Yes! And here it is! The long awaited interview…Daniel Hallford! Enjoy!
7NB: Three published books! That is quite an accomplishment! How does it feel?
DH: It feels great to have three books published. Why wouldn’t it feel great? I have a chance to see my work in print and even get a royality check for it! I would have been happy with one but these other books just kept coming so I was fortunate to get them out in the world. It’s a very personal and rewarding feeling to see something I gave creative birth to out there.
7NB: Can you tell us a little about your most recent compilation of short stories, Tattooed Love Dogs?
DH: Tattooed Love Dogs is a collection of twelve stories that arose out of my experience as a parole agent in California. They are based on true experiences about the people I have met along the way: ex-cons, strippers, burglars, drug addicts and others who have live on the seedy side of life. I’m not sure it is a book for everybody, not everybody wants to read about these type of people. It is a naturalistic view of life that maybe even some of your worst nightmares couldn’t dream up.
7NB: I know what you mean. I personally love those kind of stories. It’s what I like to call “The Dark Side.” What was the greatest challenge in finishing Tattooed Love Dogs and getting it ready for publication?
DH: The greatest challenge in getting it ready for publication was reading it over and over again. It feels like you can never get it right. I’m still not wholly satisfied with it but you have to put it out there and if you think you need serious changes later on, well, hopefully, you’ll get a chance to make those changes.
7NB: Where do you get most of your ideas and inspiration?
DH: The greatest challenge in getting it ready for publication was reading it over and over again. It feels like you can never get it right. I’m still not wholly satisfied with it but you have to put it out there and if you think you need serious changes later on, well, hopefully, you’ll get a chance to make those changes.
7NB: What prompted you to write your first novel and how long did the first draft take?
DH: I wrote my first novel because I wanted to be a writer. The first draft took a year to write because I thought it was going to be the last draft and I could clean it up along the way. Little did I realize you have to put it away for awhile and then keep coming back to it to get it right for yourself. That means a lot of cutting and leaving stuff you like behind.
7NB: I agree. It’s amazing what can happen to a good draft if left in a drawer a couple of months. Do you have a set writing schedule, or are you more of a “when the mood hits” kind of guy?
DH: I have a writing schedule when I write. Sometimes it is at night, like when I was working because it was only time I could. Then in the mornings, like now, because I stopped working and I only work to get a story out and then take some time off until the next story needs to be worked on every day until it is finished.
7NB: Can you tell us about your current WIP (work in progress)? We’d love to hear about some of the characters or what the main idea is, if you don’t mind sharing.
DH: Work in progress right now is a blog that I have. It’s: hallford.aegauthorblogs.com. I work it out in the blog and see what happens. Although the most feedback I get on certain posts have nothing to do with the “fiction” I am trying to work on. It seems I get more on the opinions I give out. They are not really important but just thoughts I throw out. I guess eveybody has a quibble about opnions and less on the stories that I like to write
7NB: What does your writing workspace look like?
DH: My wrting space is just a small office I have in my house. My dog looks at me through the glass doors. I won’t let her in because she likes to chew on cords that lead from computers and phones and photo copy machines. She’s a golden retriever and I write about her in my blog.
7NB: What is your favorite novel of all time?
DH: There are so many books that I like that it is hard to say what is my favorite book of all time. I loved One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez, so much so that I bought it in Spanish and tried to read it in its original language. I think you go through different stages in your life where one book speaks to you above all and you keep that for a long time until you run into the next one.
7NB: What are some of your favorite blogs you follow?
I don’t have favorite blogs. I meander, hit and miss. I have my own so I guess I follow mine and I’ll admit I’m lazy even doing that.
7NB: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
DH: I realized I wanted to write when I was in college. I majored in English and became an English teacher for awhile. Then I came to the weird conclusion that it was not worth it to be a writer and I put it aside for a long time then came back to it. I realized that it was something I had to do or I would consider myself a failure or worse. I picked a Master’s degree in it and got some encouragement, geting published in small magazines and zines and just continued as if I’d never left off.
7NB: Can you tell us a little about your path to publication? Do you have an agent, if so, what are some of the qualities you will look for in an agent?
DH: I got referred to an agent by a professor at school. Of course, that isn’t the agent I have now because the first one couldn’t place my work and dumped me. I think agents have a lot of power over unpublished writers because they chose you and not vice versa. It’s a cold business and there are thousands of people out there who want to write and be published. It’s also a business in transition right now and I don’t think agents are as important to getting published as they once were. The internet has brought traditional publishing to its knees. Everybody is trying to figure out what will sell, what to publish and how to do it. I read today that Amazon has just recently sold more kindles than hardcover books. Electronic books are here. In fact that’s where I first got published, at electronpress.com. The publishers and agents want a piece of the acton but aren’t sure how. I was at the New York Book Fair in Spring and one thing I learned from going there is that nobody seems to know nothin’ about nothin’ even though they act like they do.
7NB: What is the best advice anyone has given you with regards to your writing?
DH: The best advice anyone has given me about my writing? That is hard to say. It’s like taking golf lessons and different instructors offer you advice on your swing and one tells you one thing and another tells you something similar but not quite the same. You think about it and then try and apply everything you’ve learned and find your game worse off for having listened to so many people. Right now, looking back, I think the best advice is not to worry or stress too much about your writing. Accept your weaknesses and failures as you would your successes. You may have a lot of failures along with minor successes or it may be just the opposite. Are you a better person for doing what you wanted to do and can that sustain you in doing it? Don’t ever give up.
7NB: What is the advice would you give to aspiring writers who can’t seem to get their butts in chair to start their novel!
DH: Advice to aspiring writers? Get yourself a schedule and stick to it. You don’t have to have a big goal of finishing a long novel but go slowly: a page a day or a paragraph before coffee. A habit you form until you accomplish your goal. Believe me, when you start you will feel better. You will feel GREAT when you finish.
And there you have it folks! If you want to know more about Daniel and purchase some of his books click on this link Daniel Hallford
