pats on the back about how great their writing was. Well the brutal truth is 95% of them will never make a mark as an author. 
 
When I was attempting to become a conventional author (16-19) I read probably 100 books about how to become and author, how to submit correctly and the like. And it my opinion that many of the people on WC are not approaching being a author with any professional respect.
 
The second thing the really did me in was I came to WC not to promote my own work. But to get the method of WoF out to other authors, I was met with all sorts of things but never many that said holy crap how do I do this???
I was constantly accused of promoting my work, when to be honest it does fine without any WC exposure. Even better now that I left because I don’t spend so much time fighting for the WoF idea.
 
It works for me, and that is all the counts. I want to be known for my work, not for my methods. So I felt it was time I go and leave WC behind, And I have to be honest leaving behind the over 20 contests I won, and the badges and the friends was hard, but end the end Writers café is for writers and maybe WoFers need their own place.
 
What impact do you think the internet is having on the quality of writing and the general attitude to writing?
 
Oh boy, well I think it has no impact on the quality range. There is shit and there is masterpieces and everything in-between. Just like there has always been. The internet allows more work to get out into the public eyes but the best stuff floats to the top through word of mouth just like it always has. 
 
I think the internet has given us a grand opportunity to bring our work to the world but maybe most authors are just not ready for that yet – which is confusing to me. Through my old talk show I know a lot of successful authors that love what I have done and wish they were not under contract and could do the same. 
 
What’s your most important writing moment or achievement to date?
 
I still think that when I was 16 and when I finished my first book In The Blood (for the first time) I think that was a huge moment because at that point I had put a whole story together with all the elements to form a book (probably not a great one at the time) but still it was a book. And then I knew I could write a book. And that changed me in many ways.
 
Many writers speak of writing as a compulsion, an addiction, and a necessity. What does writing mean to you?
 
Yeah I think it is a pain in the ass! It takes up all my spare time, and no matter how many stories I tell, I keep coming up with more that want to come out. It is thankless as everyone is always willing to offer what they don’t like about your stuff. But in the end it is who I am, and I can’t and wouldn’t change it.
 
Publishing equals politics. Discuss!
 
Hummm I am getting the feeling you really want to know what I think of publishing. Well First I commend you on your questions painting me into a corner. It comes down to this. The publishing industry was created because one person could not reach masses of people. They had to be selective because the cost to bring work to market was big. Well over the years the cost of that has gone down, and now it becomes more and more possible to reach the masses without anything to do with a publishing company.  And yes to get published in the conventional world you have to know people you have to kiss butt and pick your battles. But we move everyday into a much easier way to offer your work.
 
You have to have faith in your stories, and if they are not good enough they will fail somewhere on the chain in either the WoF world or the print world.  So personally as a creative story teller I worry less about the world looking at my work, or selling my work, or what impact my work will have. I create the best stories I can and I will let history judge my work and wisdom.
 
Only time will tell if I am to be one of the best, not the size of my wallet. Many young authors think it is all about getting a movie deal or being the next JK Rowling but in the end it really comes down to how many lives you helped with your work… And will your work last longer than you do?
 
Where do you look for inspiration?
 
Well Everywhere. I get ideas from anything; the key is to be open to inspiration when it comes to you. Don’t go looking for it. You’ll never find it.  If you just can’t accept that, I would say that I get my greatest thoughts when I am in the presence of Mother Nature. It’s hard not to be inspired in Zion National Park or the lake I camp at.  In all the stars out there all the stories have already been told, I am just translating them….
 
What’s your writing space? What’s the best place for you to get creative?
 
Depends, I have a Laptop so I am not harnessed to a desk or a spot. And that has worked out very well for me. I love working in new places because I see it affect my work. I do a lot of production on my desk early in the morning, otherwise you would hear my kids in the background
 
Where do you see the WoF project heading?
 
I don’t know…where do you see it heading?

I am going to continue to WoF, because for me it is an awesome way to tell stories, and I am making money so…
As for the concept, again WoF is a method not a project or a company. I have no want to make money off the WoF Idea, if I did believe me I would have sold the F**k out of this thing already. But I want my stories to be what makes or breaks my fortune not the way I am putting it out there.
 
I want to tell stories and I am willing to work in many methods to tell those stories – except print – and the reason I won’t go that way is much like Tolkien. I am in love with nature and I think there is no reason to tear out trees to hear my words. I can do it without hurting a single tree. And the other part is I am the first WoFer and if I prove that the path can be walked without the help of the publishing company, the WoFers of the next generation will have an easier road to walk.
 
If someone was interested in creating a WoF – what would they need to do?
 
Email me, we will see where your skill level resides and I will get you with other WoFers that can help you along the way. I am always working and thinking about the WOF methd and how to make it better. But the idea is that everyone that WoFs is part of making it better and better. I can’t wait to hear WoFers that are better at it than me. Then my goal for WoF will be truly complete.

Thanks for the interview…. Lucien

Being a lover of humanity I was intrigued by the man behind the project and having done a little research found there was much more to Dan than just his great ideas and kind correspondence. Thankfully, Dan was willing to answer my questions and reveal a little bit more about himself…believe me. It´s better than you could have imagined.

Explain the initial thinking behind the genius that is the X365 project. What was it that inspired you?

I turned 40 on January 12th, 2006, and I wanted to mark the occasion in some positive fashion. So I got this crazy idea: I’ll write 40 words (no more, no less) every day for a year, and each day I’ll write about a different person (in no particular order–in fact, in a shuffled order) who touched my life in some way. But not just anyone, it’s got to be someone I’ve actually met in person, someone whose name I still remember, and someone who was interesting.

For me, the first 50 or so came lickety-split, easy-peasy. The second 50 were not too tough. After that, it got really tough, really fast. When I got to 200 I honestly thought this was going to be impossible. When I got to 300 I was pretty much certain it was impossible and I thought I was going to need to relent on the restriction that I had to remember their name. I have lost a lot of names from my memory. I still have faces, and the floorplans of houses and the shapes of mouths, and the words they used, but I have lost the names.

40 words is a tiny lens to look through. How do you put a mother, an ex-wife, a best friend, or the love of your life into 40 words when that’s not even enough for the junior high math teacher, or the son of the guy who sold meats and cheeses to the place you worked?

What about the man behind the project? What other writing/projects are you involved in?

Lots of things. I just had a book come out from FootHills Publishing, and I’m a partner in Paper Kite Press / Gallery / Studio. A good overview of recent and past web-viewable things can also be seen here.

On my plate in the near future are a book review of a brilliant piece of fiction by Michael Aro, an essay for an upcoming issue of P-Que which proposes a method of using the existing syntax of regular expressions as a method of poetic notation, and a trip to Toronto to individually potato print the complete run of an issue of a Canadian journal of experimental writing called Open Letter.

I´ve also got a collaboration with artists David Hage and Pat Stump on a series of 26 canvases shaped like the letters of the alphabet, a collaboration with Jennifer Hill-Kaucher that will result in a web-based poetry “matching game”, and yet another with poet Sheila E. Murphy on a poem that has no end in sight.

Add to this a book version of the sestinas I’ve written, a very cool book that’s a collaboration with book maker Ivana Pavelka that contains a sequence of twenty double acrostics, and I’ve just started experimenting with doing live-looping to build up multi-layered sound poems on the fly in live performance. And there’s more…

How many people do you have now completing the project? What do you think made it an international phenomenon?

Last time I checked there was something like 190 blogs on the blogroll. I go through it periodically and update the list to reflect who finished, who is still actively in progress, and who appears to have stalled. When I do that I usually end up deleting off a few that have completely pulled their blogs down, or, the URL is 404 for some reason, so the total number of people who’ve told me they’ve started an x365 is probably more like 250 or 275.

The internet made it an international phenomenon. It spreads like a chain letter, really. Each person writing has readers and some of those readers decide to try it for themselves, and then each of those second-layer writers have a set of readers, some of whom decide to do it themselves, and so on. Small world when you map it by relationships. A very small number of people have actually completed the project, though; ten or so.

X365 can’t stop there, surely? What else do you have planned?

It stopped there, for me. I set a goal for myself, challenged others to attempt to meet the same goal, and then I met the goal. It was just one of many of my projects. I’ll keep updating the blogroll as long as people keep letting me know they’ve started, but I never had any plans for it to extend beyond its originally stated parameters. I have lots of things planned, none of them connected to x365.

Ever thought of turning it into a book? If so, what happened?

Several participants talked about various plans to collect entries into a book. I’m not opposed to it, if someone else wants to take it on, but, it was never something I wanted to do myself. The form is really custom-built for web readership–short, daily pieces. That doesn’t rule out books, by any means, but, I don’t see any compelling reason why a book would be better than a web presentation for the material.

What is your opinion of writing on the web in general; a playground for fantastic work or a poor excuse to get published?

There’s a lot of good work on the web. There’s a lot of lousy work, as well. Same with print. To me the most interesting questions writing on the web brings up have to do with the nature of “published” itself, and, the ability to immediately distribute infinite perfect copies of types of work that just fifteen years ago would have been economically impossible for individual artists.